"alan" wrote in message
...
Stewart Pinkerton wrote:
On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 08:51:13 -0800, alan
wrote:


I also wonder if it is often the case that a cheaper 3 driver speaker can
beat a more expensive 2 driver. (e.g. paradigm monitor 5 vs Studio 20)


No, that has IME never happened. However, many good two-ways have
beaten much more expensive three-ways. The BBC LS3/5a, first edition
Spendor BC1 and *original* Mission 770 have legendary status.

OTOH, there is a large body of evidence which suggests that the very
best results, regardless of cost, may come from top-class two-way
'minimonitors' combined with a truly capable (i.e. homebuilt)
subwoofer.

So you would recommend a smaller bookshelf? This contrasts with what Drew
mentioned, which is that you want a large midrange driver to reduce

An M-T-M is still a 2 way.

excursion and distortion. A typical midrange driver in a bookshelf is
asked to reproduce 1.5 octaves. Is that stretching it?

A good 6.5 to 8" woofer can handle from 50 Hz to 2.5kHz easily.


Consider a pair of JMLab Mini Utopias combined with an 'infinite
baffle' sub using a pair of Adire Tempest drivers mounted in a roof or
basement cavity, and driven by a 500 watt 'plate' amplifier. Total sub
cost around $1,000, and *way* more powerful than any commercial sub.

This can provide in excess of 110dB in-room within +/-3dB all the way
from 20Hz to 20kHz, has arguably state-of-the-art sound quality from
top to bottom, yet costs less than $10,000 all in, and has a very
compact and elegant appearance, since the sub will be firing through a
1 square foot hole in the ceiling or floor in one corner of the
listening room. More bass power than Wilson Grand Slamms or JMLab
Grande Utopias, the mains can be driven by any good 100 watt/channel
amplifier, and almost total freedom from the box resonances which
plague much larger conventional 'full range' speakers.


umm, this is like 20x over my budget... I'm looking for speakers approx
700 or less, but they have to be significantly better than my current
Paradigm Atoms.

Add a sub woofer and you will improve the sound of the Atoms, that can
easily be done with something from Adire for under $700.00. The alternative
is a better pair of the Paradigm's, PSB's, Boston Acoustic, Polk, or
whatever your ear likes.