Speaker with most dynamic PUNCH?

"Do "pro" speakers and studio monitors tend to have more punch than those made for the domestic market?"

In general yes, but it depends on what you mean by "studio monitor". If you mean a 5" two-way, well the prosound versions are not necessarily much different from their home audio counterparts when it comes to dynamic capability.

As a general rule of thumb, a speaker has about 1 dB of thermal compression at 1/10th its rated RMS (not peak) power. At 1/2 its rated power, it has about 2 dB of thermal compression. At full power, it has about 3 dB of thermal compression. Beware of power handling specs that are based on "peak" power, because those can be two to ten times higher than the RMS power handling, which is what we want for making estimates of thermal compression.

If you want to avoid thermal compression, use speakers that are just loafing along on the peaks.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer (of home and studio speakers)

"Marty McFly's guitar amp"

LMAO!

No one, not even reviewers, can possibly have heard every combination of speakers and amplification, so any answers to a question such as this will necessarily be based on limited experience.

However, given that PMC Loudspeakers import and distribute Bryston amplification throughout the UK and use it in designing their speakers, compatibility is pretty well assured. Bryston amplifiers are noted for their dynamic punch and PMC speakers afford them free rein to deliver it. Certainly, I've never found my combination of the two to be in any way lacking in the dynamics department. Take care with set up and your choice of cabling, though, if you want to get the best overall results.

I have very limited experiences to draw from, however, I do own a pair of Acoustic Research Rock Partner's that I bought new years ago, and they still sound great for smaller 2-way designs. AR is well-known for several models that keep both gloves laced up. The tweeters sound beautifully smooth and are very well matched to the very controllable and punchy bass drivers.

Mine are connected to a older 70's-80's Pioneer reciever with separate bass and treble and loudness controls. It's an addicting musical sound. Even with flat tone control settings, they're very capable of delivering the punches in a very musical way.