Whats the ultimate driver configuration ??

here i discuss the pros and cons of different driver configurations

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

My favourite speakers to build and listen to are 12” 15” drivers with a compression driver with the right crossover and the right size of horn it sounds amazing

[@crossoverchef]

What your hearing is correct. Problems with a concentric design are....... *The woofer horn loads the tweeter.........the entire woofer cone now acts as a horn to the tweeter. Thats why lack of air. *The tweeter design is restricted, magnet size, back chamber, etc *The woofer cone modulates the tweeter sound waves as the woofer moving in and out. Intermodulation distortion.

[@stevengagnon4777]

The reality is this design is not that it is a point scorce. It is actually two point sources occupying the same space. The problem here is that any phase shift near the crossover point becomes a problem . And there are phase shifts both in the drivers and crossover. Now consider the walls of the bass driver can be out of phase with the wave propagated from the tweeter. One can see this is certainly not good.

[@billybeck]

The room is a massive factor in hifi.

[@Unfunny_Username_389]

even the same room with carpet OR laminate flooring....as I sussed out the other week : - /

[@NomadBDP]

100%, room treatment BEFORE nice speakers then source then amplifier.

[@adilchaudhrey3167]

Best vintage speakers I've had, which are genuine high end, are Infinity speakers featuring complex multi drivers and superb EMIT ribbon tweeters and super tweeters, Apogee full range ribbon speakers, and Pioneer ss1010 speakers which are large 3.5 ways with superb beryllium ribbon tweeters. The thing with these big speakers though is that they require serious very high quality powerful amplification to deliver their best.

[@adilchaudhrey3167]

The reason dual concentric aren't the most prevalent isn't because it isn't a better approach, it's because its a lot more challenging and costly to get it right and produce. The predominance of 2-ways with separate tweeters and mid-bass drivers boils down to it bring easier to design and produce to a cost.

[@markcarrington8565]

Great stuff, Kelvin. As always. Love my 2 ways mini towers in my small room. Loved my three ways when I were in the big room but boy did they overpower the small room!

[@jim586]

Hi Kelvin. Regarding speakers, especially modern ones, what isn’t discussed enough is their sensitivity and impedance plot. So many speakers now have hugely varying impedance and that really has an impact on its relationship with amp that’s driving it.

[@jonboy9912]

Love your analysis I think a 3 way is the best way but we all aint got the room for them - literally. I had a pair of Celestion Ditton CS6's from the mid 70's - so rich and beautiful - when I got married first thing the wife said was chuck em out too big for the room. So I got a Sony mini system and stuck it in a bookshelf. I now still have the wife but got a pair of Mordaunt Short 906 floor standers. Excellent bass and really wholesome sound they got two mids and a tweeter I think but do the bass really well. I got Celestion 3 Mk2's on the second system, musical but lack punch at the low end but those two ways play well.

[@bananabrooks3836]

Try telling her which vacuum she can buy.

[@donjohnstone3707]

I have only ever heard one pair of dual concentric speakers, Tannoy 12" red speakers 40 years ago in a recording studio and they were the best sounding speakers I had ever heard. In general though, I agree that using sperate tweeters are a good way to make speakers. The important factor is not so much how many speakers are used but how well the system is designed using compatible components that integrate and work together as seamlessly as possible, to create a unified balanced sound that covers the desired frequency response, while providing good dynamics. I personally like 3-way systems with dedicated bass, midrange and high frequency drivers with fairly simple but good quality crossovers in well made cabinets. When done properly, they should be all that's needed for good quality sound. PS I agree with your comment about how the same materials used in bass and mid cones can help to integrate the sound better.

[@nhilltiger]

Thanks Kelvin, greetings from Port Stephens NSW your videos are great start to the week. You take us to the sensory side of audio, not a measurement to be spoken of!

[@Jezza-m5k]

The Tannoys use dual concentric drive units..."point source". Quite the opposite of omnidirectional loudspeakers, which spray sound everywhere!

