Difference between 2, 3, and 4 way speakers?

[drzachm]

So what is the difference between those? I'm lookin to buy four new 6.5 in speakers for my interior and am trying to decide. also, any suggestions on brands for a good but not too expensive price?

[deckeda]

The "way" of a speaker refers to how many drivers it has. ("drivers" are individual speakers) .

And you're referring to speakers that have their drivers mounted together as a unit, as opposed to component speakers which physically separate the drivers (and crossovers. The crossover is the traffic cop, telling which driver to reproduce which range of tones.)

A 2-way (or coaxial, aka "coax") has two drivers: woofer and tweeter together mounted as one unit. The tweet is the small one in the center sprouting up.

A 3-way is the same idea but has essentially a tweeter and "super tweeter" mounted with the woofer (these will usually be referred to as woofer-midrange-tweeter however).

A 4 way is comprised of four drivers.

The theory is that differentiation allows more precise control (i.e. accuracy) of the sound because smaller drivers do better reproducing higher tones, while bigger drivers do better at reproducing lower tones.

Theory doesn't guarantee reality. "More" isn't necessarily better --- a well designed 2-way will sound better than a poorly-designed 3-way, etc.

Use your ears to determine what you like while at a store. Forget specs. Forget power (i.e. wattage) ratings --- has nothing to do with sound quality, and actually little to do with how robust they are.

[cp[mike]]

personally id never get anything over a 2way, IMO they are just trying to cram extra cones into a smaller package to appeal to consumers... i feel a good quality component setup is best, ive always been a fan. let the low/midrange do its job, let the tweeter do its job, and let the dedicated crossover keep em doing what they are supposed to. if youre not willing to do the extra work for installing tweeters, a good quality 2-way is good... but thats just me...

[Acclipse]

As someone already mentioned, go with what sounds best to you. Higher isn't always better. If you are really after sound quality IMHO go with a quality set of components.