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Okay, the gloves are off. Let the fur fly

I would like to hear one single cogent technically accurate explanation of how a multi-way box speaker can be more musically accurate than single drivers or stats. As a speaker designer for more than 25 years, I have yet to hear an argument that holds water, technically. The usual response involves bass or treble extension, as if that is the overriding principle in music reproduction. My position is that any information lost or jumbled in the complex signal path of multi-way box speakers can never be recovered by prodigious bass response, supersonic treble extension, or copious numbers of various drivers. Louder,yes. Deeper,yes. Higher, maybe. More pleasing to certain people,yes. But, more musically revealing and accurate,no. I posted this because I know that it will surely elicit numerous defensive emotional responses. I am prepared to suffer slings and arrows from many directions. But, my question still remains. Can you technically justify your position with facts?
twl
sean
6,231 posts
 
Twl, given some of the responses here, i'm going to start another thread. It is related to the comments here but is somewhat of a different subject. As such, i don't want to dilute this one too much or steer it completely off course. Look for one titled "SPL, dynamics and bottom end". Sean
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danner
202 posts
 
Just a quick story: Some fifteen or twenty years ago, I worked in an acoustics lab where we decided we wanted some realistic sounding speakers. We grabbed a B&K lab condeser mic and a Nagra tape recorder and recorded one of us reading a passage from a book. Then about 6 of us went from one stereo shop to another having the person read the passage while standing next to a speaker and playing the tape through a Crown amp (Nagra, Crown, and cables constant for all stores). We went back with several pairs of Dahlquist DQ10s. -- Now this issue of truth. Seems to me that my system (no longer using DQ10s) is capable of creating an illusion of a solo cello that really pleases me. I have no idea if it sounds anything like the cello that made the recording. I'm also not sure that it matters. Cheers.
sean
6,231 posts
 
Danner, thanks for the story. I find it to be quite believable. Only two problems though:

1) Crown amps are great for pro sound, but they typically just don't sound "good" : ) At least your test method ruled out a LOT of variables.

2) Dahlquist speakers are not "realistic". You can only get those from the Tandy Corporation : )

Sean
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zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Well, now that TWL has revealed himself to be the "agent provocateur" some of us suspected all along, I will add this caveat to my comments above: It is doubtlessly true that many speaker manufacturers' design "choices" are in fact dictated to some degree by the selection of conventional OEM drivers available to them (when such manufacturers don't make their own). This, plus the the existing body of engineering knowledge pertaining to the building of yet another dynamic box design, makes it much easier for a start-up to enter the fray with this type of product, rather than to finance and carry out all the research that would be needed to bring new technology in single-driver design to market. Seen in this light, one might conclude that not only is the dominance of multi-way dynamic boxes somewhat self-perpetuating, it may actually be inhibiting the further development of potential alternatives.
twl OP
3,251 posts
 
Zaikesman, I completely agree with your insightful observation on the box speaker evolution/development. I hope that in coming days, you could change your view of me from "agent provocateur" to "interested participant with a unusual point of view" or something. You obviously look for more in these posts than just the factual statements, or you wouldn't have even noticed a two pronged approach in my question. So maybe our points of view aren't all that different. I can see that your insight is not limited to the box speaker development path. I very much look forward to having the opportunity to have future discussions on this forum with people like yourself. After all, audio is not just the equipment alone. It is the interaction of music and the listener that makes the magic. The perceptions of the listener is at least as important, if not more important, than the gear producing it. Cheers.
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