[@clickbeetle2720]

🖤great discussion, thank you! for me it sorta depends on what you want from the speaker.. the configuration could be application specific or a one size fits all kinda thing.. the one size fits all can be a pathway to tears for some becos it's kind of a jack of all trades, it may be a very competent and accomplished handyman, but it's shortcomings for specifics becomes patently obvious fairly quick.. I think the majority of people are satisfied with that approach though.. I believe the biggest downfall of a two way is trying to impersonate a three way.. their freq range is just too stretched.. for instance, I had to do a ton of research before I built a mid-range specific system for a couple of genres IE: unplugged, male & female vocals, small ensemble smokey back-room jazz, black rhythm & blues (trad.), World instruments. it was a long & tiring process of culling.. eventually (approx. 2yrs later) I settled on a small 2-way that excelled in coherent, mid-range sonic accuracy.. it's got an 8" flared mid/bass driver with an inverted roll suspension.. a lovely 34mm, impregnated, textile dome tweeter.. of course you now know what it is.. the venerable Rogers LS5/9 Classic.. a custom build.. all I can say is it does it's job, it fits the bill, it's the employee you'd never sack and would one day hope they'd buy the business from you.. in my words~ Apart from exemplary vocal performances, the LS5/9 nurtures a deeper appreciation of traditional instruments from all corners of the Globe. Ancient art-forms from rich cultural centres such as India, Japan and China, reverberate with renewed life. The LS5/9 is a musical instrument within itself and as such, it sits far opposed to any modern conception and perception of high-end studio monitors. I have found it to be fittingly benchmark. Lets also not forget Audio Note and Grover Notting..👍 🌏✌& ♥

[@hugobloemers4425]

Hi Kelvin, this is a great subject and definitely your observations about matching cone / dome materials as well as speed is spot on from my point of view. I do not agree with everything you said here, specifically about the two way concentric speakers (they are two way by the way, not one way). As you said it your self, Tannoy managed it. So that is a proof of concept. Bad concentric speakers are in my opinion just a bad implementation of a good idea. The fact that there are so few of them, proves how difficult it is. Personally I really like full range drivers, so one cone does it all. You will hear the opponents say, they can do neither high nor low. Yes that is a bit true, though you can design cabinets that will mitigate the lows. And they give something in abundance, in spades rather. The mid range, where most of the music is, is epic. Nothing touches it. Finally, if you have only one driver and one budget, you can spend much more on that driver than with a multi way + cross over. And this argument goes for every increment of drivers. Regarding two way speakers, surely if a one way speaker can almost do everything we should be able to get it right with a two way speaker. The problem is that it is the easiest and cheapest to make drivers that have the cross over exactly where the sound is the most critical. The best way would be to take a base driver that can get up to 7kHz. It will be nearly as expensive as a full range driver though. It will have a massive magnet, a very light cone that must not break up at upper mid-range frequencies and will need a big cabinet to produce the lower frequencies. Modern two way speakers go the opposite, they push the cross over as low as possible to allow for easy base driver design and implementation. So that brings us at three way speakers, since with a two way design we have a smallish cabinet, a base driver with a smallish magnet that breaks up at mid range frequencies, the two way dome tweeter is compromised and will sound anaemic. Add a dedicated mid range and it will fix that problem. But you will need to spread that budget you where given over even more components. And a three way cross over is not easy to design nor cheap if done right. So my conclusion is that since every (sensible) audio component is build to a budget, the question is only where you want to spend your money as manufacturer.

[@dannyverhamme7970]

My set KEF Coda 1972 build are one of my favourites. My Tannoy Profile 637 set are great too! And i have some old Grundig speakers that sound amazing too. I don't have one prefered set. There are quite some speakers that sound lovely to my ears. ( I am not a heavy bass sound fan ).

[@andygee8716]

Co-Axial, Dual Concentric, Point Source; call them what you will, do tend to sound dull and restricted in the top end, however, their mid band is usually fantastic. TD Eclipse and Tannoy particularly have this wonderful 3 dimensionality about them, they just disappear in the room. The only problem if you can call it that is the TD's requirement for a sub, due to it's cone size. 2 way speakers are the most popular type: small or large, deep or shallow they seem to be the easiest to design and have the easiest crossover configuration to deal with. Most "Near Field", (closest to the seating position of the engineer), studio monitors have a single or 2 way design because of better driver integration at close listening proximity. 3 ways tend to be larger and quite a few of them have 'gain' controls on them for the mid and high frequency drivers so as the sound can be tailored to the person listening and the room that they reside in. Yamaha NS-1000's and most JBL monitors utilise these controls on the speaker facia to give boost or cut to those frequencies. No one speaker has been designed for all people and listening tastes, so a little more control of the critical mid frequencies is welcome, as far as I'm concerned. 4/5 way configurations are usually very big speakers and tend to require distance from the listening position and space to allow all of those drive units to integrate, hence a large room. They can dominate a space whilst free standing so they tend to be fairly tall in stature. The monitor types tend to be more heavy set in their appearance yet shallow enough to be set into walls to save space. Some like; JBL, Genelec and others, can be mounted both horizontally or vertically depending on the room and listening position as can their midrange and treble drivers so as to retain their orientation.

