Is the most efficient speaker the best speaker?

I have been reading this thread with much interest. I greatly respect Ralph/Atmasphere and have always learned from his posts and others on this thread.

I must say my experience flies in the face of saying a low efficiency speaker can't play to sound pressure levels with as much ease and scale as a horn speaker with a nice quality tube amp.

Well, I have owned horn systems such as the Cain & Cain IMBEN with several high quality SET and other types of tube amps. In addition, I have owned 92-95 db efficient speakers from Silverline paired with tube and SS power amps rated up to 300 watts per side.

Now I own Soundlab M1 speakers and drive them with a 600 watt per side Sunfire Signature SS amp. This amp cost me $1500 used and new they were $3700 or so. My current rig plays to db levels that are well over 100db with an ease and scale I have yet to hear in any of my previous systems. My Soundlab speakers are only 87db efficient with impedance swings from 2 ohms up to near 40 ohms. Yes, they are hard to drive!

But the scale and ease to which this system plays is amazing to me.

So my experience is that large ESL speakers with a very powerful SS amp can certainly match or exceed the sound pressure levels and scale/ease of a horn system. No need to spend a lot for the right amp either. Worthy amps like my Sunfire can be had for under $3500 used.

Ralph is correct that a nice horn/tube amp rig can also soar in the manner he states. I agree 100% with that.

Hard to beat mid efficient speakers , it's the best of both worlds .

I purposely kept my question general in order to let let real world considerations bump up against the hypothetical. Of course "all other things being equal" doesn't exist -- except in any one particular system -- but interesting and useful information has resutled. Thanks for all your responses. Carry on.

The most efficient (sensitive) speaker primarily benefits the lowest power amplifiers... is the lowest power amplifier the best amplifier?

If so, then what would be the purpose of manufacturing higher power amplifiers and less than the most sensitive speaker?

Other Things are not the only things that are never equal.

How Dynamic is an 83db sensitive speaker with 50 watts? and how dynamic is a 93db sensitive speaker with 50 watts?
If absolutely everything was identical, the 93db speaker is not more dynamic? Right. Wes, I've heard you make some outstanding well thought out arguments in the past.
Again, the BIG STATEMENT, "All Things Being Equal".
My current speakers are very Dynamic and 86db 4 ohms, but they aren't dynamic with any amp. In the theory above the more sensitive speaker, even when it is only sensitivity that makes the two speakers different, the 93db speaker would be More dynamic without question.