Yes, the discussion has finally gotten interesting. I didn't pay much attention to the WaveTouch speaker earlier, but now I thought I would take a closer look. I don't like what I see. I have not heard them, and while the crossover looks "rich", there are some elements which look to me like they employ some odd design decisions.
I would want to hear it simply because it's so unusual, but I strongly suspect it would not be a mountain top experience. Two of the most disturbing design elements are the flared "waveguides" and the "phase plug" used in front of a ribbon tweeter!
I do not think it an advantage to place a phase plug type device in front of a flat, ribbon tweeter. Again, though I have not heard it, I suspect it would cause a tremendous amount of damage to the treble response. Would you put a rock in front of a fire hose to "focus" the treble? The result would be a splaying of the spray. In my experience if a ribbon tweeter is implemented properly, it's not going to be piercing, but this looks like a low tech way to prevent a piercing sounding tweeter, which I would think should be addressed at the crossover, not the driver... It just strikes me as so wrong. :(
I do not know who Onemanwolfpack is, but I must concur with his assessment of the purported 94dB rating; I struggle to believe it. Look at hundreds upon hundreds of small speakers and you just won't find that kind of sensitivity because of the constraints of the enclosure.
I really suspect the accuracy of the claimed 40Hz lower end of this speaker. In my experience a 5.25" driver in a 15" high cabinet is NOT going to do 40Hz, at least nowhere near +/-3dB. Perhaps +/-6 or even +/-10dB, which at that point you may as well forget the measurement altogether. This is in my opinion a perfect example of a "loose specification", of which I write about at Dagogo.com (I would post a link, but I believe I am prohibited from doing so; it may be easiest to do a search in a browser.) in my Audiophile Law "Do Not Accept (Virtually) Worthless Specs". I would guess the real usable performance, i.e. +/-3dB, of the bottom end of this speaker to be closer to 60Hz +/-3dB, not 40Hz. Even if the driver could reach closer to 40Hz, imagine the distortion caused by the driver's excursion. I can't stand tiny bass drivers being driven to the point of sounding like they're popping, but that is what I suspect you'd get with pushing this speaker.
If any wish to condemn me for my perspective on this, feel free. As a reviewer I have to make assessment of products which I will consider to review, and I would not review this speaker. You can bet that if it turns up at a show, I will try to hear it, because I could be wrong, and I have to face up to it if I am. Perhaps it would radically defy my expectations of its performance, but I have serious doubts. I would suspect that if it did sound halfway decent it would be in spite of the design. The speaker may have some good attributes as it appears there are some high quality parts internally, but the thing is not going to defy physics. You can get away with a lot wrong in a speaker, that is, make it sound OK, if you have a great crossover, but the result will still suffer. I'm guessing there would also be people who love horn speakers who would think it's terrific, etc. The spectrum of what people wish to hear from a rig is so varied, it's fascinating. I have heard systems I thought were horrid, and the people in the room were raving. Go figure. :)
I have nothing against WT, and I have never met anyone from the company to my knowledge, but I have serious issues with the purported performance claimed. I would be happy to be offered a demo (note, demo, not review) of the speaker to confront my hesitation, if WT wishes. But, I'm not interested in getting into extended argument or mud slinging. I have tried to make my comments "on point" sticking to the design of the speaker.
