Question concerning db sensitivity

There is no truth to this. Speaker sensitivity has no more to do with sound quality than amplifier power, which is zilch.

John,

Your statement is as one sided as it is inaccurate. How can you possibly say that speaker sensitivity and amplifier power have NOTHING at all to do with sound quality?

Perhaps you do not regard distortion, resonance, dynamic range and accuracy at typical music SPL's as being in anyway related to sound quality...in which case I could understand your extreme position much better.

I went from Thiel 1.5s to Coincident Conquests. Why? Sensitivity! My tube amps didn't like the Thiels too much. I honestly feel that both speakers are very similar in quality but going from 88db to 94 db allowed me to use any tube amp I wanted.

Your statement is as one sided as it is inaccurate. How can you possibly say that speaker sensitivity and amplifier power have NOTHING at all to do with sound quality?

Shadorne

I've heard good quality, low sensitivity speakers, I've heard good quality, high sensitivity speakers. I've heard poor quality, low sensitivity speakers, I've heard poor quality, high sensitivity speakers. Same for amplifiers. In fact, if the first watt sounds of poor quality, who would want anymore?

From my 30 years in the hobby, I feel that sensitivity in a speaker and power in an amplifier are as important to quality sound as gas mileage and tank size are to a quality automobile. When car shopping, how many focus on gas mileage and gas tank size as being the key factor in the quality of the car? Sure, a big tank with good gas mileage will take you further, but does it really have anything to do with the quality of your vehicle or the enjoyment you gain from driving it?

That's my $0.02, as always YMMV.

seems like some very different opinions. For some reason I would have thought this issue was less subjective than others. Hmmm?

John, please reread the qoute " SOMEONE recently told me that in THEIR experience, in GENRAL, that the higher the dB sensitivity of a given speaker, the more you sacrafice in terms of sound. In other words, lower dB rated speakers [86-88] TYPICALLY sound better. Any thoughts on this?"
CAPS by me.
BTW, this parallels my experience as well.
Obviously, your thoughts indicates that this contradicts your experience.
I guess our milage does indeed vary.
On another note, if one wanted to truly drive an off-road vehicle in the manner for which it was intended, and the intended location was was not near a filling station, such a vehicle might be purchased with consideration of fuel consumption and the size of the tank.