Home Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

RE: Are 3-way speakers better than 2-way, with piano recordings ?

You really should just listen and decide for yourself because as John noted

"To get 'this,' you have to give up 'that'."

Generally speaking, the piano isn't the only thing you listen to - it is usually accompanied by other instruments and/or singer(s).

Steve Hoffman is one of the biggest Mastering engineers in the world who has mastered: The Beatles, CCR, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Chet Baker, Wes Montgomery, Pink Floyd, Eva Cassidy, The Doors, Elton John, The Guess Who, Willie Nelson, David Bowie, YES, Glen Miller Orchestra, The Rat Pack, Scorpions, The Beach Boys, Roy Orbison, Peggy Lee, Phil Collins, Queen, Poco, Rage Against the Machine, Wings, Nat King Cole, Linda Rondstadt, Johny Cash, Kenny Rogers, Judy Garland, John Lee Hooker, John Williams, James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Deep Purple, Art Pepper, Bad Company, and many others.

He has mastered a lot of jazz and classical on SACD and Vinyl for the likes of Analog Productions. He has worked in studios using the famed ATC speakers.

What does he use now? One set of Audio Note E speakers for the studio and another for his home. They are a two-way - a big two-way but a two-way with bass like a three-way. He noted they are the best sounding speakers he;s heard in 40 years.

I have been using one Audio Note speaker or other since 2003.

Having said all that - who cares? Play your piano music and decide. Your room and your gear are different and so is taste - I have liked a lot of three-way designs over the years and I have liked a number of big horns and single drivers.

One of my go-to recordings has always been the Moonlight Sonata and various Horowitz and even Jackson Brown.

The advantage of the three ways tends to be more frequency range - (well more bass) and the ability to play louder in the bass. But they sound less cohesive top to bottom - you tend to hear the drivers - it all winds up sounding more like a speaker. Still, they can make big music sound big and full orchestras sound - well - full. Cohesiveness isn't quite as important when there are 30 instruments or when you're playing AC/DC at 100dB.

A single driver and an ESL panel (which is a single driver) eliminate any handoff due to a crossover. But they lack bass, and dynamics drive and often have an issue in the treble - if you are older and lost your HF hearing that may not be an issue.

Single driver speakers like these IMO have early compression so while they are supremely clear and nimble sounding (the best in this regard) they tend to sound flat and lack the ability to pressurize instruments. The sound is a little "over there" - Still, it is spectacularly clear.

Everything gets a rave review in audio these days. They all have their camps of support. And if they've been around a long long time it means they continue to sell and attract people to their sound.






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  • RE: Are 3-way speakers better than 2-way, with piano recordings ? - RGA 04/7/2205:31:35 04/7/22 (0)

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