Why No Big-Boy 8" Three-Ways?

[ra.ra]

On 11/28/2019 at 8:49 AM, Aadams said:

I believe the 338 was the only dual dome 8inch that AR ever manufactured and appears to be very rare on the aftermarket. My point was AR had the hardware to make a very high end  8inch three way in the 1980s. 

These are very good points to add to this discussion, and since that combined mid-tweet used a single shared magnet that resulted in a combo driver with a reasonably small footprint, it might have easily fitted to a smaller cabinet compatible with an 8-inch woofer.

On 11/30/2019 at 9:25 AM, JeffS said:

While AR wasn't offering an 8" 3-way with domes, the 'relatives' over at Allison were, and in two flavors, floorstanding and bookshelf.

Thanks for this reminder - - - these are great examples that often get overlooked. I really like that Allison Eight, but have never seen/heard a pair.

Perhaps not considered a "big boy" speaker model because of its simple and inexpensive Peerless cone tweeter, but in the late 60's Rectilinear began marketing the Mini III, an acoustic suspension design which also used a fine 5-inch Phillips mid driver and 8-inch CTS woofer. I really like these speakers - - they are nearly identical (if a little deeper) in cabinet dimensions to the AR-6.

 

[Aadams]

5 hours ago, ra.ra said:

combined mid-tweet used a single shared magnet that resulted in a combo driver with a reasonably small footprint, it might have easily fitted to a smaller cabinet compatible with an 8-inch woofer.

AR18B  17h x11w x 6/78d

AR98LS/2  17hx 12w x 9d as shown on previous page.  Note: 9 inch depth accommodates the 12" bass unit so it could be 7"d.

Edit for Clarity