[@danmarjenka6361]

Kelvin, you make a great point about how if the whole speaker industry is not moving in the direction of single concentric drivers, then that must not be the best configuration.

[@Jonc25]

Just bought some Wharfedale Linton 3xp £40 Good condition. Definitely better on mid and top end to the slighty later 70s 2 way Laser 60. The poorer build quality Lasers definitely have it on bass. Much higher sensitivity of the laser series makes it much easier for my old Leak delta 30. Thanks for another informative upload.

[@51stSTATE-ReformUK]

My 3-way Celestion 250 are good honest speakers without any obvious flaws. Paper cones and pre-metal tweeter.

[@gibguy5705]

My Spendor BC111s are 4 way ..and they are after 45 years of searching ..The best sounding speakers I have ever heard..Although ..Epos ES14 two way with virtually no crossover at all..just one small cap..are pretty close but with a lot less bass extension ..Well they are have the size of the BC111s so no surprise there..oh and mustn't forget the Quad ESLs which are a one way and in a class of their own so there 4 way 2 way and 1 way ..all brilliant

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

Those EPOS speakers are the best my ears have heard, they convey emotion in vocals like no other I've heard. It's a shame all the KZbin audiophiles don't talk about them.

[@GiancarloBenzina]

The ultimate speaker is the wideband open baffle, it‘s the fastest, most honest on what he gets fed. Good music goes out the front and goes out the back, like any natural voice. Most other speakers do good forward and bad all around. Only horns have a specific that comes close. The rest is just a bad compromise that with brutal R&D and work can get great, too, but costly, too.

[@jozefserf2024]

Yes, all boxes are bad, but even OBs usually compromise on bass, aren't they?

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

Exactly, our head isn't built into a box, why do we build speakers into a box and expect them to sound like a real human is making mouth noises?

[@sachinthakaabeywardena581]

Another informative video, Thank you Kelvin. Based on my experience, I do not see much of a difference between 3 way and 2 way speakers. Because currently I do have 3 way and 2 way speaker pairs. However I noticed that 3 way speaker produces better mid range sound when place them in a bigger room.

[@Cartier_specialist]

The Dalquist DQ-10 is a 5 way phased array open baffle speaker and they're the best sounding speakers I've heard. The local hi-fi shop near me back in the 80s had a pair of Meridian speakers that were incredible also and I believe they were at least a three way. I wish I could've heard the Dalquist DQ-10s on the same components they were playing the Meridians through. I'm pretty sure the Meridians were being driven by I'm guessing a 120 wpc Yamaha Natural Sound receiver -- it's been too many years ago to remember the other components upstream.

[@joeyjustin6895]

1:20 YOUR ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. That's why bullet speakers have way more treble. The bullet guides the treble away from the bass to get it away from the cone. So a active tweeter shouldn't never be in the center. If it's a coaxial that's OK because the tweeter is out farther

[@edd2771]

I have vintage ADS L710s. Bought new in college and they cost me so much I’ve never listened to anything else. I know I’m giving up deep bass but that’s not my thing. Curious what you might have to say about them Two 5.5 inch paper bass drivers arranged vertically at the bottom and a 2” silk dome midrange alongside (horizontally) a 1” silk dome tweeter at the top. Three-way. I enjoy the channel.

[@SamFirthDesigner]

I've mentioned Braun and A/D/S before. Maybe Kelvin can find them but they're not very common in the UK.

[@donnystrife1908]

I have the l710's IMO they are a serious speaker. Besting the hpm100,klipsch heresy,polk model 11, klh 6. I prefer my tekton design double impacts but that's a lot larger speaker. I would be curious what kind of performance you could get using a dsp and some additional amps. Add in two 10-12in woofers and a 12-15in sub would do. If I had bought the l710 first. I would try it.

[@williamdavies3295]

JBL, of course. As a pro musician of several decades, i can say that i have encountered more jbl speakers in studios, arenas, theatres than all the other few decent brands put together!. Jbl is simply the finest sounding loudspeaker available. Three way is best, forget 4 & 5 way offerings. I have L100 at home, used to have the century models, but the reissues beat them outright. I have jbl in my fender twin reverb, champ, princeton & marshall cabs. Makes a huge difference to the sonic quality, & also more db per watt. These jbl speaks are between 95-99db per watt @ 1 metre.. Cannot beat a 12” speaker for lower freqs. Moves a lot of air, far bigger sound, more room for the instruments to breathe.

