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Speakers The single most critical component

I know we've been over this Q hundreds of X's over the past 20 years here on audion, You can find dozen of topics dealing with this Q <which is the ,,,,most important component...>>
well time for yet 1 more topic dealing with this,, perhaps unanswered, un-resolved issue.
I'm bringing up the old hachet due to my recent experience acutally hearinga FR in my system. 
Let me tell you, there is not even 1 traditional/conventioanl/xover design <The Boxed Type>> in the world that could convince me  , there is something that will beat out FR (caveat, FR requires  some sort of high sens =sensitivity, tweeter)  in  the Boxy world of speakers.
That is to say, FR + Compression Horn is the future of 21st Century high fidelity. 
One lab has already brought us these ~~~SHF~~~ aka SuperHighFidelity  single drivers. 
The code word here is ~~SHF~~~ which can not never be employed when describing xover/trad/conventioanl style  aka The Box designs. db level under 91 are _<<IN-EFFICIENT>> , = dysfunctional, out dated, old school , = Dinasaurs. 
For amps, I only consider tube amps (PP and SET) as ~~SHF~~~ I can not include ss amps in this topic. 
IMHO all well made tube amps sound very close,
 a  kt88 in brand X will sound  close to brand Y. 
So amplification takes a  distant 2nd place in critical component.  No need to break the bank buying amp A vs  a  lower priced kt88 amp B
CD players, nearly all  tube DAC's , tube cdp-ers sound  close. No need to braek the bank over X vs Y.
My Jadis DAC is  only miniscule gain over the Shanling,
 the Shanling
only a  miniscule gain over the Cayin CD17. 
Now as for  best source  , phonograph is the ideal playback medium vs cds. 
I have some LP's now , but my main collection are classical cds, most not on LP version. Cables , I did note some gains employing silver/copper wiring throughout my entire system including inside the Defy.
Tweak worthy.
New Mundorf caps in all componets, tweak worthy. 
Yet the main central component remaisn the speakers.
Here is where  the entire audio resolution either rises to Nirvana or falls to <<distortion/muddy waters,/pollution/anti-fidelity  voicing  issues.
Your system's fidelity is ultimately dependent on what speaker  you have chosen to employ.
Forget all you've learned over the years, 
The new mantra is <,The speaker is key component>
All else is just extra tweaks/nuances. 
To sum up, a  ~~SHF~~ driver will match even the top of line Wilson weighing in at hundreds of lbs priced $$$$$$$ overa single FR driver. 
FR beats out any/all xover box design speakers. Mostly due to that key specification ~~db level~~~ which is everything in speaker design and thus in resolution/fidelity. 

mozartfan
mozartfan OP
2,143 posts
 
 but this is not gospel.

~~~~~~~~~~
This is what I am preaching, and no other doctrine/dogmas.
Sens is the most critical spec when considering midrange/tweeter fq's. 
There I re-adjusted my thesis. Excluding woofers, as my W18E001's are 87db yet still remain one of the finest sounding bass speakers. AS we know FR has some issues with rolloff in the low bass region. 
Voxativ calims their FR drivers go into the 20hz zone, but from what i am hearing , added bass is needed. 
I have no idea how low the W18E001's go now, with the Mundorf Supreme caps,  the bass reproduction  on kettle drums in my classical music is rich, tight , just wonderful. 
Note the 20hz-30hz,  not much in classical music in that fq range. Maybe jazz fans need the 20-30hz, but in classical  its miniscule notes in this fq range.

Dome tweeters in my experience can  not match what a  higher sens horn tweeter can do. The shootout always goes to the horn. 
The AMT  planar tweeter arrives this week,  rated 97db, We will see how this shootout goes. 

The higher  sensitivity = the superior  speaker.
(excluding the massive compression horns which are not meant for high fidelity home stereo)
mozartfan OP
2,143 posts
 
Dual woofers = superior toa  single woofer
Based on what I just read on Troel's page, his CNO Grande has dual Seas Nextel Titanium voice coil woofers, 
Read just below the pics of his testing cds.
Dual woofers havea  combined cone area which moves more air, , making the bass seem deeper, punchier vs a  single woofer. Thougha  single woffer might go as low as 20hz, dual 7's even at 40 hz, have a  more solid bass line.
Which confirms what I am now hearing with the new Mundorf Supreme caps, a  10uf anda  2.2uf.
My next plan , after the Vox AC1A , is to swap out the lower W18E001 with Seas newest W22, their Graphene cone with Titanium Voice Coil.
= $1000/pair.

Should bring the bass fq's down to the 20hz and really add a  richness to the 100hz-1600hz.
The Vox AC1A will have all the support in this fq range to make a truly FULL range, emotive sound stage.

btw Troel
's web page is  gold mine for understanding the many layers of fq ranges.

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/CNO-GRANDE.htm
audition__audio
1,465 posts
 
Well research what dual woofers in series does to your impedance. What about sealed vs. ported cabinets? Again if things were only this simple. There is no solution that doesnt also present negatives.
cd318
2,636 posts
 
@coltrane1 

It’s truly not complicated. For me it’s ML Summits. Everyone has their own favorite. Personally, I don’t care for boxes. Even open baffles are good. So, there you go. 


Even the very best speakers have many times more distortion than ALL of the rest of the preceding audio chain.

For over a century when it comes to speakers, it's been a question of choosing which distortions you can live with the best. 

For many people open baffles, horns and electrostatic panels currently offer a good match to the majority of music that we listen to today - heavily compressed digital format Pop/Rock/Rap etc.

Dynamically challenged speakers are just not doing it in 2021 for many people.
phusis's avatar
phusis
1,196 posts
 
@lonemountain --

Efficiency is NOT the only thing that matters in engines or drivers.

And yet it's rarely prioritized or recognized as even ONE of the core parameters in speaker engineering. 

From product management experience at JBL and with ATC, a driver can be optimized for bandwidth OR efficiency. If you want more low end from a driver, it WILL be less efficient.  IF you are willing to forgo some low end, you can go for efficiency.

To some extend at least you can have your cake and eat it too: add size, but that's usually the one thing audiophilia wants to avoid, so, in that case it's either/or.  
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