In some ways, selling speakers is a bit like selling men's suits. Sure, you need to keep plenty of choices on hand so you can cater to a wide range of tastes and budgets. But you don't want to get stuck with a bunch of items in, say, mauve, which you're going to stay stuck with for years. The solution to this dilemma for men's clothing is a tailor, who can create custom garments to order that meet your exact specifications. And for speakers, there's Triad, which aims to provide a similar level of personal customization.
As such, Triad has focused on selling through custom installers rather than traditional retail stores. Installers typically don't keep gear in their inventory, preferring to special-order what the customer requests, whether it's black or rosewood (or even mauve). Taking this thinking a step further, Triad doesn't keep finished products on hand either, relying instead on a streamlined production chain that can go from a work order to shipped speakers in less than a week. This way, everyone gets precisely what he or she wants, as long as they're willing to hang tight for a bit.
Triad divides its speakers into four basic performance levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. And at each level, the company offers both in-wall and freestanding models, including main left, center, and right speakers as well as surround models and, of course, subwoofers. I decided to evaluate a system at the Gold level, and as this wasn't a permanent installation, I naturally chose the freestanding and on-wall versions.
The InRoom Gold LCR is a hefty three-way, four-driver design with a commanding presence in the room, especially when perched on the matching pedestal that visually continues its lines to the floor. Although the finish and construction quality are truly first-rate, these are pretty conventional-looking rectangular boxes in their styling, with the perforated-black-metal grilles adding just a touch of high-tech. As with all Triad speakers, the Gold LCR uses an acoustic-suspension enclosure and drivers from SEAS that include a pair of metal-cone woofers and a soft-dome tweeter. Since the speakers weigh 61 pounds each, not including the pedestal, you'd be forgiven for thinking they must be fashioned from solid granite. But most of this heft comes from the extensive crossbracing used to make the medium-density-fiberboard enclosures as stiff as possible.
The matching InRoom Gold Center speaker is nearly identical to the LCR, but the orientation of the tweeter and midrange drivers is rotated 90° to optimize the dispersion for horizontal placement. Although the near disappearance of CRT TVs makes it less of an issue, it's worth noting that these speakers aren't magnetically shielded.
For the rear, I used a pair of the OnWall Gold Surrounds, which feature a shallow, wall-hugging, seven-driver design. Because the speaker incorporates an array of two midrange drivers and a soft dome tweeter angled toward the front of the room, along with an identical but inverted-phase array angled toward the back, you end up with the diffuse dispersion pattern common to dipole speakers. However, these arrays are mated with a single 8-inch woofer, so you get notably more extended bass than is typical with full dipoles.
These are all imposingly substantial speakers, but it's clear that their performance has been tuned primarily for high sensitivity and power handling rather than extended bass, making it essential to supplement them with an equally capable subwoofer. The InRoom Gold PowerSub, with its big 15-inch cone, differs from most of its genre in being a passive model that you drive with a dedicated amplifier, the RackAmp 500. (There's also a self-amplified version, albeit with half the power.) For larger installations, Triad suggests using a pair of PowerSubs — although in my room, such a move might be seen as overkill bordering on decadence. The 500-watt amp includes the crossover, phase, and level controls you'd normally expect to see on a sub, along with a crossover-bypass option.
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The Short Form
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| Price $11,250 / triadspeakers.com / 800-666-6316 |
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Snapshot
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| Though clearly tailored to make its biggest impression with movie soundtracks, this smooth- and powerful-sounding system doesn't disappoint with music sources. |
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Plus
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| •Custom-made system that can handle any music or movie you can throw at it •Dizzying array of models and finishes •Unfatiguing, comfortable tonal balance |
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Minus
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| •Basic, humdrum styling •As with a tailor-made suit, it ain't cheap. |
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Key Features
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| InRoom Gold LCR ($1,900 each) with pedestal ($250 each) •1-in dome tweeter; 5.5-in midrange; (2) 8.5-in woofers; 29 in high, 22.8 in high (pedestal); 61 lb, 32 lb (pedestal) InRoom Gold Center ($1,900) •1-in dome tweeter; 5.5-in midrange; (2) 8.5-in woofers; 29 in wide; 61 lb OnWall Gold Surround ($1,500 each) •(2) 1-in fabric-dome tweeters; (4) 3-in midranges; 8-in woofer; 26.8 in high; 22 lb InRoom Gold PowerSub with RackAmp 500 ($2,050) •15-in driver; 500-watt continuous amplifier; 17.3 x 18.1 x 15.8 in; 74 lb |
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Test Bench
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| Measurements showed the LCR to be fairly directional, meaning that highs roll off more quickly as the listener moves off-axis; measured on-axis, they fell off at 2 to 3 dB per octave above 4 kHz. The Center was completely free of the off-axis lobing common to most horizontal centers, and the Surround displayed the on-axis null common to dipoles. The PowerSub was among the most powerful subs I’ve tested in years, delivering 110 dB SPL or more at every frequency above 25 Hz. — Tom Nousaine Full Lab Results |
MUSIC PERFORMANCE
This is a smooth- and powerful-sounding system. As you'd expect, the LCR and Center speakers exhibit a superb timbral match — although the overall sound is balanced to err slightly on the warm side of neutral, rather than providing the hyper detail you sometimes get from speakers. Starting off in two-channel listening with Blues for Thought by Terry Evans, I was struck by how well the LCRs were able to generate a soundstage that was focused both between and well behind the speakers. Evans's voice was clear and articulate, while Jim Keltner's tight and punchy drum kit sounded clean and dynamic.
Even though I often prefer direct-radiating surround speakers for multichannel music, the SACD of the Who's Tommy sounded great on this system. Pete Townshend's six-channel mix keeps most of the action in the front, with the surrounds used mostly for ambience, along with the occasional percussion or guitar fill. The individual tonal quality of each guitar he used was plainly audible, and there were plenty of details I simply don't recall hearing on vinyl.
MOVIE PERFORMANCE
Many of Triad's design choices are geared toward home theater performance, so it's no surprise that this is where the Triad InRoom Gold home theater speaker system really comes into its own. Given sufficient power, it can play exceedingly loud, showing no distress with even the most active movies. The dynamic transients near the start of Over the Hedge, where Verne goes off exploring, kept me pinned against my seat; the ultra-deep rumbling bass in Chapter 18 of 300 had me preparing an explanation for my neighbors. Subtler material, such as the narration on 300, managed to combine both warmth and clarity. Even troublesome material such as the cancan scene in Moulin Rouge managed to not grate offensively. A slightly warmish tonal balance like this is often a good fit for many movies, while the subwoofer, with its sealed enclosure, delivered plenty of extended, tight, and articulate bass.
As with many dipoles, the OnWall Surrounds delivered an expansive sense of envelopment, even while their direct-radiating woofers gave the rear space a fuller sound than is typical. The overall effect was particularly cohesive, with superb continuity as sounds that panned across the front stage integrated well with the sense of surround.
BOTTOM LINE
In a world of off-the-shelf, take-it-or-leave-it audio products, Triad's approach is refreshingly different. By offering both custom finishes and matching in-wall versions, these speakers let you include a powerful home theater — with an unfatiguing, warm, movie-friendly sound — in the most decorator-sensitive home. Even if the decorator insists on mauve.
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