[@vthomas375]

O.K. we've got our rock set-up etc. What about full scale orchestral classical work , the much harder program to reproduce though?

[@williamdavies3295]

@@vthomas375 What are you on about?. Jbl is easily capable of handling any kind of music genre. Have you had decades of working with a plethora of musical styles & instruments. I have been called on to perform with brass bands, orchestras, (yes, they do use guitar players & bass players quite a fair bit). Jbl tells it like it is. The only other speaker that comes even close to jbl in a domestic environment is klipsch!.

[@scottbernard8824]

Yeesh. Worst speakers ever, except maybe Bose...tie.

[@Roof_Pizza]

If you like being shouted at and love ugly.

[@williamdavies3295]

@@scottbernard8824 A little troll interloper know f all has wandered in, bless!.

[@gregbenefield7658]

I agree with you. It may end up as a speaker placement thing. I like the three-way straight up configuration.

[@johnshaw359]

They can all be good providing the designer has done their technical homework. I'm Using passive ATC 40scm because they sound good and are well regarded by professional sound engineers.

[@Roof_Pizza]

A 2 1/2 way is typically best where there is an overlap to move more smoothly from one driver to the next.

[@slowpawstevet3676]

my B&W CDM 1 NT have a two way combination with the tweeter perched on top of the case, they sound very airy and spacial, a good example of "thinking outside the box" 🙂

[@Unfunny_Username_389]

what's the ultimate lava lamp configuration??

[@bubbleone6526]

😂😂😂

[@bananabrooks3836]

Unfunny.

[@davidbaines5487]

I’ve always been happy with just one! Copper with red in purple.

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

What this guy said ☝️

[@hugobloemers4425]

@@bananabrooks3836 That is not the point, it is a sure way to collect up-votes.

[@RasheedKhan-he6xx]

I tend to like the MTM or D'Appolitio stack of a tweeter with one mid-bass above it and one below. I also like asymetrical 3 ways in older speakers with large wooden boxes. The former have more authority, the latter a bit more delicacy. Or at least the capacity for more delicacy should the engineer so desire.

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

To build a good 3 way you definitely have to match them well, the sensitivity db , the wattage of them , the material, the enclosure, and most importantly the crossover , it took me a while to get it right

[@spacehopper77]

I think you do need to listen to a set of Kef UniQ towers with multiple drivers as they are a significant improvement on the single driver speakers. Having listened to both removing the bass duty from the UniQ driver opens up the mids and highs being clear with sparkle and a wide sound stage. For example Kef Q55.2 speakers with their 3 drivers sound much better than Kef Q35 speakers with only 2.

[@jozefserf2024]

Miles better.

[@jas.oncroft]

I would love to see you review Haycross audio HA3/6 as I know you reviewed his smaller speaker. Really love your opinions. Really interesting.

[@WalterDavidRiffmon]

Good fundamentals on what to consider in speaker arrangements. Did you ever hear or see Panasonic SB-400s? They were also under the Technics SB-400 name. They're a three-way speaker with attenuation and crossovers on the rear for a tri amp configuration. I own two pair. I think these were Japanese domestic market only. I lucked out here in the US. I obtained one pair for free during an apartment renovation. I'm curious about what you would think about them if they ever came across your path!

[@keithneal5369]

I have tannoy 609 mk 2 loudspeakers. They are dual concentric. I bought these to replace tannoy 607 loudspeakers which used the same size bass unit but separate tweeter. These I sold to my son . The 609s absolutely thrash the 607s , even my son says this when he visits. I also have mission MX3s in a seperated system, 2 way , although 3 drivers. The tannoys trash these as well. I would love to listen to the Mofi range of point source loudspeakers. It's not how many drivers, its how you use them . Ps I use to own celestion ditton 44s. Huge 3 way speakers. Wish I still had them.

[@gino3286]

Hi very interesting analysis as always and thank you very much for it Regarding the sonic signature of a driver I was struck by an interview given by the chief designer at Harbeth in which he was categorical The sound of a cone driver depends substantially on the material the cone is made of this could be a reason for the good sound of Tannoy coaxials that I truly love The paper ones i mean i have an old dc100 The weak part is the cabinet Nothing that cant be fixed

[@stevebrown-x1o]

surprised you never mentioned full range drivers as coaxial speakers still use a crossover. full range drivers dont and have a huge following but you need to match the driver very carefully to the cabinet, myself i have a 3 way richard allan pavane ( replaced the 12 R/A woofer for a dovedale 12inch woofer also replaced the crossover ( amazing bass ) i also have a pair of sonab 0a12 speakers for every day use ......excellent speaker.........also have a pair of pioneer cs-06 omni directional speakers in a cylinder cabinet these use 1 central up firing woofer the rest of the drivers are 3 mids and 3 tweeters so in effect they are 3 way speakers with the mids and tweeters evenly spaced out to give the omnidirectional sound.......great looking and soundstage but average sound always enjoy listening to your channel steve ( mold north wales

