Does "full range" really mean anything?

Well, if you think that the best speakers have to be bass limited, that's your perogative. I (and many others, I'm sure) would disagree.

For reference: My system has an elaborate subwoofer system so that LF capability is excellent. On the high end, my Maggies are as good or better than my ears. In my youth I used supertweeters.

However, there is a good case to be made for deliberate restriction of bandwidth at both the high and low end. The most simple example is the "rumble" filter for LP playback. Only some music, some of the time, has signal content at subwoofer or supertweeter frequency. Whenever there is no signal, noise will intrude. At the very least this will soak up amplifier power, and may be audibly objectionable.

Ideally the bandwidth of the playback system should match the bandwidth of the audio signal, which means that it should vary. The most sophisticated realization of this concept was the Autocorrelator Dynamic Noise filter invented by Bob Carver, and sold by Phase Linear. It cut the LF gain when there was no LF signal, and cut gain in several high frequency bands when appropriate, using clever analysis of signal harmonics.

Such a device is not necessary if you have a clean signal to start with. One application which I had, where the signal was very noisy, was the rear channel signal of a LP based matrix multichannel setup. For example, all the rumble gets routed to the rears, and because of the way that LPs are mastered, there is little or no true LF in the rear signal. Carver's Autocorrelator performed miracles for this application.

Thanks for all the responses. I do find it ironic that most people who post ads and pay attention to these audiophile chats use the phrase "full range" for speakers that deliver high frequencies I can't hear anyway but do not deliver low frequencies that I CAN hear! They sure aren't speakers that cover MY full range! So, whether they accomplish their range with one driver or more, it would be more useful for me (and most other people, especially over 30) if speaker manufacturers started making speakers that, if they have to compromise, compromise on the high end, delivering response from, say, 20hz - 16khz. Are there any such speakers available? If not, I'm becoming convinced that I might find an improvement if I leave my 2-way speakers (8" woofers) for smaller 2-ways (maybe 5" midwoofer) with dedicated subwoofer. Is that right? If so, are there really reasonably priced MUSICAL subwoofers available? By "reasonable" I mean maybe $300. I'd really prefer just a pair of "MY full range" speakers because I have a small room and adding another cabinet (subwoofer) to it would be problematic. Thanks, Rich

Winegasman, I use stand mounted 2-way's with 5" mid-woofers (Sonus Faber Signum's) and a dedicated REL subwoofer. In my small dedicated room (17'x12'x avg.9'ceiling) I find 2-way monitors and a separate subwoofer to be the best combination for the music I enjoy (small scale classical, acoustic, vocals, jazz). My sub fills in the lower octaves that the 2-ways can't reach and the 2-ways are free to do what they do best in the mid-range and higher frequencies.

I haven't had a problem with sub integration that others fear (I believe it helps to use a forward firing subwoofer with a infinitely variable crossover and a Hi-level speaker connection).

I agree with the above post that you have be careful that you don't put too large a speaker in too small a room. Also, pay attention to speaker placement and room treatments to aid in achieving the flattest response. A "full-range" speaker isn't going to sound like much if the room is reinforcing some frequencies and not others to the detriment of flat response. In my room a separate subwoofer gave me more flexibilty in speaker placement and therefore, more control over flat frequency response. Best of Luck in your search for "full-range" sound.