Getting rich sound and good imaging at low levels is hard to do in general because of the Fletcher-Munson law. It was discovered many many years ago that human hearing is less sensitive at both ends of the frequency spectrum as the absolute volume decreases. This is a survival tactic/strategy so we can better hear the sound of approaching predators, which is generally in the midrange ;--)
If your preamp or receiver has a "loudness control" and you engage it, then as you turn down the volume, it will automatically boost the high and low end at a slowly increasing rate to compensate for Fletcher-Munson loss.
Two other things that can help are using highly efficient speakers, or electrostatic speakers (stats aren't that efficient but have extremely light-weight diaphrgms.) Inefficient speakers, or speakers with heavy cones/panels (like Maggies for instance) don't provide uniform response (or sometimes ANY response!) at low levels.
A Watt is the product of Current times Voltage. So not all (individual) Watts are created equal. Choosing whether you want more voltage or more current in each of your amps' output Watts should be based on the load the amp will be driving. Electrodynamic transducers (ribbons, voicecoils, and planar-magnetic) need as much voltage as possible in each Watt; electostatic transducers don't permit the electrons to flow (Current) as the (static) voltage increases/decreases, so they would prefer as much current as possible in each watt.
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If your preamp or receiver has a "loudness control" and you engage it, then as you turn down the volume, it will automatically boost the high and low end at a slowly increasing rate to compensate for Fletcher-Munson loss.
Two other things that can help are using highly efficient speakers, or electrostatic speakers (stats aren't that efficient but have extremely light-weight diaphrgms.) Inefficient speakers, or speakers with heavy cones/panels (like Maggies for instance) don't provide uniform response (or sometimes ANY response!) at low levels.
A Watt is the product of Current times Voltage. So not all (individual) Watts are created equal. Choosing whether you want more voltage or more current in each of your amps' output Watts should be based on the load the amp will be driving. Electrodynamic transducers (ribbons, voicecoils, and planar-magnetic) need as much voltage as possible in each Watt; electostatic transducers don't permit the electrons to flow (Current) as the (static) voltage increases/decreases, so they would prefer as much current as possible in each watt.
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