@erik_squires
Hi E
I have used several iterations of that design in my system with little success. The last time I tried using two speakers in a kind of horizontal array with two AR4c. It was better but still not totally free of distortion. From time to time I was still left wondering what was the actor saying. And my speaker was not in a cabinet by the way. In that quote I referred to, Toole was talking specifically of center channels. I am glad that yours sounds fine. I thought about designing my own too but got discouraged at the end. Then I realized the solution was in front of my eyes all along. My front speakers are Audience 1+1, they have zero crossover distortion due to the fact that they have no crossover to start with and they are clear as a bell. They use a single full range driver that can go down to about 100 hertz in my system where they crossover to my four ML subs. So I got one more and now the center channel intelligibility is a solved problem in my system. Here are some more quotes from Toole about a design solution for the MTM design.
“These designs also show up in vertical arrangements, in which case the acoustical interference is heard after reflection from the floor and ceiling. An intermediate configuration, sometimes called the 2 ½-way, rolls off one of the woofers at a low frequency, allowing the second unit to function as a midrange. The result is a slight improvement in overall performance, but the horizontal-plane interference pattern is then asymmetrical and still not what is needed. The real solution is to add a midrange loudspeaker allowing both woofers to be crossed over at a frequency sufficiently low that the acoustical interference is avoided. The explanation is in the caption.”
I cannot copy the caption but it shows the design with the midrange driver in the middle with the tweeter on top of it. I will find a way to include a picture later. Hope that helps.
Hi E
I have used several iterations of that design in my system with little success. The last time I tried using two speakers in a kind of horizontal array with two AR4c. It was better but still not totally free of distortion. From time to time I was still left wondering what was the actor saying. And my speaker was not in a cabinet by the way. In that quote I referred to, Toole was talking specifically of center channels. I am glad that yours sounds fine. I thought about designing my own too but got discouraged at the end. Then I realized the solution was in front of my eyes all along. My front speakers are Audience 1+1, they have zero crossover distortion due to the fact that they have no crossover to start with and they are clear as a bell. They use a single full range driver that can go down to about 100 hertz in my system where they crossover to my four ML subs. So I got one more and now the center channel intelligibility is a solved problem in my system. Here are some more quotes from Toole about a design solution for the MTM design.
“These designs also show up in vertical arrangements, in which case the acoustical interference is heard after reflection from the floor and ceiling. An intermediate configuration, sometimes called the 2 ½-way, rolls off one of the woofers at a low frequency, allowing the second unit to function as a midrange. The result is a slight improvement in overall performance, but the horizontal-plane interference pattern is then asymmetrical and still not what is needed. The real solution is to add a midrange loudspeaker allowing both woofers to be crossed over at a frequency sufficiently low that the acoustical interference is avoided. The explanation is in the caption.”
I cannot copy the caption but it shows the design with the midrange driver in the middle with the tweeter on top of it. I will find a way to include a picture later. Hope that helps.