Living Voice OBX RW speakers have wonderful mids and do not have a dedicated midrange driver. It seems it comes down implementation. Seems no general rule applies and only listening will ultimately prove helpful. Duke makes great points above as usual for him.
2.5 or 3 way; why one over the other?
So, in my research, I see several well regarded Manufacturers making both 2.5 and 3 way speaker systems in the same product series. Often they are close in height (floorstanders) and footprint and presumably use comparable quality components. Please help me understand the pro's and con's as to why one would choose one over the other.
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Different approaches for different goals. Let's assume we're comparing at the same price point so that it's apples-to-apples in that respect at least. 2.5 way will typically move more air (play louder and/or have better bass) because more of your money is going into woofers, and you have two motors active down low where you need them the most. 3-way will typically have better mids because a dedicated midrange driver can usually do a better job on the mids than a midwoofer can, and may result in a better transition to the tweeter in the crossover region. This is an over-generalization of course. There are exceptions and the exceptions can be quite interesting. A single low-bass-only woofer that is relieved of midrange duty may go deeper than two midwoofers. Or perhaps a midwoofer is a better match for a particular tweeter than a smaller dedicated midrange driver would be. If there was a clear "best" format, everyone would be using it. But instead it's a juggling of tradeoffs. I don't use either one, unless you consider satellites + subs to be a 3-way. Duke |
tatyana gets my question. I appreciate all the info on the technical differences between 2, 2.5 and 3 way systems but I live far away from any place to audition speakers, let alone ones from several different manufacturers; so, when I see (in print) the description of any particular company's speaker systems in the same series (price point) and they have both a 2.5 and an 3 way, otherwise similar in size (may vary an inch or two in height) and construction, and a few dollars difference in price, what should I expect as a difference in sound between the two. In your collective experiences, why would one tend to prefer one over the other? A typical example is the Dynaudio Excite X34 and X36. |
Answer is simple , if specification say the use woofer , midrange, and tweeter , this is 3 way, If specification say they use 3 drivers ,but mention is 2 woofer with different cross point, or one woofer but 2 tweeters with different cross point , or regular tweeter and sypertweeter . this is 2.5 way. another configuration -woofer , widerange with no lowpass crossover , and sypertweeter is also considered 2.5 way, Some speaker designers looking for something different configuration ,but is better or not you have to decide using you best tool is you ear. But designers is not looking to make cheaper , just different. |
Not all 2.5 ways have identical woofer/mids by the way. Focal Profile 918's used two 6" drivers in a 2.5 way crossover but the top woofer had a smaller voice coil and had better high frequency extension. I disagree that 2.5 way speakers are designed because they are cheaper. I think they are good engineering trade-offs for a lot of rooms. |
@yogiboy In a 3-way the midrange has 2 filter sections. A high pass, and a low pass. In the case of a 2.5 way, the "midrange" is missing the high pass filter. That is exactly how you define the 2.5 way speaker system. The woofer and tweeter filters are otherwise the same in either. I'm not sure about Focal's current line up, but the Focal Profile 918's were an example of a 2.5 way. |
@erik_squires Take a look at this Spendor. Does the mid have a high pass filter? What Focal is a 2.5 way? Am I missing something? If so please explain? Thanks! https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/94323/Spendor-Spendor_D7_Stereo_Speakers-Speakers |
@larstusor With a 2.5 speaker the woofer and mid range are the same size. With a three way speaker the woofer and mid range are a different size. They both have two crossovers. I have owned Spendor 2.5 way speakers and they were outstanding. From what I gather that is the difference between the two types! |
Unless you really need to go very low and play your music very loud, large scale music at near concert level, great 2 way floorstanders that do 30hz well is all that's needed for a medium size room. One tweeter and 8" woofer. And great source and electronics. And wall current and cables. Speakers should be as simple as possible in terms of parts and wires. Building cabinets and tuning speakers is a different matter. Can't answer your question, though, your ears should tell you which ones to get. |
Width and sensitivity are two attributes that come to mind. 2.5 ways are often narrower, deeper than a 2 -way, but also have more output per volt. In some ways I think they are the ideal apartment dweller’s speaker. The extra woofer helps overcome the "baffle step compensation" issue, but they do tend to have a little lower impedance as well. |
Thanks for the link but the info there doesn't really speak to my question. I understand that a better quality 2 way system may well sound better than a lesser quality 3 way. I was asking about systems from the same manufacturer, in the same product line series, presumably using the same quality drivers, crossovers and other components, and having a modest difference in price. What, typically are the differences that would tend to cause you to choose a 2 or 2.5 over a 3 way, or visa versa? |
Friend Please take a look at this article: https://www.proaudioland.com/news/2-way-versus-3-way-speaker-systems/ . It is all about how the information (Lows, Miss, Highs) sent to the Loudspeaker is reproduced. The crossover basically assigns specific frequencies to specific drivers in the Loudspeaker cabinet. Three way designs tend to cost more due to the level of sophistication required to get it right and result in a better performance; however, not all three way designs sound great - so you must audition for yourself before spending Money. |