[@JanPippel]

All my favorit speakers are following the same philosophy…8 or 10 inch papercone bass driver, and a 1-1,5“ silkdome tweeter (mostly combined with a small horn in front)…crossed over under 2500Hz by a simple crossover with 6-12db (Dynaco A25, Snell Type K, Heybrook HB1, JPW P1 and so on). All of them combine chasis with matching frequency response, with only a little help from the crossover (so great build chasis, right?) that don’t need any correction… To me personally…best concept.

[@DavidMorley]

Excellent video. Personally I use Tannoy Dual Concentrics in my recording studio (as well as Questeds which are 2 way). I like the sound in that context. Great speakers (AMS8 actives). Then I have 2 others I love for hifi listening. Rogers JR149 (with sub) which are gorgeous sounding and for really lush listening I like old Kef's. Especially the Cadenza (Passive bass) or Concerto with with the driver woofer. Modern speakers are too analytical for me, even in the studio, although I do like older Dynaudio

[@iancatchpole5223]

Hi Kelvin, another Sunday treat, I totally agree that a three way design normally will sound more alive if well sorted, but it's all down to execution...you seem to have a love affair with those bextrene Doped Kef units....and I remember a certain company whose initials are W.A. thought that those uni Q drive units Kef brought out after where Crap..

[@mastercraft5798]

Why do we need thick speaker cables from our amp to the speakers... when the cables from the speaker terminals to the actual speakers(internal) are puny?

[@johndough8115]

I also want to add... that Studio Monitors are Designed for Near-Field listening, and are not considered the best for musical enjoyment. I believe they are intended to be more revealing in a Clinical way... which may end up sounding a bit harsh / fatiguing. Also, I believe many of them are not designed to deliver high volume levels. But ehh... Im not a Studio professional... so maybe im not correct. Additionally... I have an old pair of wooden grilled speakers, that have like 5 drivers in them. I was given them free, with the purchase of a different pair. The sound is not very good. That said... Ive also not even considered re-capping them (which might help.. a little). These are what many call "Kabuki" speakers. They look like they should sound good... but with low spec drivers in them... they dont. Its all show, and no go.

[@benjaminhenry5284]

My dad has 1970s Tannoy 12 golds snd i totally agree that they are not particularly light and airy. They have other wonderful characteristics but are not my favorite.

[@andrewpetley7008]

good point about the synergy of cone material. otherwise its basically a good big un' beats a good little un'

[@johntaylor6773]

Depending on what amp I’m using it’s either my Rega RS3 or my JPW AP2’s in my room both are 2 way and just flow with plenty of base the AP2 has more highs and sounds really nice after the tweeter cap upgrade

[@jozefserf2024]

Open baffle if you want honesty, but 3 ways if you want great mids and bass.

[@keithlaila7266]

Three ways with separate compartments for each driver; my Mk 1. Kef Reference 105 are a pair of speakers that I will never be parted from.

[@michaelsegel8758]

First to each their own. When designing a speaker there are trade offs. You're negative on coaxial speakers except for Tannoy which is funny because there's Fyne which is still made in Scotland and does a better job considering they're like Tannoy mark II. KEF does a good job w their R3 Meta and others... but its not just a single driver but a second woofer so its a 3 way design. Fyne does it as well and also adds in a super tweeter now too. And while there are advantages to this design, there are disadvantages too. Then there are full range drivers which also have their limitations while having the advantage of no XO except that there may be a capacitor and resistor in serial to the driver. You could go to the other end of the spectrum and look at a 5way Linkwitz LX521.4 which has 5 channels per speaker and they each require their own amplifier along w a bit of DSP. (But they do sound amazing.) And of course costs. YMMV. Bottom line no ultimate although there will be many who disagree with that. And we didn't get into the design of the speaker like simple bass reflex vs quarter wave vs RLH vs Open Baffle... (You get the idea.)

[@ianmacfarlane8475]

Another excellent video Kelvin

[@robertyoung1777]

I concur fully. Thank you.

[@steveoszman8746]

I settled on old school Altec model 3 and 5, 2 way. I do enjoy my Pioneer CS 88s they don't meet many folks ideal though. I gave up on bookshelf speakers, Love listening to electric blues they ain't the dog's marbles for BB or Gary.

