Sorry, I didn't mean to be so abrupt. Just me, the #1 priority is getting believable vocals at realistic levels. Again, just me, lower levels are of less interest because, to me, they sound distant or miniature. I guess it comes under the objective: to sound exactly like the real thing.
I think that the large driver two way is really a work-around for the problems that occur in three ways. Ideally, for midrange reproduction, you'd like a coercive motor, very light moving system and very soft suspension. You don't need excursion. You do need fine resolution around the center of rest. So you'd think that the problem would be easy to solve, but no. It's so darn messy that guys, somewhat sensibly, have pushed forward with the two way idea. And our perceptions do tell us that there's a "rightness" to the two way that often lacks in three ways. So, yeah, big woofer two way, I get it, like it.
So what's so tough about the three way? It's not in obtaining great transducers; there are plenty. The problem is the passive bandpass filter. For a for pole bandpass you'll - at a bare minimum - have this:
View attachment 16303
Without dragging thru all of the details, this circuit is your defeat. And the parts, if you use good ones, are gonna cost more than the transducer. So, yeah, put that mess up against your much simpler two way and you're going to pick the two way.
Most guys have never heard a great midrange driver without a passive bandpass in the way. So, yeah, the preference for two ways is pretty well ingrained and quite understandable.
Back in the day, I worked long and hard to execute first order bandpasses. One C, one L one R. I'd like to think I pulled it off. But you can count on one hand the number of designers who managed to make that topology work. Richard Vandersteen, Jim Theil. That's about it, because it's unbelievably difficult.
Fortunately, and HALLELUJAH, we're moving past this stumbling block and into a world where three ways and four ways can exceed anything that can be done with a two way. That said, yes indeed, two ways can also be better than they've ever been, too.