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So many drivers.....better sound or just more sound?

I am sitting in Seattle cut off from my job by the virus: the world all around me is going nutsy....so naturally my mind drifted to the question....."why so many drivers in some speakers?"  This has bugged me since i first heard the Pipedreams (twenty or so 4 inch drivers all the same in a row.... such a different design principle.  I would think you would want the best driver you could afford for a given application....cover the frequency range as accurately as you can afford and then worry about volume level, air moved etc.  For instance, i heard some McIntosh speakers at a friend's house a few months back.  they had 12 mids and 4 high drivers if i remember.  I guess maybe a bigger sound stage ?  That wan't obvious to me in my listening to them.   Am i missing something obvious?   Legacy speakers use like 11 drivers in a set of speakers.....how can they do that?  I would love to know the cost per driver of various speakers.    Not a deep subject but,  i am addled by rain, boredom and the fear that my 401 k is gone..........
Thanks
sm2727
erik_squires
16,021 posts
 
I'm just going to kind of throw out some things in the hopes of spurring your interest and to tell you that there's more to a speaker than shopping for drivers. Each speaker designer is focusing on answering different problems. Hope you continue to learn.

In general, you want to search for "line arrays." thought the Legacy is more complicated than that.

Sadly, McIntosh has some ... odd resonances which make them less than ideal exemplars.

For better, look at Genesis and Infinity.  Electrostatic loudspeakers (ESL) are also kind of going in the same direction.

With all of these speakers, whether ESL, line arrays or balanced multi-way speakers, even down to simple D'Appolito speakers, the speaker designers are playing with the speaker's dispersion.  That is, how the wave travels after leaving the speaker.

On the opposite end of this, we might put co-axial speakers, or multi-axial.  See TAD and KEF for these. Instead of trying to control the dispersion.


Best,

E
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,747 posts
 
Watch the GR Research Tech Talk Tuesday videos on You Tube. In one of them, GRR's Danny Richie discusses all the factors involved in loudspeakers using multiple drivers, both midrange drivers and more importantly the issues created by multiple tweeters: phase cancellation and reinforcement, off axis frequency response, comb filtering, etc. 
itsjustme
681 posts
 
As other have noted, there are many issues here. But many small drivers gives real advantages (at high cost).  The ratio of magnet to piston is large (power to weight ratio, basically). Each driver is stressed less and has less excursion, therefore less doppler effect. It allows more power handling and less stress at hgih volumes. 

There are also trade-offs, especially interference, which are really complicated and i wont venture into here.
douglas_schroeder
3,281 posts
 
Differing tech for omni, array, full range and all in between. Imo, all capture aspects of desired sound characteristics while missing some that alternatives give. Like being I  parking lot with a dozen fun, higher performance vehicles to drive. I am out to experience them all. No two technologies the same in affect.  

Imo, hybrid line array can be better than line array, and electrostatic line array can be better than straight ESL. Hybrid full range is another kick ass tech.  Big sandbox, lots to do!  :)
bigkidz
3,376 posts
 
Sorry I cannot answer your question.  Mentioned above is different design applications.  To me quality of the drivers is important and the material they are made from.  I prefer Alnico magnet designed drivers.  I have also experimented with ceramic drivers with great results.  I have set-up pipe dream systems also with great results.  I also recently met the owner of Genesis speakers and I was impressed with all of the research and thought out design of the speakers but that being said, in the system I heard them, I would not have even considered them. To say that I was not impressed was an understatement but again I attribute that to the system not the speakers.  I have gone to many audio shops and heard very poor sounding system and some excellent sounding systems so so much goes into the design to accomplish what the designer prefers.

I have worked with designers on many speakers and each have benefits and each have issues.  It is what you prefer that matters anyway.

Happy Listening.
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