If you are crossing over to a sub at, say, 80Hz, you don't really need a 3-way. Sure, the W18 used in an HTC3 would have lower distortion since it is only playing above about 300Hz. But the HTC has a pair of W18's to share the load and it is very low distortion as well.
From my perspective, it doesn't seem like there would be any advantage to a smaller 3-way center channel (although we will soon show one for our SoundScapes). The HT3C we built was for a customer who wanted a full-range center that could play as low as the HT3's themselves. But for most applications, this is probably not workable size-wise.
The only way you could make one that is smaller is to use a smaller woofer. But then you aren't gaining the advantage that a 3-way offers in terms of bass extension. So you really have to ask yourself what you expect to gain.
An HTC or HT2C has a pair of W18's to share the load. So that keeps their distortion levels very low. And that would be the only advantage you would gain with a 3-way using a small woofer. So it seems to me that the HTC or HT2C would be the best option under these circumstances.
As for all the models and all the tweeter options, perhaps a little explanation is in order.
When we designed the HT3 (and HT1) with the G2 ribbon, the HTC was designed to mate with them perfectly. About the time we started work on the HT2 (which later lead to the HT2-TL), the LCY had just come on the market. It's specs were slightly better than the G2, so we decided to use it.
But when customers purchased a pair of HT2's, they wanted a center channel with the same LCY tweeter (which makes sense). So the HT2C was born.
I should point out that we discussed replacing the G2 in the HT3's and HT1's with the LCY at that time. But we determined there simply wasn't enough performance difference to justify the switch. Both tweeters performed about the same in the audible realm.
About six months ago, the LCY was in short supply and LCY was unable to do anything about it (they were having trouble getting the magnets required to produce the tweeters). At about that time, we had been working with a custom RAAL tweeter for our SoudScapes. This tweeter measured smoother than either the G2 or the LCY. It was, and still is, the best ribbon tweeter we have worked with.
So we talked to Aleksandar at RAAL about producing enough tweeters to that we could switch over to the RAAL exclusively for all of our designs. He agreed to produce enough for us so that we would not run out. That is why you see the RAAL listed on our web site as the ribbon tweeter for the SongTowers and all Veracity speakers.
In the long run, this will simplify things quite a bit. We will go from three ribbon tweeters to one and we will no longer have to offer multiple versions of our center channels.
In the short run, it will tend to be a little confusing. Some customers purchased speakers before we began the transition to the RAAL tweeters (which is still in progress as I write this). For those customers, we will continue building the HTC, HT2C, HT3C, SongCenter ribbon and others. So at least for a while, we will continue using the G2 and LCY tweeters.
But eventually, the RAAL will be the only tweeter we will stock and our intention is to use it in all present and future designs.
I hope that all makes sense.
- Jim
