I have been trying to gain some understanding into 2 Way vs. 3 Way Speakers. I have read lots of information that talk about the technical difference, and that makes sense. What is hard to find is insight into the differences/advantages in the actual sound.
For those of you that have experience with both, are there notable distinctions in the sound performance between two way and three way speakers?
there is a lot of excellent comments already made so i can mention other angles.
there is budgets, so 2 way or 3 way comes down to the designers intentions, there is a lot of compromises and benefits to balance.
if you design choices are 2 or 3 way and you add the extra budget for the 3 way the midrange and bass driver can now be dedicated drivers for the purpose.
for me it is the dedicated midrange that makes the difference, since i need separate subwoofers anyways.
you can also make your 2 way main speakers into 3 way speakers if you have dsp in your system. for that you need to be at least have high pass filter for mains and have two subwoofers set up as stereo on each side. basically making a 3 way system with detachable bass section.
that gives you some of the benefits from a single cabinet 3 way and now you already have subwoofer so that is set.