two way v. three way speakers


I recently heard some magico mini's at a friend's house. They sounded amazing. And they were 'only' a two way speakers, but they filled the room with amazing sound. So now I wonder, what does the additional driver add, especially when it is the same size as the second driver. For example, the SF Olympica III's have two drivers of the same size. I know that third driver adds a lot to the price, but what does it sonically? Thank you all in advance.
elegal

Showing 1 response by jmcgrogan2

It takes a lot of cone surface to move a lot of air needed for lower frequency sound. It also depends on the design of the speaker and crossover. Ported? Sealed? 2 way? 3 way? 4 way?

In general, a 3 way design will go lower in the bass region than a 2 way design. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. Many love the simplicity and coherence of a simple two way design though.

There is a lot more to speaker design than simply choosing how many drivers to use. The crossover design is very important, choosing frequencies and slopes, as is the design of the cabinet itself. Of course room and amplifier interaction with the speakers are critical too. There are many variables that go into developing great sound.