In the diagrams below we have a graphical representation of the speaker systems operating at
the crossover point where both high and low frequency drivers produce the same output level.
The first one shows a pair of two-way loudspeakers lying on their side. Note that each driver is
producing sound, and because there is a physical distance separating them on the baffle, there is
also a time difference separating the drivers, and the result is what you see here. Around the
crossover point, the speaker will produce numerous lobes, producing changes in midrange sound
character as you move across the horizontal listening plane.
HORIZONTAL
Stereo occurs from left to right, so that is the listening plane in which we try to minimise the
changes in physical/time offset between the woofers and tweeters. And we have to be honest, it’s
not perfect, the driver offset is still there, but by stacking the woofer and tweeter vertically on the
baffle we can give the mix engineer the widest range of movement in the horizontal plane. You
can roll your chair across the length of your mixing console and not change the relationship
between the woofer and tweeter (just don’t bob your head up and down while you do it).
VERTICAL