A new person in the car industry does not know what to go to precisely in the aftermarket. One would be very confused when deciding on the best type of speaker to purchase for their car’s upgrade and how they function.
The music, they say, is food for the soul. Nowadays, most people spend most of their time in their cars commuting from one place to another. Music gives them quality time in their cars. This is why one would want to invest in their car audio systems. An additional speaker could be a better upgrade.
A speaker is an air piston that moves back on the negative cycle of an electrical signal and forth on the positive cycle, creating different air pressure degrees. These movements can then translated into different frequencies.
A speaker’s components include a woofer, tweeter, and range. Woofer is the primary part of a speaker that produces the bass notes and with low-frequency range. The tweeter is the driver responsible for producing all the higher audio frequencies. The range is also known as mid-range, produces mid-range sounds between lows of the woofer and highs of the tweeter.
There are many types of speakers in the market nowadays. This gives you a chance to select the best from the variety according to your preference, taste, and price. Along that road, you will hear about the 2-way and 3-way speakers.
The 2-way and 3-way speakers are the most common kind of speakers in the audiovisual market. Both have several degrees of sound waves, from high to low mids, leading to more precise and fuller sound experiences.
The 2-way speakers are also known as coaxial speakers, while the three-way speakers are also called triaxial speakers. The 2-way speakers are the most common type of speakers you will find in the market.
Normally, a human mind would think a 3-way speaker is better than a 2-way due to the added feature. One would think that choosing the 3-way speaker over the 2-way speaker should give better sound reproduction. My all time best pick of a 2 way speaker design is JBL GTO629 Premium
However, it would be best to consider how the crossover is set up, the quality of the components involved, the cabinet’s design, and how the speakers are matched to each other.
What is the difference though?
1.Definition
What is a 2-way speaker and what is a 3-way speaker? A question a newbie in the car audio systems market would ask.
A two-way speaker divides sound into two separate ways, whereas a 3way speaker splits sound into three different ways.
2.Make/design.
A 2-way speaker is made up of a tweeter in the middle and a woofer on the outside. A 3-way speaker, on the other hand, has two slightly different sized tweeters in the middle and a woofer on the outside.
3.According to the audio spectrum.
A 2-way loudspeaker is made of two speakers inside it. Each of the speakers is designed to provide a different frequency selection(high and low). A 3-way speaker, on the other hand, comprises of 3 speakers where each speaker gives separate frequency ranges(high, mid and low range).
4.Drivers
The main types of drivers used are tweeters, woofers and mid-range drivers. Woofers tackle the sound of a low frequency, tweeters of a high frequency and mid-range handle everything in the middle.
A 2-way speaker is made up of a woofer and a tweeter. The woofer replicates low audio frequencies in the sound and the tweeter handles the replication of high audio preferences in the sound.
A 3-way speaker, also has a tweeter and woofer but with feature mid-range frequencies through mid-range drivers in sound. Each driver has its specific efficiency in a wide range of frequencies. Our best pick of a three way speaker design is Rockford Fosgate R165X3
5.Performance
A 3- way speaker performs better than a 2-way. However, several factors influence the quality of the sound output. They include how you set up the crossover, matching of the speaker, the design of the cabinet and quality.
6.Customization options
Most of the time, people want products they can customize to their taste and preference. In this case, a 3- way speaker offers customization options while a 2-way doesn’t. It is easy to customize the entire frequency filter as required to make your speaker sound more like you, while the 2- way speaker doesn’t.
7.The cross over
Cross over is the circuit brain of car speaker systems. They split high and low-frequency sound from one stereo audio signal and redirect the right speaker’s dual signals.
Therefore, the larger the crossover the better the sound quality, the better the sound quality and signal fidelity will be when it gets to the tweeter and woofer. Integrated crossovers are less efficient electrically and therefore do not produce the same level of clarity and quality as independent crossovers.
2-way speakers have a crossover composed of a high-pass filter and a low-pass filter. The 3-way speaker on the other side has an additional band-pass filter based on a 2-way crossover.
8.Sound output
A 2-way speaker is known as a two way because it split the sound two ways. This characteristic enables them to increase the clarity of high frequency and mid-to-low range sounds because the speakers can resonate the signal independently.
The 3-way speakers, on the other hand, produce more detailed sound.
A 2-way speaker gives a balanced sound output because of the balance between one tweeter and another woofer driver, making it better for soothing sound or low bass.
A 3- way speaker, on the other hand, is better for rock and R&B because of its ability to aim at lows as precisely as possible.
9.Frequency
The woofer of a 2- way speaker produces low sound frequency( 3KHz to around 20KHz), and the tweeter generates a high audio frequency (30 to around 160KHZ). The frequency of 3-way speakers varies with the existence of the extra component which generates a frequency of 160Hz to about 5.2KHz. Its component balances the frequency by producing more natural sounds for our ears.
10.Price
The cost of a product is always the first thing one considers before making a purchase. A 3-way speaker is more expensive than a two-way speaker—both the market and installation cost.
11.Installation
You could be delighted to get a speaker in the market, but it becomes stressful when mounting, which at times could lead you to chip an extra coin.
A 2-way speaker is easier to install than a 3-way speaker because it comes with fewer cables to connect than a 3-way speaker. They also take lesser time to install.
conclusion
In conclusion, even with their differences, the buyer makes the final decision. The choice will depend on your budget, taste and sound preference, and acoustic needs for a particular type of music, like the bass, crazy naturalism, and classical. Also, both 2-way and 3-way speakers have a set of unique features.
