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rhalf t1_jdz5kaz wrote

First of all there are many configurations for multi-driver speakers and coaxial is just one of them and it's not necessarily the best. It's a complex topic, so let's unwrap it.

Speakers need many drivers because they move a lot of air. Unfortunately there is no way one driver can do that and at the same time reproduce highs accurately. A big cone is too heavy to follow a coil that changes direction that fast, so instead it vibrates chaotically. But it gets worse... Basically the speaker plays into open space and every driver has it's spatial character. I don't mean how you perceive it, but actual spatial character - where the driver sends the sound and where it doesn't. We call it directivity. Multi-driver speakers have severe problems with it - they simply make no sense and the response doesn't add up apart from one spot in front of them. Coaxials exist solely because of that. They're supposed to cover the fact that they're separate drivers. Take any other criteria and coaxials suck. I don't mean a particular model, but they are in general a challenge to engineer, because every single part of the woofer messes up the tweeter's response and vice versa. They have severe amplitude intermodulation that comes from the fact that tweeters waveguide (woofer's cone) is constantly moving. Few coaxials sound good outside of car audio. Most of them are weird. In hifi Kef got it right and that's about it. Generally the only way to make a coaxial work is 3-way and up. Two way coaxials are intended to work with subwoofers. So you have a complicated solution that comes with many compromises.

Headphones don't have that problem. There are coxial headphones. I don't remember which, but I don't think they are anything special (?). But let's start from the beginning...

First of all heapdhones are doing fine with one driver. Think about it this way: a speaker is a pump, a headphone is a compressor. A compressor makes high pressure with very little fluid. Headphone driver is big enough to make bass and small enough for highs because it can make that bass with very little displacement. It works by creating pressure, not flow.

There are headphones with many drivers but they're expensive and heavy and comfort is important. Any benefit in sound? I don't see much.

If you want to experience multi-way headphone then there are a couple worth mentioning: AKG K340 and1more tripple driver OE, maybe Meze Empyrean. There were some other, but completely unremarkable headphones from Technics and Universum for example. There is no polite way of putting it - they suck hard.

Axel Grell, who is a famous acoustics engineer, is currently working on a two-way headphone, so hopes are high for it, but nobody expects them to be on par with his single driver work like HD800, and HD800 has a ring driver, that has space for a tweeter inside. Despite that they desided to leave it open.

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Drago-0900 OP t1_jdzbj63 wrote

Interesting, just was something I noticed that multi driver loudspeakers sounded better than my headphones ive got while being way cheaper. Kinda makes sense, like I could understand being able to hear the music coming from another driver. Thank you for your reply.

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rhalf t1_jdzbzfg wrote

I don't know what you mean by sounding better. Headphones are often overpriced because they're a fashoin accessory, so there's that.

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Drago-0900 OP t1_jdzcdqw wrote

The headphones in question are sony whxm4s. And the loudspeakers sound much more clear with better bass, mid, and treble.

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rhalf t1_jdzcwg9 wrote

Ok, I see. That;s not really a fair comparison then. Wireless headphones don't sound clear in general and the ANC ones are usually tuned for a lot of bass and not much else. So it has nothing to do with driver configuration. $20 Koss heaphones or Truthear earphones will outperform most speakers with their clarity. There's no question about that. The modern tech really sucks when it comes to sound quality.

I think it's a good opportunity to try some wired audiophile headphones or earphones. Stuff like KSC75, SHP9500 or Etymotic earphones. IF you like the sound of your speakers, then these should blow your mind with how much clarity they have for the price.

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Drago-0900 OP t1_je0g2ku wrote

Ill definitely try those KCS75s and a SHP9500 after I get paid. After all I did just buy around 80$ in car speaker equipment. Thanks for the info though

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