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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
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,787 posts
 

It’s a shame so few have heard the Eminent Technology LFT-8b. It has about the same size footprint as Erik’s 2.5-way, but stands 5’ tall. The LFT-8b can actually be considered a 2.5 design; it has a pair of planar-magnetic midrange drivers (180Hz-10kHz!), a ribbon tweeter (10kHz-up), and an 8" woofer in an enclosure (180Hz-down). Though it is on the low side of sensitivity (though not to the degree Maggies are), it is an easy 8 ohm amplifier load (the panels are 11 ohm, for those who choose to bi-amp). Feed it with a 100w/ch tube power amp, and enjoy!

Robert E. Green’s review of the LFT-8b in TAS begins with: "The Eminent Technology LFT-8b is an extraordinary speaker." Following adjectives include "distortion as low as electrostatics---but with lots of dynamic oomph", and "The low distortion in particular is striking; these speakers are capable of really beautiful sound", and "speakers that in some respects are among the best there are."

It is Green’s description of the LFT-8b producing "sound floating in the air at ear level---where it belongs---with no sense of vertical compression the way point sources do", that makes planars my choice of loudspeaker. $2499 will buy you a pair of LFT-8b, or a pair of Magnepan LRS and a coupla (or four ;-) subs. ’Tis a great time to be a poor audiophile!

erik_squires OP
16,039 posts
 
@bdp24

You bring up an interesting perspective, but it is exactly that the 2.5 is  ubiquitous and the ET is not that makes them, in my mind, the clear winner in terms of market and mind share.

But I don't fault the form factor! :)

Best,
E
erik_squires OP
16,039 posts
 
PS - In case anyone is wondering, I used to have Focal Profiles, and now use a 2-way.  I still think the 2.5 way speakers have a really great combination of features that, as a speaker "type" is hard to match.


Best,

E
erik_squires OP
16,039 posts
 
Another brand: Avalon Ascendant
mike_in_nc
1,147 posts
 
The Janszen Valentinas that I use are a 2.5-way design: cone woofers and a electrostatic element divided into two parts, only one of which reproduces the very top frequencies. I like them a lot, though I'm not sure how much of that is due to the the 2.5-way part of the design.
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