[@TheRoby1kenobi]

Totally agree. I ended up with celestion ditton 66, totally coherent on the spectrum of frequencies, with a fast and detailed midrange dome that helps with the hot spot and spacial reconstruction and the passive radiator that holds the advantages of the sealed box Vs reflex. What do you think of the single driver projects? They never satisfied me even if I'm curious to hear the Sibelius by Pearl acoustics, it seems well engineered.

[@ianbigsand7]

I wish that I'd bought the ELS 57's that I considered at one time. No vocals have ever sounded so lifelike. They're 2/3 way.

[@analoglooney]

Nothing beats the 57 for vocals. It's a whole new experience.

[@leegoodwin3466]

Best avoided. Unreliable. They are a 2 way design but an absolute nightmare.

[@mddawson1]

In addition to the types of drivers, the layout of those drivers and the design of the front baffle can really affect the sound quality. When I see those 70s and 80s speakers with drivers seemingly placed at random across a wider front baffle that has a raised lip around the outside of the baffle, you can be certain that it will have a frequency response similar to a profile of the Swiss alps. Poorly positioned drivers and that baffle lip creates isolated frequency cancellations that spoil the music.

[@analoglooney]

I don't think driver configuration makes or breaks a speaker. The overall presentation is the most important factor, and whether that presentation floats your boat. For me the original Tannoy alnico dual concentrics, the Quad 57's and the classic Kef b139/110/t27 still take some beating.

[@bartvanransbeeck1341]

I have say 60 years audio experience ,hobby and run a second hand audioshop in brussels....now retired i got yesterday a pair of old big speakers without any brand , bought them after seeing it contained vitavox S2 drivers with CN149 horn , electrovoice 18" , T35b tweeters and top quality crossover, and coming home connect it to asecond hand yamaha amplifier igot for 50 euro, and my God , the shock never heard that in my life ...some say hornspeakers lack precise imaging and depth...not these ones It put the bbc kef P60 out of the room , these vitavox sound like electrostats but with tremendous dynamics and bass effortless , and what a image , its first time i hear the silence places between instruments and so much more detail and exact scale , if you see somevitavox in theUK ....go for it❤

[@BehindthesafetyofLinux]

Diver number is always going to be a war between simplicity and capability. You cannot get any simpler than a single driver, as it requires nothing but a box, and for some even the box is optional. You cannot get any more complicated than a four way setup, for stereo sources. A single driver will be very limited on frequency representation and output capacity, but will always sound decent for what it is. A four way setup will represent every frequency to it's fullest, but the complexity of making every driver balance correctly is mind boggling. I personally prefer a good three way passive speaker with an active sub-woofer on an active crossover. The representation is amazing, but engineering the whole setup to work well together is a nightmare. When you take this philosophy, you spend big on the high pass driver and the active sub woofer, then you fill in the rest with what makes sense to balance the tweeter and sub-woofer. It is smart to chose materials by frequency. High pass loves air ribbons, band-pass loves paper based cones, low pass loves light but firm metals, active sub requires large, light, and firm drivers materials. Decisions multiply exponentially as driver multiply, but the reward is much greater with a larger array of drivers.

[@gtric1466]

I think between 2 way and 3 way is the size of the room how much air you have to move and costs. dollar for dollar if you look at most of the manufactures lines, you can step up to the next level on 2 way in comparison to the cost of a 3 way.

[@ruk2023--]

I don't think the driver configuration matters myself. I think it's down to the materials of the drivers and the crossover competence.

[@analoglooney]

I agree, as well as actually liking the sound of it. There are some very clever speakers out there which are unremarkable.

[@pedrofernandez8729]

No mention of those rare ond driver speakers, one driver is supposed to handle everything. Never heard on in person, but I cannot imagine how good they can sound.

[@ramongomez6720]

How's it going? Can you tell me anything about the Cabasse minorca. Upscale Audio here in California has them on sale for $700 from $1250 THANKS

[@matereo]

3-way to me. I have 3-4 speakers i really love and they have that. Now the Cube audio Nenuphar they are great with just one but are a speciality speaker. I agree on the uni-q kefs

[@nickedwards4961]

Dug out my old Rega Kyte two way which sound nice mid and top range. However the bass just wasn’t there. So I added a Rel subwoofer. Sounds great now. Do I now have a threeway? 😉

[@sidesup8286]

