2 way vs 3 way

[MrBoat]

I think that best is 1 way - full range speaker withou crossovers. Crossovers make phase shift between speaker drivers. Full range speakers makes full details, excellent localization and spaciousness of musical instruments.
It depends on construction of Horn cabinet

I'm certainly not going to discount what you are claiming because it may be true. It seems as if the space and the equipment that processes it would have to be designed accordingly as well. Inevitably, some corrections are going to have to be made somewhere, likely starting with the recording method and the collection/input equipment itself. My first car had a single, one way driver mounted in the dash. First thing I did was get a good receiver with more power and put a better driver in place of the factory unit. It sounded better but not great. A coaxial speaker made it sound better yet. Ultimately, it was the addition of two coaxials in the rear that made it nice.

Somehow, somewhere you're going to pay the money. In your case, it is probably the horn itself. Whenever I hear of such a blanketed statement, and everything aligns with the theories and the technological aspects of these situations, when it comes time to have it proven to me, of all things, it ends up being the proponents selection of music that becomes the limiting factor. In other words, it's perfect as long as I want to reproduce classical music out of a concert hall or an amphitheater, perhaps. AC/DC or Judas Priest, not so much.

 

[ski2xblack]

I think that best is 1 way - full range speaker withou crossovers.

This is a good start. I think if you follow it through, logically or by playing with actual speakers, and are willing to acknowledge the limitations of "full range" drivers, you'll come to see it more as a compelling argument for active speakers than for full range drivers themselves. You may want to scroll back up thread and read TLS' post, he covered this ground already, and rather thoroughly.

 

[j_garcia]

2, 2.5, 3, etc... the goal is the same IMO: Reproduce the range desired as if it was ONE speaker, regardless of how many drivers. So how a particular designer decides to get there is up to them, but a speaker should be designed to be a theoretically seamless unit.

 

[Bucknekked]

when it comes time to have it proven to me, of all things, it ends up being the proponents selection of music that becomes the limiting factor. In other words, it's perfect as long as I want to reproduce classical music out of a concert hall or an amphitheater, perhaps. AC/DC or Judas Priest, not so much.

MrBoat: two thumbs up. I often wonder about the differences between our home sound reproduction systems. Is it a flat playing field? (ie once you get your system up to a certain level of performance it will play any type of musical content equally well) Or, are systems skewed and will play certain types of music better and other types of music less well? I have a few opinions, but I certainly have no facts.

If systems are not able to play all types of music equally well, this may explain a lot of the bitchin' and moanin' we hear from owners who seem to be constantly upgrading and changing components searching for the perfect sound. It would make sense to me that certain setups would be dynamite for classical music and the concert hall performance. TLS Guy seems to have his stuff dialed in to reproduce that genre of music. MrBoat is attracted to another spectrum of music and has his system properly skewed to make it sound great. I would accept MrBoat's suggestion that a particular audio system can be made to reproduce certain types of music better than others by the choices made in the components.

I love the story of the radio speaker in the dash of his first car. My very first car was a 1963 Plymouth Valiant. Single speaker in the dash. Pushbutton radio. The car was the very definition of a piece of sh$%^. But it was my first car and shall live in the halls of legend (in my mind only).

 

[ski2xblack]

Well sorted systems don't favor genres so much as good production quality. GIGO.

TLS' rig seems more like an audio holodeck, carefully designed down to the smallest detail in order to audibly re-created his favorite music as it was performed in his favorite venues, but I'm sure it would have MrBoat playing the air drums were he jamming out to his tunes in there.

MrBoat's rig is more akin to a production room, with big, well designed, and rather mercilessly revealing monitors, arranged so local acoustics don't mess things up too much. Seems a good fit for analyzing the evolution of certain favorite bassists over the years, while bringing the uninhibited dynamics of real music that inspires those air drum sessions. His rig would probably do classical music justice, too.

 

[Bucknekked]

Well sorted systems don't favor genres so much as good production quality. GIGO.

TLS' rig seems more like an audio holodeck, carefully designed down to the smallest detail in order to audibly re-created his favorite music as it was performed in his favorite venues, but I'm sure it would have MrBoat playing the air drums were he jamming out to his tunes in there.

MrBoat's rig is more akin to a production room, with big, well designed, and rather mercilessly revealing monitors, arranged so local acoustics don't mess things up too much. Seems a good fit for analyzing the evolution of certain favorite bassists over the years, while bringing the uninhibited dynamics of real music that inspires those air drum sessions. His rig would probably do classical music justice, too.

ski2xblack:
I can appreciate your view of our installed systems as well. If its good quality stuff from source to speaker, it should be able to play different genres equally well. Should is a powerful word.

Should is one of the words that keeps us investing in new gear, new gadgets and new music.

 

[Verdinut]

2, 2.5, 3, etc... the goal is the same IMO: Reproduce the range desired as if it was ONE speaker, regardless of how many drivers. So how a particular designer decides to get there is up to them, but a speaker should be designed to be a theoretically seamless unit.

And one of the major factors for a seamless frequency rendition are well designed crossovers. Otherwise, even if you have the best transducers, you won't get a good performance.

 

[MrBoat]

MrBoat: two thumbs up. I often wonder about the differences between our home sound reproduction systems. Is it a flat playing field? (ie once you get your system up to a certain level of performance it will play any type of musical content equally well) Or, are systems skewed and will play certain types of music better and other types of music less well? I have a few opinions, but I certainly have no facts.

If systems are not able to play all types of music equally well, this may explain a lot of the bitchin' and moanin' we hear from owners who seem to be constantly upgrading and changing components searching for the perfect sound. It would make sense to me that certain setups would be dynamite for classical music and the concert hall performance. TLS Guy seems to have his stuff dialed in to reproduce that genre of music. MrBoat is attracted to another spectrum of music and has his system properly skewed to make it sound great. I would accept MrBoat's suggestion that a particular audio system can be made to reproduce certain types of music better than others by the choices made in the components.

I love the story of the radio speaker in the dash of his first car. My very first car was a 1963 Plymouth Valiant. Single speaker in the dash. Pushbutton radio. The car was the very definition of a piece of sh$%^. But it was my first car and shall live in the halls of legend (in my mind only).

You have to give a thumbs up to the engineers who designed the 3 way speakers/systems during what is considered perhaps, the worst decade in audio design. They managed to make relatively affordable systems, that pretty much did everything. . . . well enough.

 

[MrBoat]

Well sorted systems don't favor genres so much as good production quality. GIGO.

TLS' rig seems more like an audio holodeck, carefully designed down to the smallest detail in order to audibly re-created his favorite music as it was performed in his favorite venues, but I'm sure it would have MrBoat playing the air drums were he jamming out to his tunes in there.

MrBoat's rig is more akin to a production room, with big, well designed, and rather mercilessly revealing monitors, arranged so local acoustics don't mess things up too much. Seems a good fit for analyzing the evolution of certain favorite bassists over the years, while bringing the uninhibited dynamics of real music that inspires those air drum sessions. His rig would probably do classical music justice, too.

It does classical and jazz nearly stand alone and without EQ. That is a good foundation for a speaker, I think. Everything else can be adjusted to fit from there on out.