ResonantLive Sound Archive

Equipment file · Four-way touring loudspeaker

S-4F

Clair Brothers · 1974 (S-4); 1982 (Series II / S-4F)

Evidence status · documented

Identity and core specifications are documented; some historical fields remain unavailable.

The Clair S-4, designed by Gene Clair with Stan Shaak, was Clair's first all-in-one four-way box, debuting in January 1974 in Japan and Hong Kong. It held two 18-inch bass drivers, four 10-inch mids and HF and super-HF horns in a roughly 420-pound cabinet sized two-wide for a US trailer. The 1982 Series II (S-4F) added a composite back and aluminium corners for rigging.

Introduced
1974 (S-4); 1982 (Series II / S-4F)
Category
Four-way touring loudspeaker
Intended use
Flown and stacked concert sound
Production
Built in-house by Clair Brothers

Equipment photographs · 6

Clair S4 Series II — front with grille removed

1 / 6 · Clair S4 Series II — front with grille removed

Clair S4 Series II — front with grille removed·Clair Global / CLAIR Used Gear·© Clair Global; used for identification and historical commentary

Why it mattered

  1. 01

    It was the first widely used all-in-one four-way touring box, letting companies build arrays from one repeatable block.

  2. 02

    The S-4 family stayed in Clair's inventory for decades.

Engineering record

Drivers
Two 18-inch, four 10-inch, HF horn drivers and two JBL 2405 super-tweeters[1]
Series II
Composite back and extruded aluminium corners (1982); F standard throw, P long throw[1][2]

Original pricing

No reliable period price located

2026 equivalent

Not calculated without a reliable original price.

Public price evidence was not sufficient to publish a defensible original figure.

Use in the field

Debuted January 1974 in Japan and Hong Kong with the Moody Blues, Elton John and Rod Stewart & the Faces[1]

Series II S-4s formed Clair's stadium system for The Who's 1989 North American tour[2]

Professional reactions

Release-period reaction · January 1990

Borthwick described the S-4 Series II goal as better sound for every ticket holder with less hanging and trucking weight. The familiar cabinet exterior concealed a redesign of all its internal parts.

Ron Borthwick, Clair engineering team spokespersonThe Who’s 1989 stadium system; contemporary RE/P article reprinted in 2025. Designer’s account, not an independent review. · Manufacturer representative in trade interview · Paraphrased account[3]ProSoundWeb (reprint of Recording Engineer/Producer) · RE/P Files: Behind The Scenes On The Systems For The Who On Tour In 1989 (originally Recording Engineer/Producer, January 1990)

Manuals & original documents

No authoritative manual or original document has been located for this profile.

Sources

  1. 150th anniversary of the Clair S-4Clair Global · archive · 2024-12-10
  2. 2RE/P Files: Behind The Scenes On The Systems For The Who On Tour In 1989ProSoundWeb (RE/P reprint) · case study
  3. 3RE/P Files: Behind The Scenes On The Systems For The Who On Tour In 1989 (originally Recording Engineer/Producer, January 1990)ProSoundWeb (reprint of Recording Engineer/Producer) · interview · January 1990

Contribute to the record

Know more about S-4F?

Corrections, firsthand information, original documents, and credited photograph sources are welcome.

Your email is private and will not appear in the archive. Contributions are not published automatically.

Back to all equipment Back to The modular touring machine

Help build the archive

A missing piece? A correction?

Contribute to Resonant

Support the archive

Resonant is built one verified record at a time: research hours, archival image rights, and the hosting that keeps every era, equipment file, and citation free to read. If this archive is useful to you, a donation of any size keeps the next entry moving.

How donations are used
Venmo@mercer-aplinOpen Venmo, tap the pay field, type the handle, then send any amount.Send any amount · no account needed to viewCash App$MercerAplinOpen Cash App, tap the $cashtag field, type the tag, then send any amount.Send any amount · no account needed to view

Payments go directly to the archive’s editor through Venmo and Cash App. Resonant is an independent project rather than a registered charity, so donations are not tax-deductible and nothing is sold or subscribed to in return.