The design concept (single driver, multiple driver/planar, horn, dynamic, etc.) is not important. It is the execution of the design concept in the design control, design transfer, and manufacturing process that is critical to sound quality. Each design concept will have unique characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses which we may be more or less sensitive to. For example, I have never warmed up to the sound of any single driver speaker I have heard, but do acknowledge their exceptional coherence through the range they reproduce. I have heard multi driver speakers where I hear each driver’s characteristic (not a good thing) and others that are as coherent as single driver speakers, but extending further in both ends of the frequency spectrum. The conclusion, there is no right or wrong. It depends on execution of the design intent and our personal sound quality preferences.
Single way or multiway
The founder and builder of the highly respected high-end speaker company Gauder Akustik, Dr. Gauder, says that using a full-range driver is very bad. He uses 3- to 4-way speakers with extremely complex 10th-order crossovers consisting of 58–60 components.
In contrast, some other well-known and equally respected speaker companies — such as Voxativ, Zu, Cube Audio, and Totem — use crossoverless designs.
Who is right, and who is wrong?