I’d argue a 3-way can’t image as well as a 2-way in most listening locations. Dennis Murphy says ideally your listening location would be around 15+ feet away from a 3-way for it to image as well as a 2-way. So unless you are talking about a concentric 3-way where the woofer is where it would be in a typical 2-way, you won’t get that kind of precise imaging and tend to get a sound that varies quite a bit more in a typical (< 10 ft) listening distance in a medium to small room, especially on the vertical axis IMO a 3-way is a lot more height sensitive.
But that's why I love concentrics...pinpoint imaging with full tonality when you have 3-way+.
But that's why I love concentrics...pinpoint imaging with full tonality when you have 3-way+.