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Speaker of the Century Award Goes To ....

The 2.5 way speaker.


You guys probably thought I was going to fanboy over a brand, and I'm not. I'm going to fanboy over a speaker design. IMHO the 2.5 way speaker is THE ideal high end speaker for the majority of enthusiasts.


First, what is a 2.5 way? It is a speaker with 3 drivers, but the mid range lacks a high pass filter, so  it shares output with the woofer.  It has a number of advantages over smaller and larger speakers:
  • Similar footprint to stand mounted 2-way speakers
  • Ideal bass output for apartments and modest homes
  • Easier to integrate than big speakers
  • No subwoofer
  • High sensitivity compared to a 2-way using similar drivers
  • Reasonably priced


A number of brands have taken this approach including:
  • Focal
  • Joseph
  • Monitor Audio
  • DIY kits like the Klang Ton Ophelia, and Zaph Audio

So for the average enthusiast who is not a San Francisco billionaire I argue here (for the sake of an argument) that the 2.5 way speaker should be considered one of the great technical innovations in terms of users and results.
erik_squires

Showing 4 responses by tweak1

tweak1
3,685 posts
 
I live alone (no WAF),, I have owned Accoustat 2 + 2s, Genesis Vs (HPs own pair!), Nearfield Acoustics Pipe Dream prototype aimed at < $4k)  Magnepan 3.5Rs + 2 SVS subs. Other than the Gen Vs and  the Pipedreams (which although 6 ft rhey had ~ 8" face): I should have kept them! I consider all the others room dividers (bad Feng Sway). Since I owned the 2 SVS subs I also tried mixing them with satellites but my room is too large and the SVS subs volume controls SUCK. They come on full blast with the VC barely cracked

For the last 2-3 years I have enjoyed the hell out of Emerald Physics KC IIs (MSRP $1999-2500) They play all kinds of music wonderfully. As I improved my other components and cabling, I stopped using the subs. I often think to plug them back in, but never seem to feel that they lack bass or depth

And they are less than 4ft tall fitting into many non dedicated room situations
tweak1
3,685 posts
 
avanti,

it could be your speaker cables. Recently I made a huge SC upgrade and was blown away at how they cleared up issues I never would have thought was SC related
tweak1
3,685 posts
 
I understood the concept of isolating the woofers from the mids/tweeter decades ago. Also, rarely will the sub couple the room properly in the same plain as the mid/tweeter

Acoustic Fields (YT channel) provides a number of useful videos for subwoofer placement that many will find shocking

A couple decades ago I bought Sunfire Signature subs and over a decade ago 2 SVS powered subs. Alas, they bring their own issues to the party, mostly due to poorly executed internal electronics for volume control and XO.slopes. So if you're going to do this IMO go big or go home


tweak1
3,685 posts
 
While I knew my Emerald Physics KCIIs played way above their price point, until last night I had no idea how good they can be.

My front end consists of a slightly moded Oppo 105 (aftermarket LPM and incoming pure silver wire harness) , Audio Alchemy DDP-1 + PS 5 and AA DPA 1 stereo amp

A friend brought over his lap top and connected it with a WireWorld USB cable. These eliminate the Oppo and the DDP 1/PS 5, which has a 24/96 DAC on board, far from the best, which still sounded quite good after removing his kit. So to move close to what I heard,, at the very least,  I would need a much better DAC + PC + USB cable 

or, leave the dark ages and get a monitor, a streamer, a USB cable, and subscribe to a monthly service. At 71, and avoiding digital tech ( I don't even have apps on my cell phone) I will try the better dac route first, but damn it was a phenomenal experience in my home with my system, crushing my front end 
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