Why don't people build more coaxial systems?

I have the parts together for a quick and dirty 2 way open baffle system. One of the uses I have for them would be as studio monitors and the desk has the center of the 12" bass driver basically at ear level. I would be using a DSP amp so I can mess with delay and other parameters.... but I was thinking about mounting the full range driver coaxially. I don't think I've seen such a setup here outside of pre-made coaxial drivers.... am I missing something?
 
Also because IMO the purported advantages of a speaker with coincident sources are over-hyped and not really necessary.
They can sound really nice if done well. But I do prefer a normal woofer and big horn. This summer I will be resurrecting John Busch's 18" coax on OB. They do live up to the hype (if I can get the crossover right.) Stay tuned.
 
FWIW, a proper (separate) tweeter and woofer have a higher potential for sound quality. Like I said there is no need for coaxial designs. I think this is a relic of a former time when tweeters either did not exist or could only work above about 3k-4k Hz. Now a good CD+horn can be crossed over near 1kHz for home audio use. Even good dome tweeters can be crossed at 1.5kHz.
 
It's easy to assume coax is about lining up the sources with your ears, but that's not normally the issue. A one in front of the other arrangement can have the same issues as a conventional one above the other arrangement, as they can both produce lobing which distributes sound around the room inconsistently.
 
If I read correctly, the OP has woofers and FR units on hand so I’m not sure why some are suggesting he go buy a pre-made unit or commenting on the different qualities. What he wants to know is can he place an open backed FR unit in front of a woofer. The answer is yes. Is it a good idea? Absolutely not. Build it as you would with a normal two way.
Good luck with it.
 
Last edited:
KEF Q350 (460 Euro a pair here in Germany/Amazon , in white colour with silver cone very nice) , needs some extra polyester damping inside to suppress standing waves and at least 1 layer of self-adhesive bitumen damping pads 4mm thick on both side walls (inside the box) :

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kef-q350-speaker-review.13484/

Comes with a foam plug to tame port noise and damps the boomy upper bass range (typical problem of most speakers) but the lower bass will be affected too .

In my room 6x5m the Q350 are placed near the longest wall with 5cm distance to the wall and the lower range is way too much boosted by the wall (acoustic loading) .

But I can compensate that using the sound controls of my Yamaha AS701 amplifier (650 Euro/Amazon) easily .....

I am very happy with this combination/setup! (typical listening distance 2m)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71OVU7Lx+iL._AC_SX679_.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: maty tinman