I really liked the Joseph Audio RM25s, but JA doesn’t seem to use the D'Appolito design anymore.
The D'Appolito, MTM Configuration
One speaker technology which is I think old but hasn't gotten the praise it deserves is the Joseph D'Appolito configuration. In short, it uses a tweeter vertically sandwiched between two midwoofers. Using two actual midranges is a variation on the theme.
What got me thinking of this was the $220,000 speaker pair that appeared on Stereophile's coverage of the Florida Audio Expo, which made me think, fondly, of the original, 1980's era Focal Utopia where I first heard this arrangement.
It's a very good arrangement for those who love detail and want a speaker that's relatively easy to live with.
How about you? Have a pair of D'Appolito-like speakers ever won you over?
- ...
- 19 posts total
@gdaddy1 - I meant to discuss the web site where they have several pages of news from the Florida show. :) In this particular case it was the Acora Acoustics VRC-1’s that made me think of all the speakers I’ve heard with this kind of arrangement, but they don’t need my help promoting them. :) I do like their choice in midrange though, since I use it in my center. :) I need to raise the prices! |
My current speakers are the Philharmonic BMR Towers which have a MTM array in the form of two balanced-mode-radiators flanking a RAAL ribbon tweeter. The MTM configuration can work well, but I think in most cases, steep crossover filters, ideally 4th-order, are a requisite, in order to prevent comb filtering. I’ve heard a few other MTM designs that didn’t have as good of coherence as one would expect. So as usual, it really comes down to the talent of the designer and implementation. Lots of ways to skin the proverbial cat. Also, MTMs are typically not capable of producing vertical dispersion as evenly as a coaxial design. I think all things being equal, coaxial designs (good ones) are often superior. |
- 19 posts total