What speakers for 10k?

Radio Shack big sale save 9K.

Nothing unusual about vendors generalizing specifications as a marketing ploy.

Its not hard to have 94DB speakers....assuming the lowest octave or so is excluded.

Lots of "snakeoil" like this around. Nothing unique to see here really.

Yes, if its small and advertised as higher efficiency, then either the bass rolls of early by design or something does not add up.

The devil is always in the details.

Yes, the discussion has finally gotten interesting. I didn't pay much attention to the WaveTouch speaker earlier, but now I thought I would take a closer look. I don't like what I see. I have not heard them, and while the crossover looks "rich", there are some elements which look to me like they employ some odd design decisions.

I would want to hear it simply because it's so unusual, but I strongly suspect it would not be a mountain top experience. Two of the most disturbing design elements are the flared "waveguides" and the "phase plug" used in front of a ribbon tweeter!

I do not think it an advantage to place a phase plug type device in front of a flat, ribbon tweeter. Again, though I have not heard it, I suspect it would cause a tremendous amount of damage to the treble response. Would you put a rock in front of a fire hose to "focus" the treble? The result would be a splaying of the spray. In my experience if a ribbon tweeter is implemented properly, it's not going to be piercing, but this looks like a low tech way to prevent a piercing sounding tweeter, which I would think should be addressed at the crossover, not the driver... It just strikes me as so wrong. :(

I do not know who Onemanwolfpack is, but I must concur with his assessment of the purported 94dB rating; I struggle to believe it. Look at hundreds upon hundreds of small speakers and you just won't find that kind of sensitivity because of the constraints of the enclosure.

I really suspect the accuracy of the claimed 40Hz lower end of this speaker. In my experience a 5.25" driver in a 15" high cabinet is NOT going to do 40Hz, at least nowhere near +/-3dB. Perhaps +/-6 or even +/-10dB, which at that point you may as well forget the measurement altogether. This is in my opinion a perfect example of a "loose specification", of which I write about at Dagogo.com (I would post a link, but I believe I am prohibited from doing so; it may be easiest to do a search in a browser.) in my Audiophile Law "Do Not Accept (Virtually) Worthless Specs". I would guess the real usable performance, i.e. +/-3dB, of the bottom end of this speaker to be closer to 60Hz +/-3dB, not 40Hz. Even if the driver could reach closer to 40Hz, imagine the distortion caused by the driver's excursion. I can't stand tiny bass drivers being driven to the point of sounding like they're popping, but that is what I suspect you'd get with pushing this speaker.

If any wish to condemn me for my perspective on this, feel free. As a reviewer I have to make assessment of products which I will consider to review, and I would not review this speaker. You can bet that if it turns up at a show, I will try to hear it, because I could be wrong, and I have to face up to it if I am. Perhaps it would radically defy my expectations of its performance, but I have serious doubts. I would suspect that if it did sound halfway decent it would be in spite of the design. The speaker may have some good attributes as it appears there are some high quality parts internally, but the thing is not going to defy physics. You can get away with a lot wrong in a speaker, that is, make it sound OK, if you have a great crossover, but the result will still suffer. I'm guessing there would also be people who love horn speakers who would think it's terrific, etc. The spectrum of what people wish to hear from a rig is so varied, it's fascinating. I have heard systems I thought were horrid, and the people in the room were raving. Go figure. :)

I have nothing against WT, and I have never met anyone from the company to my knowledge, but I have serious issues with the purported performance claimed. I would be happy to be offered a demo (note, demo, not review) of the speaker to confront my hesitation, if WT wishes. But, I'm not interested in getting into extended argument or mud slinging. I have tried to make my comments "on point" sticking to the design of the speaker.

Mapman, you posted as I was writing my post; yes, I concur completely with your comment, "Its not hard to have 94DB speakers....assuming the lowest octave or so is excluded." That is the problem, the claimed low end response with the claimed sensitivity.

The Grand Teton specs on teh website indicate frequency response down to 42hz but no indication of the roll off so it could well be way down at that point. Another generalized spec that may mean little that might play into a higher sensitivity rating perhaps.

Nothing new to see there people...move on. Happens all the time! A least some reviewers like Stereophile do measurements that provide more insight if anyone cares.

Also given the unique waveguides or call them what you will, I could see where these may well be more directional than most speakers meaning more sound to the front than sides than usual, which could also help sensitivity measures, at least on axis.

So its hard for me to say the specs do not add up. Its also hard for me to say they mean much. Maybe if people hear these and like them someone will take up putting them to more rigorous and quantitative testing. Of course that still does not indicate necessarily how good something sounds or not, just how well they perform from a technical perspective, which might be a useful starting point of information but seldom tells the whole story accurately.

I'm guessing the most unique thing about these might be that they have a unique sound radiation pattern which might be a boon or benefit depending. At least its a different twist. I would like to hear them just for that.