Most high-quality loudspeakers are 4-Ohms

Unsound you said [I suspect that many speakers that are designed to be more effecient are in fact not so due to inherently superior drivers or other design parameters but, done so that they can better accomodate particular amplifiers and that course of action might just very well compromise the ability of the very speakers themsleves] You can have this opinion all you like but if you understood even a wee bit about transducer or loudspeaker design you would understand how wrong you are.

JohnK, not that I thought you used mass market drivers, but how the heck would I know what you used. Are you a speaker manufacturer? Another speaker manufacturer who on this very thread has posted that what I suggested is part of his decision making. Is he so wrong too?

"Most ss amps aren't at their best into 16 Ohms. "

I'm operating under the assumption that a higher damping factor is in of itself a good thing, all other design factors aside.

Of course we all know what happens when one assumes.....

I suspect different amps will still sound different into 16 ohms and not play as loud, however there is less downside potential along with this as well, if not optimally matched, hence 16 ohms is safer, as I indicated, but not necessarily a lock alone for optimal performance.

% wise I would say that no large speaker company puts in cones
as expensive as what KCS does in relation to how much the speakers actually sell for.
I personally prefer speakers that are hi-eff and that do not need enough power to illuminate New York to get a whisper of sound out of them.
Enjoy your preferences fellow goners'............
I also think that the most expensive speakers are erring down to 4ohms (I maybe wrong on that one though).......
Doesn't mean they are of the most highest quality.

johnk- could you please explain why drivers with 16ohm rdc is superior to 4 ohms? in sIMILAR conctruction they have only thinner wire used at former and thus higher Le(which is not good IMHO) in passive implementation it will fail to 4 ohms drivers which can use lower resistanse coils. the only thing which cna be stated that most amps (even those which cna handle 1ohm load) will have more discortions at 1-3ohms than 8ohms.

I have designe dmore than 80 diferet speakers models with variuos impadances, cmomonly i can say that 10-20ohms speakers are more calm and smoother souding while 3-4ohms are more dynamic and have "grip" in LF(i compare similar designs)