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Speaker of the Century Award Goes To ....

The 2.5 way speaker.


You guys probably thought I was going to fanboy over a brand, and I'm not. I'm going to fanboy over a speaker design. IMHO the 2.5 way speaker is THE ideal high end speaker for the majority of enthusiasts.


First, what is a 2.5 way? It is a speaker with 3 drivers, but the mid range lacks a high pass filter, so  it shares output with the woofer.  It has a number of advantages over smaller and larger speakers:
  • Similar footprint to stand mounted 2-way speakers
  • Ideal bass output for apartments and modest homes
  • Easier to integrate than big speakers
  • No subwoofer
  • High sensitivity compared to a 2-way using similar drivers
  • Reasonably priced


A number of brands have taken this approach including:
  • Focal
  • Joseph
  • Monitor Audio
  • DIY kits like the Klang Ton Ophelia, and Zaph Audio

So for the average enthusiast who is not a San Francisco billionaire I argue here (for the sake of an argument) that the 2.5 way speaker should be considered one of the great technical innovations in terms of users and results.
erik_squires

Showing 2 responses by douglas_schroeder

douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
My answer to the original post is: None 
In order to be a "speaker of the century" it would have to be a lot better than anything currently being manufactured. There are so many wonderful transducers, it would have to show dominant superiority, and currently there is no such technology.  Imo, a 2.5 way is a nonstarter for such an award.  YMMV  

douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Play 110db, kiss your hearing goodbye. Or, maybe it already is gone. Not advisable. I can tell you that you certainly are getting plenty of distortion at 110dB. But, hey, if you like distortion... Some audiophiles think distortion sounds great. Not my idea of something an audiophile should boast about. It's like saying, "Look at how much distortion I can generate!"  :(
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