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The midrange is the most important driver.

OK, I don't need you to believe the topic name. Just wanted to start a friendly discussion.

Among full-range, multi-way speakers there are usually at least 3 drivers:

  • Tweeter
  • Mid-range
  • Woofer
The most exorbitant prices are usually in the tweeter, followed by the woofer, then the mid. More or less. When I read discussions that are about tech-brands, it's almost always about the tweeter. Off the shelf prices in high-end speakers can vary from $40/ea. to $500/ea. with top of the line Be and AMT. Hard diamond tweeters are even more expensive. And yeah, I've paid a lot for tweets in my mains. Still, I think maybe all of us have been convinced that the tweeter is where we should spend our largest dollars.

Maybe it is the quality of the mid that determines everything else. It is where the vocals are, and how well it integrates and extends up and down the range determines everything else. From what tweeters you may use, to the dynamic range.

What do you think?

Best,


E
erik_squires
Post removed 
ryder
1,689 posts
 
johnk1,314 posts11-25-2017 9:54pmIn many 2 ways tweeters have to cover much range thus can get costly and you may see tweeters costing more than woofers in such a set up. But in general you design a loudspeaker as a whole. Focusing on 1 aspect of a loudspeakers design as the most important shows a general misunderstanding of overall loudspeaker design. Otherwise if one wanted to give 1 part the most credit it would be fasteners and glues since without the whole thing falls apart.

Nice one John. I agree. A loudspeaker is designed as a whole and you can’t just pick out one element as being the most important criteria in sound reproduction. It is fine to favor the midrange more than the bass or treble ie. accepting a lower bass output or smoother and less extended treble, but to suggest the midrange driver as the most important aspect may not be exactly appropriate as there are other things involved. As you aptly put it, without glues or fasteners (assuming the speaker cabinet is not a one-piece but assembled together), the speaker would be incomplete. A speaker designer will be able to tell you how important the other bits are, especially the crossover where most of the sound is tweaked over there. A more intricate aspect of speaker design is to achieve a seamless integration between drivers to ensure a smoother delivery of the music.

To the OP - don’t get me wrong. I am not saying the midrange driver is unimportant. It’s just that it forms part of the equation although the type and material of the driver are important considerations in the design of a speaker.
erik_squires OP
16,046 posts
 
I was going to point out the lengths B&W has gone to get the mid range driver. Nautilus, exotic materials, exotic, surround-less construction. Pretty spiffy.


phusis's avatar
phusis
1,196 posts
 
Or, as a friend of mine puts it: "It all starts with the first octaves." Laying the proper groundwork for the sub frequencies here and successfully integrating them with the main speakers affects the whole of the remaining frequency span above in quite significant ways, including the all-important midrange, and not only for relieving the bass driver of the main speakers reproducing the signal downwards (if a high pass filter is used). I guess it goes to show the dependability of all involved.
erik_squires OP
16,046 posts
 
Here's another way to think about this:

If we could only have 1 driver, it would have to be a midrange.

Best,


E
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