Is the 2.5 way speaker the ideal home speaker?

I'm not sure I follow, @helomech -

Usually higher tweeter points are achieved with 3-way systems which use a "true" midrange.

It's just my experience that 3-ways often lack the transparency of a good 2-way, I can only guess it's due to the additional crossover components. A good example is the 2-way Maggie .7s vs the 3-way 1.7s. The latter is less resolving.

@helomech

That's interesting, usually three way speakers are considered ideal due to the midrange covering the entire human voice and much of the piano without the crossover involved.

I wonder if your hearing more bass boominess from 3 way designs?

@helomech

That's interesting, usually three way speakers are considered ideal due to the midrange covering the entire human voice and much of the piano without the crossover involved.

I wonder if your hearing more bass boominess from 3 way designs?
 

Yes, some 3-ways have a single driver covering most of the midrange (though many still crossover to the mid around 2kHz, largely negating that advantage) , but even though the crossover point may not be smack in the middle of the midband, it still requires a more complex crossover with additional components in the signal path. The whole signal path of the midwoofer need be considered when it comes to signal purity, not just the crossover points.   

I can't tolerate much bass boom, so no, that's not the issue. I have a room that can accommodate very large floorstanders. I prefer large 2-way standmounts with subs to augment the bass.

Another issue I find with many 3-ways is their small and/or recessed vocals. A vocalist simply won't sound as full and present through a 3" cone as they will via a 7+" cone, nevermind the beaming argument. This is why some designers, B&W for example, refuse use small mid cones. 

I understand the theory behind the proclaimed advantages of 3-ways. It's just that in many cases, my ears cannot detect a practical advantage outside of maximum loudness capability. They can play louder before compression kicks in, or before complex music trips them up, but it comes at the cost of lower resolution at moderate volumes. That's been my experience. 

Two-and-a-half-way fan here!  I've had a few in the past and currently have a pair (JBL Studio 590's).  I think the advantages of the design mainly fall in the value factor.  And I'm all about the value! :)

To my ears, my 2.5-way Spendor D7’s sound swell. They have fairly sophisticated rear ports, but I still need to bring them out into the room (which is a large room) or I get a little too much bass. That said, I supplement with REL S/5 to get the bass in the 20-30 Hz range, but I dial it way back on the sub crossover (to about 35 Hz) and volume (just about 5 clicks of 40 I think).


Haven’t yet ventured into room treatments and I know there’ll be hell to pay from my better half if I ever show up with some gawd-ugly looking foam treatments for the walls but if I know myself eventually I’ll go there and risk the wrath ...