Does speaker size matter!

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A smaller speaker on a decent stand can sound much better than the same speaker with carcass going down to the floor - Sometimes a floor standing box has a rigid partition inside keeping the speaker working volume the same as the stand mount version. the trouble is, you have a secondary hollow void underneath which adds its own colouration.

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The problem is that almost all commercial speakers have enclosures that are smaller than optimum.

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Wise words indeed!
The trend to stick a little speaker in a big box was one of the worst things that ever happened to the loudspeaker industry - how to make a reasonably good small speaker sound crap and make more cash while doing so.

Small speakers can be astoundingly good at what they do. However, there are some things they just can't do.

The midrange driver is incredibly important and much underrated too. If a speaker can't do voice accurately, it doesn't matter what else the speaker does well. Good midrange is absolutely paramount and that is why three-ways (in general) get my vote, because that all-important midrange driver is dedicated to its job.

Three ways need the bass to mid crossover to be designed with absolute care, the the phasey mess that often ensues is right in the voice region - 250 - 500Hz. Steep active crossover slopes do this best, although I must give a happy shout to Hatbeth for getting the passive 40.1's about right...

This is where active 3 ways come in to their own imo. With care you can design an active crossover that is a fair compromise to the passive crossover it replaces. Also active crossovers are far easier to get right and higher order crossovers are possible.

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Originally Posted by MartinT

The midrange driver is incredibly important and much underrated too. If a speaker can't do voice accurately, it doesn't matter what else the speaker does well. Good midrange is absolutely paramount and that is why three-ways (in general) get my vote, because that all-important midrange driver is dedicated to its job.

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Agreed, and large dual-concentrics do a rather good job too, in all the areas you mention - especially when it comes to coherence ;)

Paul, you're right, actives (done well) can be very good, but the problem is that this approach takes valve amps out of the equation, so what may be gained on one hand is (for me) taken away rather more on the other...

Again, it's all about choosing your compromises or selecting your priorities (whatever way you wish to put it) :)

Marco.

Use electrtostatics or go full range and get rid of the crossover alltogether.Best way forward IMHO.

Strange, I always thought that dual-concentric was not a good solution for the midrange... : too complicated, compared to individual speakers. :scratch:

It seemed to me that the best midrange is the dome ones, not the cone.
And, the midrange purity relies a lot on the filter. Not the amplifier. :)

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Use electrtostatics or go full range and get rid of the crossover alltogether.Best way forward IMHO.

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Yes, Ali, but by doing so you obtain the compromises of electrostatics or OBs (despite their considerable talents in certain areas) - there's no such thing as a free lunch...

Those compromises (for me) are too much to live with, just as those of a box speaker are for you :)

There ain't no such thing as the perfect speaker, muchacho!

Marco.

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Strange, I always thought that dual-concentric was not a good solution for the midrange... : too complicated, compared to individual speakers. :scratch:

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Perhaps in some cases that's true, Dimitri (again one must be careful not to fall into the trap of abolutes), but I can assure you that the midrange on my Tannoy Monitor Golds (along with sheer scale) is one of their major attributes. Like anything else in hi-fi, it's all to do with implementation.

The Tannoys in Lockwood cabinets are superior in that area to any other 'conventional' speaker I've heard so far. Indeed, they are miles better in that repect to the 3-way Spendor SP100s they replaced - one of the BBC designs for broadcasting/monitoring purposes famed for its midrange neutrality, or indeed any other 3-way speakers I've heard so far :)

Marco.

I have huge duel concentrics as well and they are pretty good, maybe just a bit on the clinical side but upgrading the crossovers should get rid of that
I think the only really major issue I found was just how long they take to fully burn in I read on the Hawthorne site people can still hear improvements after 6 months