For a while back in the 1970s and into the 1980s many companies were coming out with what they called "Linear Phase" or "Phased Array speakers." The first one I recall seeing was the Dahlquist dq10 (good speaker), then. Technics 6000 and 7000 series (less good with coloration), KEF 105 (very good), Vandersteen 2 and Urei speakers (both very good). Most were 3 ways with the midrange and tweeter set back several inches, so their acoustic centers (supposed arrival times) were equidistant to the listener and would reach the listeners ears at the same time. However, wouldn't people seated of different height throw that whole thing off? For instance the tweeter might be ear height to a 5'8" person, but 4 inches below a 6 ' 2" person. Also bigger drivers respond less slowly and instantaneously to the signal than a small almost massless 3/4 inch tweeter. Was that all hype, or do I just not understand. The goal was to get sound arrival time in perfect synch time wise, but it seems like that just wouldn't be the result.

[@firebladeclements]

I have speakers used by Abbey Road studios from around 2010 and their a pain in the arse! Amazing, but..... Be cool to see their monitors through the years! Can you guess mine?

[@mondoenterprises6710]

I say a 2 way with a great cross is the way to go. Keep it simple. 3 way sounds more artificial to me.

[@dazzlerweb]

I like my dual concentric with super tweeters.

[@mikeherbert1343]

Fantastic as usual 🎉. Thanks

[@brucermarino]

I think the real issue is to be able to distinguish between basic conceptual design and actual execution. These variables need to be sorted out first I should think. Thanks!

[@mariojorgeloureiro7257]

Dear Kevin. Thank you very much for your approach and your very musically educational your videos. Have you reviewed de Warfdale Super Lintons? I would like to know. If the case is yes, I would like to see the review! Best wishes

[@matanavgust8404]

Great video tnx , I want to hear just if you can talk about small speakers with amp inside ( monitor) in home hifi system

[@mikaeleriksson3097]

Hi Kevin! Mikael from Stockholm here. I found my end game loudspeaker: Snell typ E, two ways and omidirectional. Greetings

[@frankgarcia9834]

Great Video! You got a new subscriber

[@shaturanjay]

Can you do a review of KEF 104ab. Is it a great speaker ?

[@analoglooney]

Yes it is. I've been listening to my pair this week and they still sound sublime. Need a strong amp though.

[@ibleedswede]

I would like Kelvin to review these as well. I love mine

[@analoglooney]

@ Great speakers. 👍

[@ccdccd8615]

This video is all over the place. First, you began discussing speakers with a coaxial driver, not omni-directional. As the name implies, Omni-directional speaker radiates sound in all directions which a coaxial driver does not. The advantage of coaxial drivers is that they are point source speakers because the sound comes from one point. There are other ways to get to a point source speakers. A common way is a D’Appolito configuration with the tweeter sitting between to woofers or midranges. The other common way is to use a wide band transducer and use something like a transmission line to extend the bass range. How much you like these kinds of speakers depends on what value you place on having a point source. What a designer does with a multi-way design really depends on design goals. Typically 2-way designs lack much extension into the bass range (maybe 50 hz on a good day). In general 3-way designs have a dedicated woofer and much more low end response. Driver integration is always an issue which is why you have to listen to your design. A spec sheet might provide frequency range, but won’t tell you how well drivers play with each other or how they sound. There are 2 kinds of 4-way designs, in general. One would be an adding a super tweeter, the other would be adding essentially a built in sub. Of course, you could do both. However, 4-way designs tend to be rare for good reason. A good tweeter these days gets up to or close to 20khz, which is beyond that most people can hear. Second, the best place for a sub is rarely the same location as your main speakers so you are usually better off getting a 3-way and adding 1-2 subs. There is no best speakers we could all agree on. It all depends on your sonic preferences, your room, musical tastes and application (2 channel and/or HT).

[@gunchained]

What is your opinion on Celestion dl6 mk1. I have a pair in mint condition. Should I keep them or sell them. I'm Waiting on Sansui au-217, and tu-217. Do you think it would be a good match with dl6? I'm Yamaha and jbl fan and have three systems with this combination. So now I'm interested in something different.

[@Ronnymikkonen2686]

I compared Dali Oberon 1 with Bang Olufsen S60? Which one won?

[@jameslaidler2152]

B&W DM-220 with two 8 inch paper fibre cone midbass woofers, and their 1 inch polymide tweeter.

[@Terry-ed1pi]

I still use my wharfedale xp2 3 way they sound so confined comperd to the Ditton 15s which I am selling. Amp is a nad 3020..

[@chriswills9437]

Thank you Kelvin. Do you know the quote from Spencer Hughes (Spendor BC1) ´´Big speakers have big problems´´. Do you have any (re)views on vintage AR speakers?

