The tweeters on the LCR are mounted on pivoting sub-enclosures to adjust
the tweeters for the height of the listening position. The LCR centers are
equipped with adjustable feet that allow the entire enclosure to be pivoted
in the vertical axis. The LCRs were provided with custom pedestals, with the
same high quality MDF construction and finish. The pedestals are sand or
lead shot-fillable,
and are secured to the speakers with four large threaded knobs. The LCRs alone
are quite compact for a speaker of this performance level, and could easily
be integrated into a theater rather than used with the pedestals.
The LCR center can also be used with a pedestal, but my modest 37" LCD
panel was mounted too low to use a pedestal with the very large LCR Center.
I used a couple of cinder blocks to raise the center channel to the proper
height for the review.
All three of these speakers use the highest quality
of parts in their crossovers, visible behind aluminum trim plates over the
binding posts. The three Platinum LCR speakers make up the majority of the
system cost, and it is easy to see why.
The Platinum PowerSub uses a single 18" woofer in a large, sealed enclosure
built to the same standards as the other Platinum products. A removable
fabric grille protects the driver. Self-leveling rubber isolation feet are
mounted to the cabinet. Connection to the Triad amplifier is provided by two
high quality five-way binding posts recessed into the cabinet bottom. The
included Rack Amp1000 is a 1000W (into 4 Ohms) rack mountable mono amplifier
with adjustable gain, crossover frequency, and phase (0 or 180 degrees).
The amp has line-level inputs and outputs to allow running multiple amps
from a single subwoofer input. Either a mono subwoofer input or full range
stereo inputs are usable. The amp is in a very nice black, anodized,
machined, and extruded aluminum case, with a trim panel that bolts on,
covering all switches and adjustments, save the power switch. The amp never
ran hot, even when running the system at ludicrous SPL.
The Silver Monitor loudspeakers used as rear channels are Triad's
midrange "Bookshelf" type speaker. They use a pair of custom 5 1/4"
midranges and a custom 1" fabric dome tweeter. While one could use a set of
Platinum LCRs as rear speakers, this would only be justified if the customer
were interested in multi-channel high definition audio. The Silver Monitors
share the same construction techniques as the Platinum series, but are built
with a simpler cabinet made of thinner MDF.
While made of lighter materials, the Silver Monitors still weighed in at
a hefty 34 pounds each. I mounted them on the back wall of my listening room
using wall mounted shelves rather than my usual Vantage Point ceiling
brackets due to their considerable weight. Had I more time in the review
period, I would have liked to listen to these speakers alone as the monitors
they were designed to be. It was a bit unfortunate to relegate a $4,000/pair
monitor to rear channel duty.
With speakers of this mass (the shipping weight of the full system was more
than 600 pounds, packing deserves a special note. All the very heavy speakers
(LCRs) were shipped on CNC machined MDF sleds with built-in handles and
bonded foam packing. The sleds were invaluable for removing and especially
re-packing these very heavy speakers. It's this sort of attention to detail
that put these loudspeakers into an elite class.
Click Here to Go to Part III.