Which is better: 2 way, 3 way or 4 way speaker??

[Luvin Da Blues]

I thought that was what you wanted in a girl friend

Of course but as long as something goes down around here Imma happy guy.

[Doc Sage]

It is difficult to design a single speaker that covers the complete range of the human hearing. Possible but expensive. So a combination of units are normaly used to reproduce the desired sound range and a crossover is needed to separate the octaves that are to be send to this or that unit.

But crossover adds distortion (back to this nasty bit later) and being that we hear much better in the 1000 to 5000 Hz (vibration per seconds) range just where a 2 way speaker system would have it, some designers went to a three way (or more) system. Not only will you have a tweeter to reproduce the higher sounds better, you will have a woofer for the lows and maybe a mid (we older folks may remember the term "squawker") for...well, the mids.

So where does a "sub woofer" comes from? Well as the name state, it lives below the woofer. You can not have a subwoofer if you are without a woofer to begin with.

Now, not only do we have a number of distortions created by the crossover, we have more problems matching the various speakers sound qualities, keeping to sound waves emited by each units in sink with each others and dealing with more vibrations coming from the box that contain all of the above.

This is where the "art" of building a truly great speaker system begins. Do I use a single unit and avoid the crossover's nasty distortions? Keep to a two way and have a simplier crossover? Go for a three way and avoid the area where our ear hears the best? Have a big box that may extend the low notes? Keep it small to minimize vibrations generated by the box? What is best?

Have fun finding the best speaker for your listening needs.

Doc Sage

[bfalls]

It is difficult to design a single speaker that covers the complete range of the human hearing. Possible but expensive. So a combination of units are normaly used to reproduce the desired sound range and a crossover is needed to separate the octaves that are to be send to this or that unit.

Doc Sage

Are there actually single speakers which will reproduce full-range (20Hz-20KHz) +/-3db? I've seen many single driver speakers declare they're full-range, only to read the specs and see their ranges listed as, for example 40Hz-17,500Hz +/- 3db. Being over 50, this probably isn't a big issue for me, but to someone (younger) who can hear full-range, they may feel a bit cheated.

The physics involved say a 1" driver will never be able to reproduce 20Hz, or a 12" driver reproduce 20KHz, so there will always be a compromise, either in freq. response, dispersion or level. This is where multiple drivers and xovers come into play. A good engineer will use appropriate numbers of drivers, design box/panel and xover to minimize the compromises. Some may have better mid-range, but boomy bass, excellent frequency response, but poor power handling. This is where the big money comes into play designing custom drivers and cabinets using exotic materials and designing intricate xovers. This is also where diminishing returns on investment also come into play.

I have a pair of Legacy Focus 7-driver 4-way speakers ($6800). I also have a pair of Klipsch Kg4 3-driver+passive 2-way speakers ($600). The Legacys are definitely a better speaker, but are they $6300 better? Maybe? (there's no substitute for 6 12" woofers for HT). Both are excellent speakers. Both will always have a place in my media room.

[E-Stat]

Are there actually single speakers which will reproduce full-range (20Hz-20KHz) +/-3db?

When you don't limit the discussion to dynamic drivers, the answer is yes if you adjust your cutoff to 25 hz. In room bass response (yes, there is some room gain) of my Sound Lab U-1s is flat to 25 hz where it disappears below that. It is a full range electrostat with about 15 square feet of 2.5 micron diaphragm per speaker. While they are not ideal for HT playback of planets exploding, they do a fine job at reproducing music at levels up to 90 db. High SPLs can be achieved with this type of speaker, but you would need to put together a suitably large array like Ray Kimber has demonstrated at RMAF.

rw

[ken88]

From what I understand after reading your great comments, the number of drivers have nothing to do with a single/2 way/3 way, etc, system, meaning a speaker can have, for example, a 2 way system and at the same time has 7 drivers. Is my understanding correct?

Which brands are better in terms of good engineering going into the research & development of the final products? How would one rate these brands. I understand that this is so subjective and everyone has a preferred brand. Taking everything equal, which brands would rate higher than others?? I often hear that Japanese speakers would always rate inferior to American, Canadian and European. Is that true?? On the other hand, Japanese hi-fi equipment, like receivers, TV's, blue-ray players are always rated very highly. Is that so? Thanks.

[E-Stat]

From what I understand after reading your great comments, the number of drivers have nothing to do with a single/2 way/3 way, etc, system, meaning a speaker can have, for example, a 2 way system and at the same time has 7 drivers. Is my understanding correct?

Yes. Roger Russell's equalized IDS-25 line array employs twenty five drivers per speaker in a one-way design. The exceptional Scaena 1.4 is a three way design using twelve ribbon tweeters, fifteen midrange drivers and two subs per channel. I heard a pair driven by VTL Siegfrieds. They offer jaw dropping performance.

Which brands are better in terms of good engineering going into the research & development of the final products? How would one rate these brands.

There are quite a few very good companies making wonderful speakers. It all boils down to your set of priorities and budget!

I often hear that Japanese speakers would always rate inferior to American, Canadian and European. Is that true??

As with American brands, there are the mass market flavors and the niche market players. While I've never been fond of the mid-fi Japanese product, they do make some nice higher end stuff be it dynamic, horn or electrostat.

On the other hand, Japanese hi-fi equipment, like receivers, TV's, blue-ray players are always rated very highly. Is that so? Thanks.

As a rule, yes. Don't get too bogged down with such hard rules.

rw