Matti:
I have never run either the Salons or Mahlers with really high wattage solid-state amps, so I have never been able to find their dynamic ceiling. My guess is that the Salons have a slightly higher dynamic ceiling, because they use fourth-order crossovers. I also know a dealer who claimed to have heard the Salons run with 1,200 watt/channel McIntosh monoblocks and said that they can play at unbelievably loud levels. The Mahlers can go really loud, too, by virtue of having a lot of large-diameter drivers, but my guess is that compression would set in earlier with them than it would with Salons, as they use first-order crossovers (the result being that the drivers "bleed over" into the territory covered by the other drivers, i.e., also operate outside of their optimal frequency ranges). That said, when Audio reviewed the Mahlers, their measurements indicated that distortion components with the speakers played at 100 db. SPL were all well below 1%, even in the low bass. In any event, unless you like to play music at rock concert levels at all times, my guess is that the Salons and Mahlers both have all of the headroom you would likely need.
As for sensitivity, the Mahlers are 89 db. efficient, while the Salons are 86 db. efficient. In practical terms, this means the Salons require twice the wattage to produce the same loudness levels of the Mahlers. Bear in mind, however, that both speakers drop to below 3 Ohms in the bass, ruling out all but a handful of tube amps -- they require high-current solid-state amps to sound right in the bass.
The Salons and Mahlers are both fine full-range speakers. The Salons go a bit lower in the bass, and are definitely more neutral. The Mahlers image better with their first-order crossovers and have more slam, but are very picky when it comes to amplifiers, speaker cables and listening rooms, and have a midrange warmth that not everyone will like. Assuming they are used properly (high quality solid-state amp, careful choice of speaker cables, big listening room with speakers well away from rear and side walls), my opinion is that Mahlers are very high value at $10k the pair.
