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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?
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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
roberjerman
2,086 posts
 
+1 bdp24! LFT-8b's might do the trick!
seanheis1
359 posts
 
Many of the most popular designs deal with the 2k crossover challenge in different ways. You may not realize it, but you are hearing the challenges of a crossover in the presence region.

It expresses itself as a lack of coherence, which can be discovered when you hear a good speaker that is not playing with overlapping transducers or is using a very simple, low sloping crossover.

Thiel, Vandersteen, etc. deal with crossover induced phase shifts caused by woofer tweeter integration by using a first order crossover. Omega runs their widebanders without tweeter support. Spatial Audio uses compression drivers that are crossed low enough to mostly get out of the way.

The above design examples create different compromises, but how they deal with the coherence challenge is a big part of their secret sauce.    
seikosha
205 posts
 
I thought the exact same thing after I converted to single/wideband driver designs  I think the main reason is the ragged frequency response and the marketing issues this introduces.  Buyers and manufacturers want to be able to justify their products/purchases with impressive specs.  I’m past that, sound first, measurements second.
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