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Why Aren't More Speaker Designers Building Augmented Widebanders?

Over the years I've owned a number of different speakers - KLH, Cerwin Vega, Polk, Opera Audio, Ars Aures, and Merlin VSM. One thing they all had in common was a crossover point in the 2000 hz (+ or -) range. I've read reviews of speakers where the reviewer claimed to be able to hear the crossover point, manifested as some sort of discontinuity. I've never heard that. My Merlin VSM's for example sounded completely seamless. Yet my new Bache Audio Metro 001 speakers, with a single wideband driver covering the range of 400 hz to 10,000 hz, augmented by a woofer and a super tweeter, sounds different from all of these other speakers. The midrange of the Bache 001's is cleaner, more coherent, more natural than I have heard before. Music flows from the speakers in a more relaxed manner, and subjectively dynamic range is greater, with no etch or brightness, and no loss of resolution compared with the Merlins. I have to conclude that Bache's design has an inherent advantage over more traditional designs with a crossover point or points in the midrange frequencies. I wonder why more speaker designers haven't tried this approach?
128x128cellcbern
teo_audio
932 posts
 
Getting to a wideband driver that can cleanly do upper frequencies (above approx 3k to maybe 10k) is an art that few driver designers can meet.

It's very tough to do, with regard to being capable in all directions required. Generally...the more wideband a driver is... the more restricted it is in some vital areas.

Some/most are very aurally sensitive to the distortions created in these drivers that attempt such wideband behaviour, and this is why you don't see many of them out there.

For example, the crossovers in white van speakers generally run the midrange drivers wide open on the top. You don't see anyone crowing about how good they sound.

It's a complex subject, but the point remains that wide band drivers with all the requisite capacities are exceedingly rare, and pretty well all have shortcomings of some sort..
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
4,908 posts
 
The Eminent Technology LFT-8b employs a pair of LFT push-pull magnetic-planar drivers that cover the 180Hz to 10kHz frequency range, without a crossover. An 8" dynamic driver in a sealed enclosure handles 180Hz down, and a ribbon tweeter 10kHz up. $2499/pr.
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
I wonder why you don't make your own? :) 

There's an ongoing, re-hashing going on at DIYAudio.com about the crossover in the midrange debate, again. Personally I'm of the opinion that there's nothing inherently wrong with a "low" crossover around 2kHz. As another DIYer put it, things were different when simulation and measurement tools were more limited, slower and expensive. With modern tools it is MUCH easier to get a seamless transition from one driver to another. 

I listen exclusively to 2-ways I built with "low" crossover points and they disappear, with no trace of integration issues. You might also listen to Joseph Audio who uses this approach even in 2-ways. 

The use of a wide band has ardent followers in the DIY community, so maybe you should consider looking into DIY'ing one for yourself. There are some interesting 2-way designs, called "Woofer Assisted Wide Band." where a single driver covers 400-ish to 20kHz. 

There are significant sacrifices to be made in distortion, extension and dispersion with a WAWB, but there's no math to explain what you would like. You should listen for yourself. 

Best,

E
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