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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
beetlemania
834 posts
 
IMHO the 2.5 way speaker is THE ideal high end speaker for the majority of enthusiasts.
Interesting take but I can think of some "affordable" 3-way designs that check most of your boxes. Years ago, the Joseph 2.5 way was on my short list and I briefly considered Avalon, Focal and Monitor. Pretty much everything on my more recent short lists have been 3-ways.

I'm now running the Thiel CS2.4 which is a "3-way" but has single high- and low-pass filters. The tweeter and midrange are coaxially mounted and use a *mechanical* crossover. To my knowledge, Thiel was the only manufacturer of such a design. Similar coax drivers were in the CS6 and CS7 but those designs added mid-bass *and* bass drivers, each with its own filter. The coax in the CS2.7 and CS3.7 used separate filters for the tweeter and midrange. According to Tom Thiel, Jim Thiel planned to return to a mechanical crossover for his uber CS7.3 which was never completed.
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,129 posts
 
I owned a Audio store for years  and went to many shows.
my all time  favorite speakers  when setup properly were 
the Great MBL -101 Ultimates , even without the extra bass columns they just disappear and sound like you are there. 

motown-l
181 posts
 
Call me old fasioned, but I like monitor sized three ways with traditional cone woofers, midranges and a well executed dome tweeter. I had some JBL "L" series speakers, back in the day, and lost them in a divorce. I intend on buying a pair of Wharfdale Littons, Btyston Mini T's or A's or if I hit the lottery, Harbeth's or ATC's. I realize this configuration calls for complex crossovers, but to me, this type of speaker covers the frequency range well and a dedicated midrange makes vocals soar. I don't have the space for line arrays, panel electrostatics or any of the cool sounding esoteric speakers mentioned above. I commend all of you who do.
erik_squires OP
16,039 posts
 
my all time  favorite speakers  when setup properly were
the Great MBL -101 Ultimates


Oh, yeah, there's three other audiophiles in my apartment with those ...

steve59's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
steve59
1,756 posts
 
Whatever you can afford that makes you want to listen more.
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