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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
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,466 posts
 
Erik is right about a 2.5 way having a lot going for it. It is perhaps the best choice for audiophiles that must share living space and audio gear (no dedicated room). I put my Dali Epicon 6s in this camp. No need for a sub, darn near full range and big, gorgeous sound. My wife is good with the looks and size so this 2.5 way is a win/win in our home. Many want that full range sound and must place the speakers in a shared living space. Based on his criteria Erik is spot on in my estimation.

As an aside, placing my rig in our open to kitchen living room was the best thing I ever did for enjoying music. We have music on all the time and now my wife enjoys with me. So sweet! I am no longer alone in my my music cave!

You can see our shared room and rig under my virtual system.







mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
Teo you are so wrong. I get 110 db out of my ESLs and the only limit is amplifier power. You will never find a dynamic loudspeaker with near the realism of a floor to ceiling ESL which obviously you have never heard which means you have absolutely no idea what a top 1% system sounds like.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,787 posts
 
The Sound Labs and Acoustats may play @110 dB, but my old Quads sure won't ;-) . Not sure about the Sanders, Music Reference, Martin Logan, Kingsound, and others.
audioguy85's avatar
audioguy85
2,018 posts
 
The wharfedale diamond 230's are a 2.5 way speaker that received numerous positive 5 star reviews from 2 or 3 publications. At only 600 bucks on discount a steal!
tweak1
3,651 posts
 
I live alone (no WAF),, I have owned Accoustat 2 + 2s, Genesis Vs (HPs own pair!), Nearfield Acoustics Pipe Dream prototype aimed at < $4k)  Magnepan 3.5Rs + 2 SVS subs. Other than the Gen Vs and  the Pipedreams (which although 6 ft rhey had ~ 8" face): I should have kept them! I consider all the others room dividers (bad Feng Sway). Since I owned the 2 SVS subs I also tried mixing them with satellites but my room is too large and the SVS subs volume controls SUCK. They come on full blast with the VC barely cracked

For the last 2-3 years I have enjoyed the hell out of Emerald Physics KC IIs (MSRP $1999-2500) They play all kinds of music wonderfully. As I improved my other components and cabling, I stopped using the subs. I often think to plug them back in, but never seem to feel that they lack bass or depth

And they are less than 4ft tall fitting into many non dedicated room situations
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