IEMs have multiple drivers, so why don’t headphones?
Some do, it’s just uncommon.
The increased complexity of including a crossover likely doesn’t result in a win over a full range driver in the headphone form factor…
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There are headphones that do have multiple drivers. They are very few and far between, and are typically trying to pull off 7.1 surround. One notable example that most people seem to enjoy is the 1More Triple driver headphone.
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I asked this too…
You could try these?..
Some do but they are hard to do well. I attribute it to multiple drivers on a bigger enclosure compared to iems so close to your compared to speakers really complicate the tuning process . The only notable headphone that does this well is the one .ore triple driver which in reality is only 2 drivers as the woofer isn’t really a driver.
Headphones also have very well developed driver tech like planar and electrostat that can be done much cheaper these days that they used to be that when done right can have a full range in sound done well without multiple drivers. Iems I find still struggle to adopt these tech well with a few exceptions and it’s damn expensive still for speakers
I would think room and angle would factor in. Maximizing that one big driver is probably better in the long run than fitting many in a limited form factor
AKG K340 since the late 70’s.