"Remember, there is no substitute for a big-ass 4-way speaker!" -- Does this qualify?

Clair was pretty secretive about their S4's. The processor they built for it was (I've read) outstanding. They never switched over to a DSP as the analog one they built had better specs/ fidelity.

The drivers in the cabs are all proprietary. That is they "cherry picked" the components for each speaker. If you ever met an experienced re-coner, they can tailor the speaker to the application you want. So if it's an 18" driver they can use a different spider or surround than the stock factory configuration. The deal is you can say it's a JBL driver, but it's not a JBL you can buy off the shelf.

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Originally Posted by Radley

Clair was pretty secretive about their S4's. The processor they built for it was (I've read) outstanding. They never switched over to a DSP as the analog one they built had better specs/ fidelity.

The drivers in the cabs are all proprietary. That is they "cherry picked" the components for each speaker. If you ever met an experienced re-coner, they can tailor the speaker to the application you want. So if it's an 18" driver they can use a different spider or surround than the stock factory configuration. The deal is you can say it's a JBL driver, but it's not a JBL you can buy off the shelf.

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I may have access to an S4 'processor'. Do you know for sure whether, or not, it is a passive, or an active, 'black box'?

Any info would be really helpful.

Greg

The processor was active as far as I remember.

Allan.

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Originally Posted by cgregory4

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I'm considering rotating them 180 and trying them with the 2405s on the upper outsides. My listening position will only be about 20' from them, so not much horizontal dispersion is needed. I don't know what to expect from the horns wrt their effect. Is it similar to the 'cheek' effect? (4430s, etc.)

Greg

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Hi Greg,
Under such condition using in 90-deg position (mid-bass drivers array horizontally) would be OK, so try with all drivers activated. and the box 'inclined' towards the listening place

Regards
Ivica

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Originally Posted by Mike F

Unless the S4 Cannon/ITT EP-8 input connector is damaged, I would keep it. A suitable replacement would be something like a Neutrik NL8 which is readily available.
In either case, locate your terminal block distribution at the amplifier end.
If memory serves, the EP-8 pinout resembled a negative/positive
(odd pin/even pin) pair arrangement starting with Low>Mid>High.
The last pairs of pins were not used as the VHF section was passively crossed over from the High section.
Pay close attention to the series and parallel configurations of the drivers as well as their polarities
It`s been a while since I`ve been inside an S4 but there were passive crossover components in there and should not be messed with.

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I talked with an old Clair hand and then put together this 'first shot' -- much of which y'all have mentioned in your comments:

1. I will elevate the cabinets and position the casters 90 degrees from current, and rotate each cabinet -- one clockwise and one counterclockwise.

2. After rotating the slot drivers 90 degrees, I will have 2 mirror-image cabinets, with the woofers and mids horizontal, and slots upper right and left.

3. I will plug into the rear of the cabinets with EP8-11 inline female connectors and run 3 pairs to the amps.

4. Pins 1 and 2 should be minus and plus, respectively, for the woofers, which are in parallel as a 4 ohm load. I will use the subwoofer R/L outputs of my preamp, with a 250 cycle crossover.

5. Pins 3 and 4 are the same as above, but in a series/parallel configuration, for an 8 ohm load for the 4 mids.

6. Pins 5 and 6 are a mysterious combination of the slots and horns, but, according to the 'Dude' ;?) they should look like 8 ohms above a 1600 cycle crossover.

7. My preamp, or the dbx 481, will perform the crossover function for the mid and high amps.

8. I will use a CD player, the preamp, and 3 spare 250 watt/ch amps sitting on top of the huge cabinets. Turn the power on and listen. Go from there.

What do you think? A good first try? I would check the polarities of the pairs, but I don't know how to do that. I figure the 'scheme' I was given is dependable, and necessarily constant over the life of the several S4 iterations.

Thanks to all for your comments! :applaud:

Greg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cgregory4

I talked with an old Clair hand and then put together this 'first shot' -- much of which y'all have mentioned in your comments:

1. I will elevate the cabinets and position the casters 90 degrees from current, and rotate each cabinet -- one clockwise and one counterclockwise.

*If your elevating the cabinets, rotate them 180 degrees and maintain vertical alignment. No need to rotate 2405s.
You will have a "tweeter inside or outside" option that will depend on your listening position.

2. After rotating the slot drivers 90 degrees, I will have 2 mirror-image cabinets, with the woofers and mids horizontal, and slots upper right and left.

* Not a big fan of the horizontal alignment.

3. I will plug into the rear of the cabinets with EP8-11 inline female connectors and run 3 pairs to the amps.

*Check.

4. Pins 1 and 2 should be minus and plus, respectively, for the woofers, which are in parallel as a 4 ohm load. I will use the subwoofer R/L outputs of my preamp, with a 250 cycle crossover.

*Did Clair confirm the pin out? I seem to recall the reasoning behind that arrangement was due to the JBL polarity convention which would put the drivers in positive absolute polarity.

5. Pins 3 and 4 are the same as above, but in a series/parallel configuration, for an 8 ohm load for the 4 mids.

* Measure twice, wire once :D

6. Pins 5 and 6 are a mysterious combination of the slots and horns, but, according to the 'Dude' ;?) they should look like 8 ohms above a 1600 cycle crossover.

*Same convention. 2" compression drivers in parallel with slots via passive filters.

7. My preamp, or the dbx 481, will perform the crossover function for the mid and high amps.

*What about the woofers?

8. I will use a CD player, the preamp, and 3 spare 250 watt/ch amps sitting on top of the huge cabinets. Turn the power on and listen. Go from there.

*Placing any electronics on loudspeakers is never recommended.
Using pink noise as an initial source, start with the woofers and work your way up using low levels to begin with.

What do you think? A good first try? I would check the polarities of the pairs, but I don't know how to do that. I figure the 'scheme' I was given is dependable, and necessarily constant over the life of the several S4 iterations.

*What kind of passive filters have you found in there? Checking polarities on cone drivers is easy enough with a battery but more complicated with compression drivers and ring radiators.

Thanks to all for your comments! :applaud:

Greg

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I`ve commented within the quote ^^^^^