Time for Two Ways !


There are as many types of speakers are there are human languages and dialects, but we have to agree one of the most popular formats is the two way system, with a tweeter and mid-woofer.

Sure, they are imperfect, often limited in bass or dynamic range, but they have major advantages as well:

  • Small Footprint
  • Small baffles
  • Single crossover point
  • Easier to integrate with a room’s acoustics

These are some general ideas. Of course, you don’t have to like 2-way speakers. You may prefer full-range single driver, ESL or 5-way beasts, but I hope we can please keep this thread 2-way friendly!

I’d love to hear from others about 2-way speakers you adore. Are you a 2-way only kind of audiophile?  How do you like yours? Horn loaded? Transmission line? Desktop?
erik_squires
After many years living with a wonderful pair of Merlin VSM 2-ways I have for the past 4 years been living with a pair of Decapo Be's. A more than 30 year old design under different names and refined over the years

Eric to your point to Grinnell switching polarity, I have to good effect. Another thing I tried recently is running the main speaker cable to the tweeter and jumping to the woofer, also to GREAT effect, subjectively greater clarity and separation. Got a call from my dealer out of the blue to try that. My in room response using a digital spectrum analyzer at the listening position is a quite flat response with a bit of a rise at arround 80 hz which was tamed with tube traps. Amazingly dynamic and BIG with a pair of Rel Strata III subs. Set up with these speakers is even more critical than most I've encountered.
 The JBL M2 Master Reference Monitor has  a horn loaded compression driver and 15" woofer, and reflects the result of the research of Dr. Floyd Toole at Harman.  JBL does not allow it to be sold unless driven by very high power Crown amplifiers  (biamped) with incorporated active crossover in the amps.  SEE EPISODE 216 OF HOME THEATER GEEKS DEVOTED ENTIRELY TO A DISCUSSION OF THIS EXCEPTIONAL SPEAKER.   This is the best system I have owned, and, surprisingly, cost only a fraction of my other setups.
I would love to see & hear a Meyer X-10 

its supposed to be one the best speakers ever made 
Hi @tubegroover

It would probably be intersting to look at the frequency response with the tweeter in normal and inverted polarity. Based on the published measurements, I think you may find inverted is the better option. It is also possible that the measured speakers were incorrectly wired.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting you invert the entire speaker, just the tweeter relative to the woofer.

Best,

E
My JBL 530s are really smooth because they are crossed over pretty low at 1.5hz. Crossovers normally bother me, but this one doesn't.