[@popdufc4139]

What about full range speaker. Eliminate the crossover

[@0robbi0]

Hiya Kelvin, if you can pick up a pair of Q Acoustic M20 powered monitors cheap (299 at mo new) you'll find a great video will be made. Them plus a small sub connected to a Micromega MyDac = 1/10 the cost of my main system and is about 90+% as good. Love 'em!

[@amok281]

Sorry Kelvin, but the tweeter in the centre of the mid (or bass/mid) is not omni directional; which means radiates in all directions, which are usually spherical. Still a good video though.

[@TriAmpMyFi]

Let's see............ 18 inch for 30-70Hz 18 inch for 30-70Hz 12 inch for 70-400Hz OR 12 inch for 70-200Hz Compression driver for 400-3500Hz 6 inch cone for 200-3000Hz 1 1/8 inch softdome for the rest 1 1/8 inch softdome for the rest So, (edit) either 4 or 4👍 Acid Jazz, Funk & Brass🔈🔉🔊

[@pirate0jimmy]

Best for what space, distance, people? 300 people in a concert hall: big sealed cabinet LF, horn Mids and highs. 6 feet from my ears in a 12 x 15 x 10 room: i like coincident (604e, Uni-Q, Tannoy, etc) and vertical lines. Headphones: yes. Except for headphones, spend half the budget fixing the room. For typical consumer house situation, 12" LF drivers in a sealed box with mids and Hf to taste, WAF, and budget.

[@pirate0jimmy]

Nothing wrong with single driver small box that gets midrange really-right and sacrifices deep bass and hf over 12k. In awful rooms, these suck less.

[@ianyates7742]

Like you I’m not a fan of kef my friend lives there so I have to be really careful what I say when I visit house phone is listening to them diplomacy rules😂😂 personally, I like three-way speakers❤what are your thoughts wharfedale Glendale, three-way xp2 speakers

[@pauldavies6037]

He should look at the recent you tubes from GR research telling you all the real tests on drive units

[@johndough8115]

The drivers matter far more than the number. I have 90s era techniques 12" 3-ways... and they get utterly stomped by the 70s era EPI 100V speakers.. that are 2-ways with 8" woofers. The techs are lightyears apart in differences. When I looked inside.. I realized why. Techs woofers had small and lightweight magnets. EPIs have massive strong magnets. One EPI woofer probably weighed more than BOTH of the tech woofers combined. The EPIs inverted tweeters.. also have large magnets for their size. The techniques midranges and tweeters.. were very cheap junk.. all paper.. low fidelity. Now... I've also owned other 2 ways.. that I'd consider average level trash. Similar issue. Low quality drivers were used. That all said.. I have a pair of speakers with a 3" dome midrange... and it's the most luscious sounding midrange that I've ever heard. Unfortunately.. the other drivers are low spec junk. Now... the EPIs midrange is still fantastic... but I have a feeling that if I added that dome midrange into them.. it might make those speakers even better. Hard to say though... as it might ruin the insane holographic 3d sounds Tage image that they create. So anyway... as said... it really is mostly a driver quality issue. Low spec drivers having weaker magnets... can't accelerate nor control the cone fast & accurately enough. This leads to micro distortions. Also.. I've heard some super-tweeters.. and every time they just seem to sound too unnatural. They draw attention to the speaker.. instead of the speaker vanishing properly. Also... horns always seem to flatten the intended 3d image. At least... that my experience.

[@Iamloveingawareness]

Paper bass cones with hydrostatic mid & top sound very nice together ♥ very agile and lively - like a staffy pulling on a lead.... Bowers & Wilkins do some interesting things with their tweeter positioning: I wonder if it has something to do with what you don't like about the single drivers Kelvin? They like to sit them right on top of the main casing, away from the other divers 🤔

[@NomadBDP]

KEF Cantata 😊

[@jameshutton5979]

👍 👍

[@iansteel5569]

4 way plus sub.

[@Ricky-cl5bu]

Lava lamp kelvin

[@BLIGHTY1000]

👍

[@crazyprayingmantis5596]

If we want voices to sound natural why do we put speakers in boxes? Our head isn't built into a box.

[@roberthyde7102]

3 way .

[@williamsizemore5576]

Cheaper to make

[@EdoDijkgraaf]

I really tried to listen to the message. Found a way to succeed. Just don’t watch at the same time. Love Kevin, do not love his production choices.

[@anoksf216]

Not kabuki style with 25 drivers per square inch?

[@analoglooney]

Impress your friends, hundreds of drivers...all rubbish. 😆