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Time for Two Ways !

There are as many types of speakers are there are human languages and dialects, but we have to agree one of the most popular formats is the two way system, with a tweeter and mid-woofer.

Sure, they are imperfect, often limited in bass or dynamic range, but they have major advantages as well:

  • Small Footprint
  • Small baffles
  • Single crossover point
  • Easier to integrate with a room’s acoustics

These are some general ideas. Of course, you don’t have to like 2-way speakers. You may prefer full-range single driver, ESL or 5-way beasts, but I hope we can please keep this thread 2-way friendly!

I’d love to hear from others about 2-way speakers you adore. Are you a 2-way only kind of audiophile?  How do you like yours? Horn loaded? Transmission line? Desktop?
erik_squires
ghosthouse's avatar
ghosthouse
3,718 posts
 
Totem Forests.
-Solid imaging and wide sound stage.
-Amazing bass from a (~6" driver/) - esp. as driven by a Taranis Class D amp.
-Metal dome tweeter provides excellent hi freq extension but can sound harsh with badly recorded material.
-Source, amplification and balanced ICs have tamed that tendency.
-Clear Day Speaker Cables and a Harmonic Tech ProSilway II IC contributed greatly to sweetening the sound.

Have had the Forests since 2007.
Not tired of listening to music from them.
wim1983's avatar
wim1983
193 posts
 
Wharfedale Denton, I'll wrap it up quick and fast in 3 factors: musical sound, heritage build, and affordable price!
mdelrossi1
65 posts
 
In my small room definitely 2-ways
Focal Electra 1008be2

My first expensive speaker and truly amazing.

sfar's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
sfar
1,352 posts
 
The Nola Boxer. I started with the original version and have upgraded to the S1. I've owned a lot of two-ways and three-ways and these are the most satisfying speakers I've owned.
erik_squires OP
5,268 posts
 
Hi @grinnell

Thanks for your contribution. Tweeters without a high pass filter are very rare, and usually piezo-electric so I had to do some research and now can call BS on the Ref 3A MM de Cap not having a crossover. Sorry.

Based on the SoundStage review, it doesn’t have a WOOFER crossover (i.e. low-pass filter). It most certainly DOES have a tweeter filter, so I would not say "no crossover." Also very interesting is that they assemble the tweeter and woofer themselves, though they do buy the tweeter dome from an outside source.

http://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/703-reference-3a-mm-de-capo-be-loudspeaker...

The Ref 3A is probably similar to the Seas A26 kits in crossover design. I chose a kit because you can learn a lot from the product link, here:

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/

Looking at the FR charts, I’m really pretty surprised. The ragged nature of the response, especially at the FR point is a disappointment. The designers say it is "phase coherent" but this means both drivers are pushing at the same time.

You know what you should experiment with is reversing the polarity of the tweeter. You will probably have a totally different speaker. :) See which you prefer. For more on this, see my first post here:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/speaker-phase-observation-and-question

Best,


E
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