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The D'Appolito, MTM Configuration

One speaker technology which is I think old but hasn't gotten the praise it deserves is the Joseph D'Appolito configuration.  In short, it uses a tweeter vertically sandwiched between two midwoofers.  Using two actual midranges is a variation on the theme. 

What got me thinking of this was the $220,000 speaker pair that appeared on Stereophile's coverage of the Florida Audio Expo, which made me think, fondly, of the original, 1980's era  Focal Utopia where I first heard this arrangement. 

It's a very good arrangement for those who love detail and want a speaker that's relatively easy to live with.

How about you? Have a pair of D'Appolito-like speakers ever won you over?

erik_squires

Showing 1 response by helomech

helomech
1,519 posts
 

My current speakers are the Philharmonic BMR Towers which have a MTM array in the form of two balanced-mode-radiators flanking a RAAL ribbon tweeter.
These are the best sounding speakers I’ve owned among 35 pairs, but I’m not convinced it’s due to their MTM design.

The MTM configuration can work well, but I think in most cases, steep crossover filters, ideally 4th-order, are a requisite, in order to prevent comb filtering. I’ve heard a few other MTM designs that didn’t have as good of coherence as one would expect. So as usual, it really comes down to the talent of the designer and implementation. Lots of ways to skin the proverbial cat.

Also, MTMs are typically not capable of producing vertical dispersion as evenly as a coaxial design. I think all things being equal, coaxial designs (good ones) are often superior.

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