When purchasing a set of speakers there are a variety of terms and specifications that can become confusing and overwhelming. The designation of 2-way, 3-way or 4-way can be frustrating for some shoppers. When you define what the term means, you'll quickly realize that it's one of the easiest-to-understand terms in home audio. Following is a definition of the term and what it means for your speaker purchase.
Function
3-way simply refers to the array of drivers a speaker uses to produce sound. The 3-way configuration incorporates a woofer for low frequencies, a tweeter for high frequencies and a mid-range driver. Each speaker has at least 3 separate drivers to produce the range of frequencies. 3-way design is very common among speakers and is used by a variety of manufacturers.
Significance
Other speaker configurations common in home audio are 2-way and 4-way. A 2-way speaker uses a woofer and tweeter, while a 4-way has a more specific configurations such as tweeter, high mid-range, low mid-range and woofer. It's often considered optimal to have more dedicated drivers; however, the quality of the speaker's make and design will also be a defining factor in the speaker's performance. Your own preference when listening to the speaker will be the final say in the matter. In short, a 4-way speaker is not automatically better than a 3-way and a 3-way is not necessarily better than a 2-way.
Features
A speaker incorporates crossover circuitry that splits the single audio signal sent from an amplifier into the appropriate frequencies. Low frequencies are then sent to the woofer, high frequencies to the tweeter and mid frequencies to the mid-range driver. 3-way speakers vary in the specific frequencies they use to designate low from mid and mid from high. The points are defined in a speaker's specifications as "crossover frequency". The crossover frequency can play a very important role in the speaker's performance by effectively allocating sound to the driver best able to reproduce it.
Identification
In researching speakers online, the speaker specifications generally designate whether it is a 2-way, 3-way or 4-way. If not, the specifications designate what drivers are included in the speaker and you can translate that into the speaker type. You can also take the grill off of any speaker and look at the number of drivers to determine the type.
Misconceptions
While 3-way speakers utilize drivers for high, mid and low frequencies, the term does not necessarily mean that the speakers use 3 drivers. Many speakers incorporate multiple drivers for each frequency. Therefore a 3-way speaker could have a far greater number of drivers than 3. More drivers are often used in pricier speakers to create enhanced performance.
Considerations
While you may prefer to have more dedicated drivers pumping sound, this is only one small consideration when purchasing a speaker. Manufacturers spend much time in the overall design of the speaker to create a quality product. Buying a 3-way speaker with 15 drivers does not guarantee the optimal sound that you want. Spend time auditioning speakers and really listening to them, rather than being overly concerned with specs. In the end the best speaker is the one that sounds good to you and fits your needs.
Tags: high frequencies, 2-way 3-way, 2-way 3-way 4-way, 3-way 4-way, 3-way speaker, 3-way speakers, better than
