I have owned Lamhorns, Beauhorns, C&C Abbys, C&C Bens, Tonian TL-D1s, and 2nd Rethms. The two speakers I occasionally miss quite a bit in that bunch are the Lamhorns and Tonians - both have qualities that are quite remarkable and really set them apart.
But I have moved on to multi-driver speakers, chasing real-world performance instead of theory. While some wideband-drivers (a better general term for the genre than "single-driver" IMO) speakers are indeed very good, IME all have some Achilles heel. (Then again, to get a speaker with truly no real weaknesses is hugely expensive.)
On the theoretical side, the fact is that there is some misinformation that is regularly repeated. To start with, a wideband driver with a whizzer is not "crossover-less" - it has a mechanical crossover. Obviously there is a point where frequencies transition from the main cone to the whizzer.
Secondly, even with a whizzer most wideband drivers are producing some of the range via cone breakup. That doesn't necessarily have to be regarded as "bad"; it is what it is. This has to do with the commonly rising response (which some wideband drivers DO avoid!) and somewhat ragged frequency response. (Smart shoppers realize they are trading flat frequency response for generally better dynamics and drivability.)
I have found that a well-implemented two-or-three way with well-chosen crossover points can be very nearly as "direct" as a wideband driver but without the weaknesses, which range from mild to glaring.
But I have moved on to multi-driver speakers, chasing real-world performance instead of theory. While some wideband-drivers (a better general term for the genre than "single-driver" IMO) speakers are indeed very good, IME all have some Achilles heel. (Then again, to get a speaker with truly no real weaknesses is hugely expensive.)
On the theoretical side, the fact is that there is some misinformation that is regularly repeated. To start with, a wideband driver with a whizzer is not "crossover-less" - it has a mechanical crossover. Obviously there is a point where frequencies transition from the main cone to the whizzer.
Secondly, even with a whizzer most wideband drivers are producing some of the range via cone breakup. That doesn't necessarily have to be regarded as "bad"; it is what it is. This has to do with the commonly rising response (which some wideband drivers DO avoid!) and somewhat ragged frequency response. (Smart shoppers realize they are trading flat frequency response for generally better dynamics and drivability.)
I have found that a well-implemented two-or-three way with well-chosen crossover points can be very nearly as "direct" as a wideband driver but without the weaknesses, which range from mild to glaring.