Need help re-wiring a Triad

[Shinbone]

A question for all of you cab wiring gurus. I've got an old SWR Triad cabinet that needs re-wiring. According to the schematic (SWR Triad I) there's supposed to be a 470uf capacitor connected to the 10" speaker. This cap is not on the crossover panel so I'm assuming that it should be mounted in the cabinet somewhere. Can anybody tell me if this is correct? If so, where is it located? Thanks for your help.

 

[will33]

A question for all of you cab wiring gurus. I've got an old SWR Triad cabinet that needs re-wiring. According to the schematic (SWR Triad I) there's supposed to be a 470uf capacitor connected to the 10" speaker. This cap is not on the crossover panel so I'm assuming that it should be mounted in the cabinet somewhere. Can anybody tell me if this is correct? If so, where is it located? Thanks for your help.

It should be on the board, if , not, maybe soldered to a terminal of the 10? It should be somewhere in the path of the " + " wire that goes to the 10 anyway. If it's missing, it may've gone bad at some point and a previous owner just took it out and wired them full range, making your cab 1/2 the impedance it's labelled.

 

[rpsands]

It's very likely in the 10" chamber.

I'd suggest you look into adding an LPad resistor network to the 10 in the triad as well - about 3db ought to keep it safe.

My experience with the Triad is that the odds are very high that someone has blown the 10 in the past, regardless of the capacitor. I've seen 3 of them in person and two had replaced tens

 

[Shinbone]

Any idea what type of capacitor I should use here? Judging by the schematic, I'm guessing that it's non-polarized. But does the voltage rating or material make a difference?

 

[MaddAnthony_59]

I have an Old Triad I that I've blown up (15" is SMOKED!).

I'll be out of Town until next week, but I'd be GLAD to tear mine apart and take Pics. It is allegedly all original!

 

[MuzikMan]

You may want to consider a more substantial crossover network between the 15 and 10. It is my understanding that the 10" driver is not protected well enough in the original design.

 

[Shinbone]

I have an Old Triad I that I've blown up (15" is SMOKED!).

I'll be out of Town until next week, but I'd be GLAD to tear mine apart and take Pics. It is allegedly all original!

MaddAnthoney, that would be great. Thanks.

 

[Shinbone]

You may want to consider a more substantial crossover network between the 15 and 10. It is my understanding that the 10" driver is not protected well enough in the original design.

Any suggestions on how I can beef up the crossover that is already there?

 

[Morten_B]

I made a complete make-over on my Triad cap recently... Here are some pics and a bit of description:

The 470uF midrange cap is in the back of the cab for the 10" driver...

Actually the 470uF cap is a bit too big in value to give good protection of the 10" driver. With the 470uF the 10" driver can ''bottom out'' quite easy when playing loud and/or using a lot of bass EQ. Many 10" drivers in Triad cabinets are fried due to this. I have replaced the 470uF with 200uF, this means that the deep bass does not go to the 10" driver offering the driver better protection. Also the sound get's clearer because the 10" driver is not pushed so hard. Choosing a smaller cap is all the ''beefing up the cross over'' that you will need.

I have used 4 smaller caps in parallel to make up the 200uF, good quality Polypropylene caps = better clarity and better definition. These caps on the picture below has replaced the original (bad quality) 470uf cap.

On the original tweeter cross over I have replaced the tweeter caps with better quality Polypropylene types, again for more clarity and better definition. Also I have added a resistor L-Pad to lower the level of the tweeter 10dB, so when the tweeter adjustment is fully open (0dB) then the tweeter level matches the woofers. In the original design the knob had to be turned almost all the way down for an even sound, meaning that there was basically no adjustment range on the tweeter. With the resistor L-Pad I now have full tweeter adjustment.

Also on the cross over plate I have changed the wiring a bit, so the aluminium plate is no longer used as a conductor. Finally I have upgraded the wiring to good quality 2,5mm2 speaker cable. Not shown is, that I also changed the damping material behind the woofer to a different type to get a bit more/better damping of the back wave.

Also, I put some castors under it, small ones in the back and bigger ones in front to tilt the cabinet back. This also help give more clarity... The result is a cabinet that has more clarity, is even more neutral sounding and has much better power handling because the 10" driver is not pushed so hard. These cabinet are really good quality, so spending a bit of time upgrading them is worth it for sure.

 

[Shinbone]

After a little more digging, I found it. It was mounted to the back of the cab underneath all of the baffling. I can see now why it was not part of the crossover board. It's kind of big.

 

[Shinbone]

Thanks Morten_B. Those are good suggestions. I think I will replace that cap with a lower value.

 

[rpsands]

This is big

 

[Morten_B]

Thanks Morten_B. Those are good suggestions. I think I will replace that cap with a lower value.

You're welcome! And remember that the quality of the cap matters in this position.