Ok, the concept of "more ways are better" is due to Inter-modulation
Distortion. Simply put, if a low frequency is being reproduced at the same time as a high frequency, the high frequency waveform will be compressed as the
cone moves forward and stretched as the
cone moves away. (Think listening to an ambulance siren as it passes by.) Also known as the Doppler
effect. The fewer frequencies produced by any given
speaker, the less inter-modulation occurs. Now, you can't get rid of it unless you have a
speaker for every potential frequency which is impossible. What is
practical is to reduce frequencies into "zones" like Low, mid, and high. In addition, when you do that, the individual drivers can be designed with greater optimization. (Light weight cones for highs, large cones for lows,
etc.) So, rule of thumb is- more ways the better....
Now, here's where the rule gets broken- If in the process of dividing up the frequencies and selecting drivers, if too much compromise is made due to cost, you may end up with undersized components that do not preform well.
In your application, you are using the subs for low end, so a
three way system would
call for your other speakers to be two-way..... as long as you are connecting them with a high pass filter! In other words, the problematic lows should go the the sub but not to the two way speakers you are using for highs and mids. This can be done by using an active
crossover and separate amplifiers (best) or by inserting a
capacitor in series with your smaller mid/high speakers. Now you're going to ask what size... I don't have the formula right now, but you could start with a 24mfd 200 volt paper or oil
capacitor. (Same as used in a
ballast!) Not enough mid-lows getting through? Double it by putting two in parallel. Just remember, due to the amount of
current in
play, stay away from those "radio shack" type capacitors, and don't cheat and use electrolytics ! (many do!)
Note- with capacitors, using a higher
voltage one will not
effect the
circuit, it just needs to be higher then the expected
voltage. So, if you can only find a 380 volt one, that is fine. the "mfd" will set your pass frequency, and has a pretty wide tolerance. The single cap will introduce a 6db per octave roll-off which is pretty mellow.