Which sounds better 2 way or 3 way speaker design


Seeking to purchase one of the following 3 speakers:

1. Proac K3-2 way design

2. Totem Element Metal V2-2 way design

3. Triangle Cello-3 way design

I am under the impression, (which I may be incorrect) that a three way design is superior to a 2 way design.  All of the above speakers listed below retail for about $18,000 per pair. Am I correct to assume that a 3 way design will give the listener a much better chance to hear the full audio spectrum as opposed to a 2 way design?

Thank you.  

 

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"Dedicated midrange driver" is typically an oxymoron and very few three-way systems will not put some of the midrange in the woofer and/or tweeter.  You would need to run the driver from ~80Hz-~4kHz for it truly to be "dedicated" to the midrange.

@toddalin , I always am interested in your perspective.  After reading your above post, how would you answer the OP's question?  

Also, if one was  going to go with a two way speaker, is there a sonic advantage in a two way that is built into its own floor standing cabinet versus a two way that is intended to be placed on a speaker stand?

I prefer 2 way stand-mounts with specific OE stands that are designed for use with the specific 2 way transducer. 

I have 2.5 way floor standers and they sound nice bust not as clear, detailed or have the depth or breadth of my 2 ways. 

Now there are many variables that play into this also, room size, room treatments and so forth. 

 

I have no knowledge of the three speakers in question.

Whether a 2 or 3 (or 2.5 or other) way is best is dependent on the selected components, construction, and it’s implementation. There are fine speakers made in many "ways" and I don’t think that the actual number of drivers is the important factor in deciding which to choose.

 

In general, I would think that a floor standing speaker would offer more cabinet volume and this would typically allow for a deeper, more generous bass. But of course there are exceptions to everything.