SpeakerHeadroom Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Hi, Someone told me that the RF-XX are 3-way speakers. Is it true? I recall that once upon a time the floorstanders were spec'ed as 2-1/2 way speakers. Currently all RF-xx are spec'ed like 2-way with xover at ~2000 Hz. I suspect that they are 2-1/2 way - how can the RF-52 play down to 34 Hz @ -3db if the lower LF driver is the same as the upper LF driver? If the lower LF driver was designed differently, then the conclusion would be that RF series would be 2-1/2 way. But 2-way sounds better for marketing purpose since the term is easier to understand. Any thoughts from owners? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Not an owner but curious about 2 1/2 way speakers?.....What are you talking about? Wouldn't one crossover make it 2 way ? Never saw the term 2 1/2 way before........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Hi, Someone told me that the RF-XX are 3-way speakers. Is it true? I recall that once upon a time the floorstanders were spec'ed as 2-1/2 way speakers. Currently all RF-xx are spec'ed like 2-way with xover at ~2000 Hz. I suspect that they are 2-1/2 way - how can the RF-52 play down to 34 Hz @ -3db if the lower LF driver is the same as the upper LF driver? If the lower LF driver was designed differently, then the conclusion would be that RF series would be 2-1/2 way. But 2-way sounds better for marketing purpose since the term is easier to understand. Any thoughts from owners? Thanks. I spoke to Klipsch Tech Support last week, and was told that the floorstanders are two way, and that only the RC64 is a tapered array or 2.5 way. The drivers are the same, being fed the same bandwidth signal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twheats1 Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Hi, Someone told me that the RF-XX are 3-way speakers. Is it true? I recall that once upon a time the floorstanders were spec'ed as 2-1/2 way speakers. Currently all RF-xx are spec'ed like 2-way with xover at ~2000 Hz. I suspect that they are 2-1/2 way - how can the RF-52 play down to 34 Hz @ -3db if the lower LF driver is the same as the upper LF driver? If the lower LF driver was designed differently, then the conclusion would be that RF series would be 2-1/2 way. But 2-way sounds better for marketing purpose since the term is easier to understand. Any thoughts from owners? Thanks. I spoke to Klipsch Tech Support last week, and was told that the floorstanders are two way, and that only the RC64 is a tapered array or 2.5 way. The drivers are the same, being fed the same bandwidth signal. The specs listed here in the website show that the RC-52 and the RC-62 are also tapered array. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Not an owner but curious about 2 1/2 way speakers?.....What are you talking about? Wouldn't one crossover make it 2 way ? Never saw the term 2 1/2 way before........ In a speaker that has one tweeter and two mid/bass drivers, whether configured in a MMT or MTM arrangement, a two way crossover is normally used. However, since the two midbass drivers are producing the same midrange information, there can be some phase issues as a function of the driver spacing and the wavelengths being produced (such as what is referred to as comb filtering, where the combined response resembles a comb). Some crossover designers however will limit the bandwidth of one of the midbass drivers to only the lower frequencies. The information overlaps in the bass region allowing both cone's displacement contribute to the bass output, but only one driver will reproduce the midrange frequencies within the spectrum within which the previously mentioned phase anomalies would occur. So the goal is to have only one of the two midbass drivers produce the midrange for more precise imaging. The down side of this approach is first of all cost, as such networks are considerably more complex. Another downside is that if the crossover isn't carefully designed, it can introduce more phase issues and other propblems than it solves. Some assert that the human ear is much less perceptive of these issues in the vertical plane than the horizontal plane; probably true given the horizontal spacing and placement of the ears. There ear uses differerence in phase(to a lesser degree time delay) from one ear to the other , due to pathlength differences, when evaluating sound from the same source to determine its position. Since most sounds originate within the same horizontal plane as the ears are in, with sources more often located around than above, the ear brain trains to be very adept at determining location and distance from audio cues. This phenomenon is probably why Klipsch designers chose to use such a crossover in the horizontally oriented centers, but not in the vertically oriented floor standers, I would think. That, and cost benefit analysis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raider Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Hi, Someone told me that the RF-XX are 3-way speakers. Is it true? I recall that once upon a time the floorstanders were spec'ed as 2-1/2 way speakers. Currently all RF-xx are spec'ed like 2-way with xover at ~2000 Hz. I suspect that they are 2-1/2 way - how can the RF-52 play down to 34 Hz @ -3db if the lower LF driver is the same as the upper LF driver? If the lower LF driver was designed differently, then the conclusion would be that RF series would be 2-1/2 way. But 2-way sounds better for marketing purpose since the term is easier to understand. Any thoughts from owners? Thanks. I spoke to Klipsch Tech Support last week, and was told that the floorstanders are two way, and that only the RC64 is a tapered array or 2.5 way. The drivers are the same, being fed the same bandwidth signal. The specs listed here in the website show that the RC-52 and the RC-62 are also tapered array. So it does. He may have said centers and I heard RC64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeakerHeadroom Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 Not an owner but curious about 2 1/2 way speakers?.....What are you talking about? Wouldn't one crossover make it 2 way ? Never saw the term 2 1/2 way before........ Raider has explained the term 2.5 way. I 'll just provide examples: Paradigm, Monitor Audio, Energy and Acoustic Research (a while back) make/made 2.5 way speakers. The lower xover is sometimes not stated in the spec and hence they would appear to be just like any 2-way design by the spec. ~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 Best description I've ever heard of the reasons for Tapered Array Raider! Thanks, I bet you helped a lot of folks understand this concept. It was also used on the RC7, which I think was the first Klipsch speaker using this concept. M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.