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
My set of "augmented one-way" UniField 3 MII speakers are pretty great.  So I nominate this design for consideration.  For what that may be worth.  Most likely nothing, to anyone other than me.  Highs, mids, lows, imaging, beauty both in sound and visually.  
Eric, I understand you are in an apartment, and your post does cater to listeners of the same sort. But, I feel, if a speaker ( system, actually ) cannot handle musical peaks in the 110db range ( of course, using recordings that have wonderful dynamic range, not just playing loud ), whatever the design, I would not want it. And yes, I am a horny kind of guy, lol. My ears, btw, still measure well, for a 65 year old. Enjoy ! MrD.
@mrdecibel 
Totally understood! You should get what is best for you. :)


But we can't really call Horns the most popular speaker type either. :)


Blessed are those who can afford a dedicated listening room.

Best,

E
Enjoy my 2.5 way Vienna Acoustic Mozart Grands very much. Well more than that. Erik with your parameters I agree a 2.5 way has a lot going for it. It can be looked down on by some because it makes a few more compromises it seems like from an explanation from speakers builders, but not much on sound
Eric, I appreciate your friendly and adult response, as I did not indicate anything negative, only to say, what I like. And yes, horns are an old design. But, as I mentioned on another thread a few weeks ago ( I believe it was your thread " designing a pair of 60K speakers), I brought up the famous and popular Dahlquist DQ10, and, with no response, btw, from my post. I indicated it had relatively inexpensive, off the shelf drivers, and was a 5 way design. Everyone I knew ( even myself, a horn user ), owned a pair. I asked for an explanation on why they were as wonderful as they were, and I know folks who still think they are ( I am not one of them ). My belief is all speaker designs can be wonderful, and as a given, nothing is perfect. But, I believe you said it best, and completely agree. " Whatever works for you ". Enjoy ! MrD.