Whats better a 2 way speaker or a 4 way speaker


I am having an argument with a friend about this. I say fewer drivers and less complicated speakers will make for a purer sound and less kind of distortions. Plus the crossover network having to work extra hard with 4 speakers.

He says the 4 ways will give a fuller sound and fill the room more up. He says the bass extention will be better and will play louder. I told him you could get a sub for the 2 ways to fill in the lower notes. He said that is less accurate than having the speakers built into the cabinet.
I say with fewer speakers there are less distortions and less resonance. I know there is not an easy answer to this question but any Imput would be appreciated.
taters

Showing 1 response by ngjockey

If you're comparing mini monitors to towers, your friend is generally right on most counts.

2-ways have the advantage of less phase shift caused by large value inductors required for the lower crossover frequencies. 2-ways lose some efficiency with a L-R network for diffraction loss but that's no different than padding down a midrange/tweeter to match a less efficient woofer. That's where the .5 comes in for 2.5-ways but that usually still has that big coil for parallel drivers.

Having recently completed a 4 foot tall, 2.5 way, series/parallel with 4 XBL^ woofers per side, that part about the fuller sound is only a generalization. And they're an easy load with high efficiency. There are some 7' tall 2-ways with dozens of drivers and some of those can fill a stadium.

Your friend is also wrong about the subs. A well designed and placed subwoofer can actually be easier to integrate into the room and subwoofer drivers can do deeper bass in smaller cabinets that's beyond capable with wide range woofers. The problem is that the satellites usually don't have a high pass and still contribute distortion as they try to do what they are poorly suited.