Bump start this thread as I have just come across it
My take on 2.5 ways is that the benefits are only if using roughly 5.5" driver size. Plus points- covering 400hz and below is covered by the surface area of 2 drivers. So baritone vocal range can be surprisingly good with 2.5ways. Also as 2 drivers share bass duties the top midbass driver has less work to do (no bsc) compared to a 2 way and mids will benefit. Still, a 3 way is better in this respect.
Also cab size is kept compact. I dont like the term ’WAF’ but a small footprint with good bass output is attractive.
One disadvantage is a sometimes boomy bass which requires bringing the speakers out into the room. Which kind of defeats the purpose of compact and room friendly. This is due to the 6db gain from the bottom woofer. Typical room gain adds around 2db lift at lower frequencies, so the baffle step compensation of adding .5 woofer can often be too much.
Hence surprised we dont see more sealed design 2.5 ways imo.
My take on 2.5 ways is that the benefits are only if using roughly 5.5" driver size. Plus points- covering 400hz and below is covered by the surface area of 2 drivers. So baritone vocal range can be surprisingly good with 2.5ways. Also as 2 drivers share bass duties the top midbass driver has less work to do (no bsc) compared to a 2 way and mids will benefit. Still, a 3 way is better in this respect.
Also cab size is kept compact. I dont like the term ’WAF’ but a small footprint with good bass output is attractive.
One disadvantage is a sometimes boomy bass which requires bringing the speakers out into the room. Which kind of defeats the purpose of compact and room friendly. This is due to the 6db gain from the bottom woofer. Typical room gain adds around 2db lift at lower frequencies, so the baffle step compensation of adding .5 woofer can often be too much.
Hence surprised we dont see more sealed design 2.5 ways imo.