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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
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.
erik_squires OP
16,039 posts
 
Mike,

I don't think that being a 2.5 way makes a speaker better sounding, but more convenient! :)


Best,
E
teo_audio
2,197 posts
 
Many three driver speakers these days, with a tweeter on top with two woofers below... can be looked at as likely being 2.5 way-ish.

A large number of the paradigms that have been built in this fashion are 2.5 way speakers.

Again about the planars folks, don’t get me wrong, I like them all too. Dr West makes some fabulous ones...and if you want to talk about complex designs, there’s a good place to start...
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