I was recently bitten by the single-driver bug, to the point where I purchased a pair of Fritz 6" and a pair of his 4.5" Fostex speakers. I guess it's a matter of how each work in the room, but I think I prefer the 4.5" drivers. The sound seems more balanced and sweeter, although I haven't done extensive A/Bs. I'm amazed at the balanced sound these little speakers put out.
In general, does the single-driver crowd prefer 4.5" or 6" speakers? What are the pros and cons? Thanks.
Haven't had the opportunity to compare 2 drivers in the same design much, but..
I've been in audio 40 years and had alot of speakers that spanned most conventional designs including Magnepan, Dayton Wright, Accoustat, Martin Logan, Kef, Ruark, Tannoy, Newform Research, B&W, DECWARE, Meridians, Paradigm, Energy, Richard Allens, Hawthorne Audio, and a ton of others that I wouldn't want to name.
Listening to a pair of Ed's horns on a small tube amp was one of the 2 most magical musical event I've had. The only match I've experienced to the ability that Ed's horns had for immediacy and presence was not in my home, but with the U.S. distributor for Avantgarde when he invited me to his house in St. Louis to listen to the newest DUO's with CARDAS wiring, upgraded subs, and a zanden front-end and amplification that cost half of my house.
Ed's finished product is outstanding, and at his price, a gem.
Listen to his finished product, then write about, even in a negative way. If you haven't heard it tho, you can guess, and you will have pre-conceived notions about it, but you won't know. Listen to his 4 inch drivers in room corners and they astound you. Metallica in my house with a flea amp energizes the room to the point you can physically feel it. (I don't understand it really). For me with my low powered amp it can start to get a tad hard up there, but this is at severe volume. Ed sells his CUBE, which works well to fill in even more of the bottom end, but to me it removes just a hint of that transparancy when engaged.
Better yet, look to his new design, the M3 (with 4 126's per side), which if it is doing what I think it might be able to, a more effortless presentation, with the same immediacy, more bass & without the need for corner loading and even higher volume levels with lower power.
Ed has proven to me that conventional thinking about driver size can sometimes be turned on its head.