What Is A 2.5 Way Speaker? And No, It Doesn't Mean One Driver Is Cut In Half! 🙃
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- Опубліковано 6 лис 2022
- The "Two Way Vs Three Way Loudspeaker, Which Is Better?" video brought some excellent comments and questions, including asking what is a 2.5 way speaker. Chief Product Officer Andrew Welker explains what a 2.5 way loudspeaker is and covers a lot of ground in this quick guide to the 1 tweeter and 2 woofers speaker design.
Having the speaker design explained, with the benefits and challenges of the 2.5-way, Andrew shares his loudspeaker know how to help guide you through the process of how driver selection matters.
Thanks for all your comments and questions, keep them coming, and we'll keep the videos coming!
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Very well said, thanks for the info
Thank You.
3 way system 10"+5"+1"(W-Mr-T)
2.5 system
8"+7"+1"(W-Mb+T)
My question is
The 2.5 way produce more bass than the 3 way since the cone area of 8+7(W+Mb)are more than the 10"woofer.?
Because midrange in the 3 way are not producing mid low frequency..
Thanks for the detailed explanation of the differences. I have 2.5 way Paradigm Prestige 75F towers and a 3 way Paradigm Prestige center channel 45C with 2 way Paradigm Premier 200B bookshelf speakers for my surround. They are all very good speakers.
You’re welcome, thank you for watching!
Interesting.
Why isnt intermodulation distortion just as much a problem in 2 way? Can't you deal with it the same way? Thanks.
I'm building a commercial 2 way floorstander ... I have some large inductors ... would it really matter a whole lot as to what would be the perfect inductor size going to the 2nd, bottom woofer, or could I 'get away' with just removing some of the high frequencies of that bottom woofer? I hope my question makes sense
Are some dual woofer speakers simply wired with the woofers in parallel to the same crossover? I have a pair of Kef Carina II with dual 8” drivers all in the same box, not separated
Yes, this is very common. Many loudspeakers with multiple woofers share the same crossover network and are paralleled together.
Thanks. There are many of these around and I've been reading about 2.5 way speakers for years. I never knew what it really meant. The intermodulation interference explanation makes sense - would this issue be even more evident in a 2 way or even in a single driver speaker?
Yes, it could be even more of an issue with a single driver or full-range speaker. In a 2-way the issue is similar, but normally a 2-way would be in a smaller volume cabinet with less bass extension.
finally some good explanation... would it help to add a subwoofer and a high pass filter...
Absolutely…in the context of a system with a subwoofer, it would be excellent to prevent the main speakers from producing low bass.
@AxiomHomeTheaters what about a 2.5 way center channel speaker? You mentioned possible fluttering with the example here. What if there are 4 speakers and there are pairs dedicated at different frequency ranges? At least that is what I hope it's what's going on with the JBL Studio 665C. Can you shed any light on that pls?
@@AxiomHomeTheaters super, building a 2.5 way now. Midwoofer is sealed, so that acts like a "highpass filter"...
That was interesting as usual, thank you. But I think I missed something. If the designer is going to use two crossovers anyway, what's the benefit of the 2.5 configuration? It doesn't seem like it would be cost; is it just better low-end performance at the expense of possible flutter of the mid-placed driver?
It can be many things, such as additional power handling at bass frequencies, and while a 2.5-way still requires an extra crossover, it’s not nearly as complex as a bandpass network for a midrange.
@@AxiomHomeTheaters Thanks Andrew
@@AxiomHomeTheaters A 2.5 way is better than a 3 way on some speakers in every respect. Just having 2 exact drivers doing the same thing is worthless.. It is real simple. Each driver has their separate cabinets inside the speaker with sepate ports for each driver. Another benefit is a simpler crissover. PSB has a speaker like this.
Does it make any beneficial difference, or is it just a smoke and mirrors effect - should the lower placed of the like drivers in a 2.5 way system be isolated in its own larger cavity and baffle..?
Speculating that the lower placed of the like driver is capable of lower bass extension frequencies because of the larger resonance chamber - while being rolled off earlier than the upper like driver which is being allowed to cross over and interact with the mids/highs of the tweeter..
Is this how a 2.5 does its best at mimicking a 3 way setup..? (By allowing each of the like drivers to extended further in opposite directions than the other - while having a point of intersect between them; and then again with the upper like driver and the tweeter)
A 2.5 way does make a difference. Its about center to center spacing of the drivers. You always want the center of the drivers to be as close as you can get. If you do a TWW 2 way the bottom woofer is crossed over to the tweeter but yet its pretty far apart. So you just limit the upper extension of the lower woofer. A 2.5 way can never be a 3 way because your midrange in a 3way can not share the same airspace as the woofer. Example M50 would have been a good 2.5 way instead of a 2 way. If you want a quality 2 way with multiple bass drivers its best to use a WTW arrangement and the center to center spacing is equal. Intermodulation can happen even in 3 ways if youre only using airspace to roll off the midrange and not using a crossover. Don't discount driver spacing for intermodulation. Crossing a tweeter over to a 6.5 woofer that is 8" apart isnt that great an idea.
@sevenlayers Well, it really depends on the design, but for a floorstanding speaker with a decent volume, having two woofers operating together at bass frequencies can give better alignment and certainly higher power handling. They don’t really need to be isolated from one another.
@Chad Morris All true and correct, thanks for adding more details to the topic!
So if four 15" woofers are part of a 2.5 way speaker system,... Would that give you better bass than a 3 way speaker system with two 18" woofers?
Bass performance is going to depend heavily on the driver parameters AND the cabinet volume and configuration, so there is no way to say.
A 2.5 way is better than a 3 way on some speakers. It is real simple. Each driver has their separate cabinets inside the speaker with sepate ports for each driver. PSB has a speaker like this.