What is the difference between 2, 3, and 4-way speakers and how would i know what would be the best ones for me?

 

In a nutshell each speaker will have an extra driver. I've heard 2 ways that sound lightyears better than 3 or4 way. It all depends on your ears as to which one will sound better. The brand of speaker will make a huge difference. When I put my system I thought I had to have these 4 way jobbers or I would be killing my sound. Wrong. I ended up getting 2 ways because they just sounded better. Just take the time to go to an electronics store and listen and that will tell you what to do.

 

When a speaker system is designated to be 2, 3, or 4-way, it means that there are that many separate speakers. The signal is divided by a network(crossover) that filters and passes certain frequencies to certain speakers that are made to handle them. Tweeters are small and are made to handle high frequencies, for example. Subs(which are not part of the 2, 3, or 4-way designation) are larger and handle the low, low frequencies. One thing to know is that the fact that a system is 4 way does NOT necessarily make it better than a 2-way. It could be, but not necessarily. And if it is better, it will have more to do with build quality than the number of "pieces". In fact, if you are talking about drop-in replacement type speakers(without separate crossover networks), the more drivers in the system, usually the more the sound quality suffers. A 4-way that costs $100 will almost always be inferior to a 2-way that costs $100. People tend to think that they are getting more for their money in that case, but that's not true. Think about it. If you are buying MORE components for the same money, more than likely the quality is not the same. The companies are not going to give you anything. Now this is not to say that there aren't some decent 2 or 3-ways, because there are(JLAudio, Alpine, MBQuart). BUT, in the whole world of car audio, they are very average. It depends on what a person is in the market for. Bottom line, get what you like and need.

 

Well i'm planning on getting new speakers for my door panels. I only have two speakers in my truck. I wanted to get two new speakers and those will be the only two. So i should get two-way's?

 

I just picked up 4 Infinity 6802CF speakers for my Ranger.
Circuit City was having a sale - they were $75 down from $100 AND Infinity was (is?) running a promotion where you get the 2nd pair of car speakers for 50% off.
So I got $200 worth of speakers for $120 after tax.
Woo-hoo!

Incidentally, they're 2-way speakers.

 

What truck do you have? What size are the speakers? Are you using just the head unit to amplify? How serious are you about sound quality? How much are you wanting to spend?

 

Okay, so i bought my speakers and they sound really well. I have a stock AM/FM/CD player. I bought 2, 6x8 Pioneer 240 watt, 4-ways. I do not have any back speakers, just two in the door panels.