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Which Component Has the Greatest Affect on Low-Level Listening

I'm looking to get out of HT 5.1 and go strictly to 2 ch.  I generally have music playing all day, often just sitting done to listen to certain tracks.  

I've read that "some" speakers don't sound "good" until high listening level, and also an integrated such the Luxman 505 don't sound good at low levels (is that the reason they include loudness?).

Which component, the amp or speaker, has the greatest impact on low level listening quality?
bgm1911
sgreg1
612 posts
 
I would look for a good class A amp that will not change over to A/B until 5 watts. Low level class A sounds really good.
labpro's avatar
labpro
88 posts
 
I’ve had very good results at low volume, with 97db horns and about 4-5 watts (300B).
audiosens
236 posts
 
mapman Interesting answer about sub, I think trying a REL 9Ti with my stereo gear.  Thank you
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,267 posts
 
Start with a very low noise room.  A rule of thumb is that your ambient noise level should be at least half of your average music level.  It's hard to get below 35dB ambient.
boothroyd
365 posts
 
If I were to name a single component, I’d have to agree with yyzsantabarbara that a very well executed line preamp with attention paid to stable linear gain attenuation will have the most dramatic impact of fullness at ALL playback levels. 
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