what is 2way or 3 way in Tower Speakers ?

[paramesh]

Hi All,

can any one explain what is 2 way and 3 way in Tower speakers ?what is the difference between those ?

 

[corElement]

2 way speakers sound is divided between high and low frequencies.
3 way speakers sound is divided between high med and low frequencies.

So for example a 2 way speaker may have 1 tweeter 1 midbass woofer or 1 tweeter with two bridged midbass woofers (2.5 way).

While a 3 way speaker may have 1 tweeter 1 midrange 1 woofer or 1 tweeter 1 midrange woofers and 2 bass woofers

Both produce entire spectrum. Difference is in 3 way vocals tend to seem a little seperated as 1 voice gets sliced into 3 drivers so it can seem a little artificial. While in 2 way it's more cohesive. Especially when they're coaxial drivers where the tweeter is inserted through the center of the woofer to create a single point of origin.

But at the same time 3 way speakers may sound more enticing with instrumental music where individual drivers play individual instruments because of their nature.

Mind you a higher quality 2 way will always trump a lower quality 3 way and similarly a higher quality 3 way will always trump over a lower quality 2 way when it comes to sound quality.

Also simply putting more drivers or putting higher quality drivers on a speaker does not mean anything because the brain of the speaker is in it's crossover inside the speaker body. If the crossover is of poor quality then everything will sound poor.

 

[doors666]

tower represents size.

#way determines into how many bands the crossover divides the frequencies.

these have nothing to do with each other. you can have a stand mount thats a 3way and a tower thats 1 way or 2 way.

there is also
1way - no xo.
2.5way - basically a 2way with baffle step compensation into one of the woofers.
similarly there's also a 3.5 way. and a 4 way.

 

[elangoas]

But at the same time 3 way speakers may sound more enticing with instrumental music where individual drivers play individual instruments because of their nature.

Mind you a higher quality 2 way will always trump a lower quality 3 way and similarly a higher quality 3 way will always trump over a lower quality 2 way when it comes to sound quality.

I have come across few speaker specifications for 2 way & 3- Way tower... There is something mentioned as number of liters (or) volume.... This varies from speaker to speaker... How important is this specification ?

A biggest 2 way BS has roughly 15 - 20 Liters of space in it.... At the same time a FS has more than 35 liters of volume...

So from a clarity point of view (Midrange & tweeter) an expensive 2 way might sound better than a eqivalent priced FS... But what abt bass...

 

[doors666]

I have come across few speaker specifications for 2 way & 3- Way tower... There is something mentioned as number of liters (or) volume.... This varies from speaker to speaker... How important is this specification ?

A biggest 2 way BS has roughly 15 - 20 Liters of space in it.... At the same time a FS has more than 35 liters of volume...

So from a clarity point of view (Midrange & tweeter) an expensive 2 way might sound better than a eqivalent priced FS... But what abt bass...

volume of the cab depends on the design and the woofers. different woofers require different volumes. they work in a range, e.g. a woofer might be ok in say 22 to 30 litre volume.

again, bass depends on the volume and woofers selected. a 6.5" woofer will usually go lower than a 5" woofer. also depends upon whether its ported or sealed. An usher be718 digs deeper than some floorstanders.

there are also speakers that use 8" drivers. rare though and much more expensive. not only the woofer will cost more, the tweeter will also cost more as it will have to be larger to go lower. a 6.5" can be crossed over at say 1.5k, but a 8" will need to be crossed over say at 1k. so the tweeter will go down to 1k level, and hence will cost more.

 

[keith_correa]

<snip>there are also speakers that use 8" drivers. rare though and much more expensive. not only the woofer will cost more, the tweeter will also cost more as it will have to be larger to go lower. a 6.5" can be crossed over at say 1.5k, but a 8" will need to be crossed over say at 1k. so the tweeter will go down to 1k level, and hence will cost more.

I disagree with the text that I have marked in blue - see above.

 

[corElement]

I have come across few speaker specifications for 2 way & 3- Way tower... There is something mentioned as number of liters (or) volume.... This varies from speaker to speaker... How important is this specification ?

Volume = Dimensions = Based on type of drivers to be used and what configuration they're going to be in.

A biggest 2 way BS has roughly 15 - 20 Liters of space in it.... At the same time a FS has more than 35 liters of volume...

The largest bookshelf speakers I know are almost as large if not larger than many floor standers. The volume and physical dimensions of a speaker are a result of the design around the drivers.

Driver manufacturers give specs for the optimal enclosure volume for each driver and the displacement for each driver which the designer of the enclosure has to closely work around and calculate upon to get the "type" of sound they want out of it.

So as per your question of how important it is. Let me throw you a curve ball.
Imagine there is no enclosure...what if the speaker is open baffle. What happens then?

The answer is the volume is only as important as the designer considers it to be. A designer designing an open baffle speaker will configure it around the same driver with the specifications he's given and attempt to achieve the desired result because his job is it's configuration.

So from a clarity point of view (Midrange & tweeter) an expensive 2 way might sound better than a eqivalent priced FS... But what abt bass...

Purely subjective in my opinion. And what about bass? BS speakers don't have a problem with bass. Truth be told most budget floor standers have more bass than everything else. Good speakers perform everything equally well, not just bass.

 

[doors666]

I disagree with the text that I have marked in blue - see above.

In general, the statement holds true, though I am sure you can find examples where it doesnt. i guess the 'can' and 'will' etc can cause discrepancy as they might make it sound like its true in all cases.

Also, to disagree, you have to show a case where a small tweeter goes down to 1k (I know of atleast one such case, a new css tweeter, cant remember the number, but that uses xbl motor, hence an exception rather than a rule).

for the second, show a 8" woofer that actually can be safely crossed over at 1.5k.

lots of good cheap tweeters can be crossed over at 2k, a tweeter from the same family that crosses over at 1k will be costlier, to prove me wrong show me an example. compare scans with scans etc, no revelators with dayton comparisons.

 

[keith_correa]

lots of good cheap tweeters can be crossed over at 2k, a tweeter from the same family that crosses over at 1k will be costlier, to prove me wrong show me an example. compare scans with scans etc, no revelators with dayton comparisons.

I did not disagree with the "cost" part of what you said. I disagreed with "it will have to be larger to go lower". Larger?

 

[doors666]

I did not disagree with the "cost" part of what you said. I disagreed with "it will have to be larger to go lower". Larger?

thats correct. a 3/4" tweeter usually wont go below 2-2.5k. a 1" tweeter will go lower. a 1.25" tweeter will go even lower. a tweeter is basically a woofer only. a 15" will go lower than a 12", a 12" will go lower than a 8" etc.

 

[manu george]

two way or three way means there is two or three filters or networks used to cut frequencies for different drivers.
for example if a tower speaker having 2 6.5 inch woofer one 5.25 inch mid range and one tweeter.
then the company construct it with three way cross over.it means it has a built in network that redirect particular frequencies to desired drivers.
ie low frequencies to the woofer.500hz to 2khz to mids and 2.5 to above to the tweeter.