IMO people can get trapped in the rabbit hole of measurements not only in speakers but every component. Music is enjoyed through your ears not through stats snd graphs on paper. I do not care What the numbers are I do care how it sounds to my ears. Go with what sounds good to your ears. Then sit back and enjoy the music!
What is your take on high efficient speakers vs. low efficient speakers?
Consider both designs are done right and your other equipment is well matched with the speakers. Do you have any preference when it comes to sound quality? Is it matter of economic decision when it comes to price? - power amps can become very expensive when power goes up, on the other hand large, efficient speakers are expensive as well. Is your decision based on room size? I'd love to hear from you on the subject.
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I have been listening to the newest Horning Aristotle Ellipse PM65 speakers. They have a rated 96db efficiency, but in real life are very easy to drive. A few watts will do it beautifully. It is a horn loaded hybrid design that is not very large. This speaker is incredibly fast, dynamic and so pure sounding. They offer most all of the sonic benefits of a large, fully loaded horn design in a more traditional form factor a size. In general, I also find higher efficiency speakers sound more real and lifelike, at least to my ears. Here is a link:
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@charles1dad , ESLs do not necessarily require large SS amplifiers. You can also use a large tube amp like the Atma-Sphere MA 2. The difference between my own personal way of thinking about this is simple, There is accuracy and there is "taste." Accuracy includes the whole system including the room. I always start with accuracy and throw my taste on top at the end. Most people start with taste and never really deal with accuracy which requires choosing the right equipment for the right reasons and the hardware to measure and adjust it's performance in the room. So then why ESLs, more accurately why 8 foot dipole ESLs? They have the lowest levels of distortion within the audio band and coloration of any type of speaker. Dipole linear arrays have ideal dispersion characteristics for preventing detrimental room interaction. Linear arrays broadcast sound more efficiently which is why they are used at large rock concerts. The only serious problem that should be dealt with is dipole ESLs do not like making bass. Below 100 Hz should be sent to a driver specifically designed to make low bass and doing so decreases distortion throughout the rest of the audio band to a significant degree and increases headroom to the point where the system is capable of doing an effortless 105 dB, not that you should. |
Agreed this is an excellent thread! The reason for my love for high efficiency is still a bit of a mystery for me. I've been thinking a lot about directivity being a big factor - a better direct to reflected sound ratio than a typical lower efficiency speaker. This will make the speaker seem quieter in a given room but then the efficiency allows the apparent volume to come back up, so transients are clearer. Listening to good direct radiators of lower efficiency at close distance should provide a similar effect according to this logic, and to my ears it largely does, only that it scales down so the dynamic contrasts aren't as impressive as when the same effect occurs at greater distances. |
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