single driver speakers

@czarivey 

I heard the Cube Audio Magus speakers at AXPONA, they were playing a lot of old-school jazz and big-band (Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, etc).  It sounded great - a lot more bass than you'd expect from a single-driver (the cabinets use quarter-wave transmission lines, so I'm sure that helped) and the treble was smooth and pleasant, I didn't feel like I was missing anything in the sound of the trumpets for example.  

I don't know how well they'd hold up to a full orchestral recording of Mahler's 2nd or Shostakovich's 5th, or if they'd be able to throw down some hard rock, I have a feeling that the single driver could easily get overtaxed if asked to reproduce a huge frequency range at high SPLs, but for what they were playing they sounded fantastic.  

@czarivey  -  'single driver speakers can do good only on vocals and string quartets nothing else will be sounding up to par no matter whatcha do.'

You have obviously not listened to the latest in single driver speakers.  I also heard the Cube at AXPONA and agree with tutetibiimperes on how good they sounded.  I have been the very happy owner of a pair of Omega Super Alnico Monitors, which are single driver speakers, and they are very good not only on 'small' music ranging from small acoustic combos, string quarters, Schumann vocal pieces, but also on 'larger' and more expansive music including Mahler (1st for me), Pink Floyd, the Who, and movie soundtracks (e.g., Pirates of Caribbean, Gladiator).  Granted, one will not get the deepest vestiges of bass or sustained very high SPLs from a 6.5 inch driver, but they sure can convey an incredibly satisfying and realistic aural picture across a very wide spectrum of musical styles.  You owe it to yourself to go out and hear what today's designers using single drivers are capable of achieving.

I heard most of Lowther single driver designs and made my conclusions after listening few. I couldn't become SET/single driver dude sorry.

This is the speaker for those who need more dynamics/SPL.

The Super Alnico High Output is not a 2 way design, but a 1.5 way design.

What separates it from a 2 way design?

The drivers are identical exept for the dustcap of the low frequency (LF) driver.
There is no power sucking, midrange muddying crossover.
The LF driver is cut off at 200Hz, so there is no phase and time misalignment as in a two way speaker.
The HF driver still functions as a single driver, single point source running full range.
2 drivers work less hard as 1 driver.
Same combined surface area as a 9.5" single driver.
Higher efficiency (97dB)
More dynamic performance than a single driver.
Will play louder than a single driver.
Will handle more complex music than a single driver and is just as fast.


Super Alnico High Output Specifications

Sensitivity: 97 dB
Impedance: 4-6 ohms
Driver: Twin Proprietary 6.5" Omega Alnico HempCone (1 whizzer, 1 dustcap)
Frequency Response: 35-20kHz
Dimensions: (without spikes) 38"H x 9"W x 14"D
Weight: 50 lbs. each in a shipping box
Power Requirements: as little as 2 watts
Crossover: None

An easy entry to single driver is available at Madisound. The Markaudio Alpair 7 mounted in a recommended "Pensil" enclosure can provide a peek at the potential of single driver systems. The enclosures are easy to build and inexpensive using 3/4" plywood. The Pensil is a mass loaded transmission line, basically just a box with a slot at the bottom. Used in nearfield, some listeners may feel this is satisfying enough to not look elsewhere. At the total cost of under $300 including hardware and finishing, it might be worth a try.

I have a pair of these and find them quite nice.  As I indicated, they work well in the nearfield,  Satisfying bass, very good detail, nice treble extension and smooth response.  Dynamics are sharp.  Soundstage and imaging reflect the quality of the upstream electronics and recording.  

I did not have the same kind of results with some of the other drivers in the Markaudio line or from other manufacturers.