speakers?

[nizmo s14]

Whats the difference between 2-way, 3-way, 4-way speakers?

[240 2NR]

The number of drivers

So a subwoofer would technically be a one way (single cone)
A midbass cone and tweeter would be two way
A midbass, tweeter and super tweeter would be three way
Four and over way seems ridiclous to me, too many things to screw up and more of a sales gimmick.  Some of the best sounding systems are 2 way, that speaks for itself.  Plus to make four drivers as cheaply as a unit with only two, the quality of all four is compromised, so now you have four drivers that reproducing worse sound than 2 that are good.  

When buying speakers, really listen to different models, it's amazing how much different similar setups can be.

[SimpleS14]

I never heard of 4-way speakers.  But I think 3-ways in the front and 2-ways in the back are good.

[Nismos14]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (GT specR @ Aug. 08 2002,3:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I never heard of 4-way speakers. But I think 3-ways in the front and 2-ways in the back are good.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
4 way speakers (http://www.kenwoodusa.com/product/product.jsp?productTypeId=43&sortBy=price&productId=569)

[sykikchimp]

I wouldn't personally get anything over 2 way.. &nbsp;there is NO reason for a super-tweeter. &nbsp;any sounds it can produce above a tweeter would be inaudible to you anyways. &nbsp;besides it just more crap to break. &nbsp;Get 2 ways if your gonna power them from a HU, get Componants if your gonna power them off an amp.

[srJOEYdet]

What makes a component a component?

And those 4-ways are useless. Maybe if it only had one of the super tweeters. But two of them would cover the same frequency, and therefore, one would be unnecissary.

I have 2-ways up front and in back, with a single sub, and only the sub is amped. Its a good enough system for me.

Joey

[sykikchimp]

componant systems contain atleast 2 mid-bass drivers and 2 tweeters (seperate). &nbsp;High end componant systems generally have 3 size speakers, such as a 7",5 1/2", and a tweet.... &nbsp;these high end systems NEVER come with a "Super-tweeter" as 2 tweeters is MORE than enough. &nbsp;And they always come with their a seperate crossover to distribut the frequencies to where they should go.

check out www.cdtaudio.com
(truly awesome speakers for the money)

[240 2NR]

When I think of component speakers (as I don't know the true definition), I think of speakers that come as individual components. &nbsp;So the tweeter, midbass cone, and crossover are all seperate (though they are usually sold as a package). &nbsp;Usually these systems are of much higher quality that coaxial speakers (tweeter mounted with/over the midbass cone). &nbsp;Usually coaxial speakers use much cheaper and more compact high and low pass filters instead of a true crossover as well.

That's not to say that a coaxial speaker cannot be good or that components are always better, but thats what usually happens, but they usually carry a much higher price tag as well.