Speaker sensitivity vs SQ

@audiokinesis , @erik_squires ,

Trying to dig it up, it's around here somewhere, but I had a good paper or two on electronic (DSP) correction of thermal compression both copper and magnetic.  It is yet another reason why active speakers will rule the high end roost eventually. Passive will never be able to accomplish what active will be able to.  For subs, active position feedback already can correct for this.

an unnatural treatment of room will also cause your brain to work harder....just evolution...find examples in natural environments that display broad band absorption like a 6-8” deep panel.... they don’t exist.....

ES, you will eventually tumble to time and phase.....

@tomic601 , that makes no sense at all.
If you go into an actual natural environment, short of being in a cave, or very close to a cliff, or in front of a large tree, the only source of reflection is the ground, and normally that is dirt and somewhat soft (absorptive) ground cover. Trees by virtue of being somewhat round, make excellent diffusers. That negates your whole argument right there.

Also negating your argument is your room is not the recording studio, or the concert hall, or the church. For the most part you want to negate the impact of the room so that the acoustical cues in the recording are clearly communicated to the ears/brain and you hear what was recorded.  Removing early/loud reflections via speaker placement, broad band absorbers, and diffusion absolutely will do this. Close late reflections are bad too.

I expect few people have actually heard stereo speakers in an anechoic chamber. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not bad at all, with pin point natural imaging. There is a big difference between audio reproduction and a new sound created in a room.  Voices sound weird in an anechoic chamber because there is none of the expected echo.  Recorded music sounds predominantly natural because the echos are already built into the recording. Your eyes and brain may be at odds though. That nature you mentioned?  Predominantly it behaves more like an anechoic chamber w.r.t. music reproduction than it does the average listening room.

reread my post, i said zip about anything but absorption. take another run at finding a 6” absorber in nature. Its a hole in the acoustic space the brain is trying to reconstruct. I am a principal in a recording studio with a mobile location rack. You can catch up later.

the natural world is full of diffraction, most sterile audiophile rooms lack it bigtime...except for the forest of amplifiers blocking the path to the turntable ( which should be off to the side )