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
Does "full range" really mean anything?
OK, what's up with all the people who list as "full range" speakers that, by the manufacturer's own inflated spec sheets, do not claim to be full range? Speakers that only go down to 45 or 50 hz? And if we're gonna fudge the meaning of "full range" doesn't it make more sense to fudge it on the high end, since most people, especially people over 30, can't hear to 20,000hz anyway? I've recently checked my 47-year-old ears and discovered that I'm no longer hearing anything above about 16,000hz. But I'm hearing low-end just fine. I've also been studying the ads here for full-range speakers, waiting for a reasonably priced pair to come available. But I find that most ads for speakers are not, in fact, for full range speakers. Is this just semantics?