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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
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,788 posts
 
I find the idea of two different drivers doing the relay-race baton handoff in the midrange, that handoff being arranged via a x/o filter, a very undesirable situation. Fortunately, one needn't accept that scenario. The Eminent Technology LFT-8b's "midrange" magnetic-planar driver has a symmetrical 1st-order (6dB/octave) filter at 180Hz, and another at 10k. 180Hz to 10kHz from a single driver, with no filtering! Actually, there are two of the drivers (to create a line-source, and increase maximum SPL capability), one stacked atop the other, with a ribbon tweeter beside them, and an 8" dynamic woofer in a sealed enclosure below. For $2499/pr!
snapsc
675 posts
 
@bdp24  Three comments about the LFT-8b

1.  From you comments, it seems that they have similar placement restrictions to other "panel" speakers in that they sound best 5' out from the wall which is a problem for a lot of people
2.  Eminent Technologies seems to be well under the radar.  Not many people have heard them and there aren't a lot of places to go hear them...so, for a home trial, its probably going to cost a couple hundred dollars to send them back if you don't love them.
3.  If you buy a maggie and then decide in two years to move on, you will probably recoup 75% of your purchase price because of their repuation and strong following.  I suspect that your financial risk is much greater with the E.T. LFT-8b

As to the "midrange" question...whichever  combination of drivers/crossovers/boxes allow the reproduction of the piano, the acoustic guitar and the voice to be done in a way that provide the "your are there live" experience is the right starting point....but I think there has to be a recognition that the way I interpret/process the sound of a piano may be different than others...hence, why different solutions work for different people.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,788 posts
 

snapsc---All good points.

1- True. All dipole speakers, not just planars, need to be at least 3’ from the wall behind them, 5’ being even better. But then, many box speakers sound better out there as well.

2- ET is a very small company that does no advertising, and has few dealers. They also rarely introduce new models, or make bi-yearly "improvements" to existing models (a large source of income for some companies). They therefore are rarely reviewed in pro mags, though the LFT-8b got a rave by Robert Greene in TAS a couple of years ago. I’m not sure ET even offers home trials, though if there is no dealer within 150 miles of you they will sell and ship them to you for free.

3- Ever notice how many Maggies are always for sale used? Now, how about ET’s? Sure, many more Maggies are bought, so that’s part of it. Used ET’s, when available, go for about $1500.

Your last paragraph is as spot on as are points 1-3. Everyone has the buttons that when pushed allow for the suspension of disbelief in reproduced music. For myself, the lifelike reproduction of the timbre of voices and instruments, from the bass registers of a piano to it’s highest overtones, is paramount. As if the sound from top to bottom is cut from the same cloth, as J. Gordon Holt put it. To have the entire range of a singing voice reproduced by a single driver is unbeatable! I’ve never heard a dynamic (cone) or horn speaker do that as well as ESL’s (I own old Quads, and Stax phones), magnetic-planars (I own ET’s and Magneplanar Tympani-IVa’s), and ribbons. Others with different priorities may be better served by competing designs.

snapsc
675 posts
 
@bdp24  I would also say that I haven't heard cone speakers that were quite as convincing throughout the midrange although recently I heard the KEF R500s driven by the Parasound integrated and they were pretty darn good.

Given that you own planars and stats and that both have reputations for pure midranges....if you only had $2500 to spend and you already had a good sealed sub, which would you buy...the ET's...the Magnepan 1.7i...or something else....and why???
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