Has Anyone Ever Run TWO Identical Pairs of Speakers ?

I've played with multiple drivers a lot over the years and found single drivers for each frequency range, sound the clearest. Get them as close together as possible, in vertical alignment. As mijostyn pointed out, multiple tweeters smear and fracture the sound (not his words) mine. This is true for the midrange as well and also for the bass above say about 100Hz. or so. I modified my system to reduce the number of drivers to one per frequency range and found a significant improvement in clarity and detail without changing anything else. This was true whether running the drivers in parallel, series or a series-parallel combination. While high efficiency is important and desired for hi-fi audio, multiple drivers for the same frequency range is NOT the way to go. For those using multiple drivers to cover the same frequency range using ANY speaker manufacturers drivers, please try a single driver for the same frequency range. You will see a noticeable improvement in clarity. Use the same source material, preamp and power amp or amps for this test. For me, I use 3 stereo amps in a 3-way, 2-speaker stereo configuration. I use an analog active crossover at the amp inputs and no crossover, only straight copper wire from the drivers to the individual amplifier outputs. I have A/B'd the configuration of single drivers versus multiple drivers of the same manufacture, the results are conclusive for me. I will never go back to multiple drivers for the same frequency range for listening levels up to about 105dB SPL. I invite all on this forum to try it, and to make it more convincing, use an SPL meter. Best wishes in your pursuit of excellence!

Back in mid May I asked a question “Has Anyone Ever Run TWO Identical Pairs of Speakers ?” I was considering buying an extra pair of tower speakers identical to the ones I currently own.

Now, I can hear the sneers, derision and laughter from those who think I am batshit crazy to run DOUBLE Polk’s for my Left, Centre, and Right channels. All I can say is your inability to imagine something that is unconventional might be better instantly identifies you as someone with limited intellectual ability akin to the naysayers who were convinced Columbus was going to fall off the earth.

Some history: I was almost ready to drop $20,500 plus tax on a pair of Revel F328Be’s and their matching C426Be centre channel, but an opportunity arose for me to acquire an additional pair of mint Polk RT-2000p’s for only $450. So my wonderful wife says to me, “I don’t care if you buy the Revel’s, but since you (and I) like the Polk’s so much, would FOUR of them sound better than the Revel’s you are itching to buy? You’ve found a second pair for only $450, so you could experiment with adding a second pair before you buy the Revel’s. The cost of finding this out is only $450, and you might end up liking them better than the Revel’s.

Now, IMHO the Polk RT-2000p speakers are phenomenally good sounding speakers that never got reviewed by the "Audiophile Press." A single pair can create an unbelievably realistic sound stage (assuming a good recording) with imaging that stretches from wall-to-wall and depth that goes wayyyy back behind the speakers. Their only weakness is a tendency towards a somewhat loose and flabby bass, but this can easily be rectified with appropriate use of multiple subwoofers. I run five subwoofers, so realistic bass is a non-issue for me.

So, I heeded my wife’s advice, and my Revel dealer grew a long, sad face and he almost burst into tears when I related my findings to him.

What I experienced is that while a single pair of the F328Be’s handily outperform and ARE better than a single pair of the RT-2000p’s, a DOUBLE pair of the RT-2000p’s are astoundingly better than a single pair of F328Be’s. All genres of music, in my room went from what I thought was really good sound to astoundingly good sound at virtually any volume level. I was astounded at this remarkable increase in sound quality just by adding another pair of RT-2000p’s to my system.

And when I run the math, $20,500 vs. $450 plus another $100 for an extra Polk CS-400 centre channel, I am left with an extra $20 Grand to put back into my investments.

So, this is my experience. Yours could be different if you choose to try it. As for any comments anyone chooses to make, I am NOT INTERESTED in your comments on Polk speakers UNLESS you have ACTUALLY LISTENED to a pair of Polk RT-2000’s. Commenting on the sound of a speaker you have NEVER heard makes you the worst kind of audio drug store cowboy.

And I am not claiming my double Polk’s are the absolute best speaker system available, I’m simply saying that IMHO they outperformed some very expensive, well-regarded speakers I was almost ready to purchase. As always, YMMV 😎

I have two sets of speakers and the sound is superb. Key, IMHO, is that the speakers be of the same manufacturer as mine are Martin-Logan Motion 40's coupled with the 35XTi bookshelf speakers.  The 35's are on stands and are same height as 40's. I use two amplifiers. An NAD C 375BEE and a Parasound 2125 v2. 

There is no phase delay or issue with the sound that I have read others in this forum to fear. The reason I did it was because my basement listening room is large and two speakers with one amp did not fill the room out with sound. I also have a listening couch and a Bar in the same room, so I can point the speakers to where I want the sound to be most pleasing. It is my belief that if speaker manufacturers wanted to make the BEST speaker they ever made - without constraints - they would make two speakers that reacted as one. IMHO, the sound stage, imaging, clarity, etc. - everything sounds better when you have additional drivers and more power. 

Very bad idea. First of all you will only get an additional 3 dB out of it. Worse, you will permanently damage whatever imaging you have. You can split up woofers that way because the wavelengths they operate at are very long but, you can not do that with midranges and tweeters. At shorter wavelengths the speakers start speaking in two voices instead of one. Tweeters have to be no farther than 1/2 inch apart to speak in one voice up to 20 kHz. When you move them apart like you plan on doing you are listening to a choir instead of a single voice and you smear the image and detail.

Imaging is far better with four speakers than two. If your speakers are using identical technology (martin logan uses ribbon tweeters and both pair of speakers I use are of same impedence and sensitivity - 4 ohm and 92 db) then you are simply adding more speakers without disturbing the manufacturers musical aim/result. It is akin to setting up a for a concert with the need for more speakers and more power to push them because you have the space that will allow for it. You should be cautious about placing two differing  mfg amplifiers in the same system. I researched and found that the NAD 275BEE and the Parasound 2125 vs are pretty close to being identical in nature, especially in output. The Parasound is great for the 35XTi bookshelfs because it comes with a filter that I use to negate any frequency of 40Hz or lower from getting to the bookshelfs as the 35XTi's only go down to 50Hz. All of my speakers are bi-wired with AudioQuest 5 wire.

So, yes, mixing various brands of speakers together with different amps and wires and whatnot, will likely degrade the sound. But if you pay attention to specification detail and only mix like sounding manufacturers, the result will not have any of the negative issues others have brought up in this thread. 

Even with the same brand speakers, you are wrong. I agree with mijostyn on this one, and we don't agree on much. You REALLY need to A/B these configurations with a switch and dB meter. Trust me, you will not go back to multiple drivers spaced apart. It's so much clearer with only one set!