@clearthinker --
I'd agree with poster @ctsooner here. Pro manufacturers, the more or less sole supplier for this segment, have developed and build their high efficiency drivers for decades now, and relative to their size, material use and R&D are actually very fairly priced compared to "hi-fi" drivers in general. Boutique high eff. drivers with AlNiCo magnets or field coils housed in luxuriously finished cabinets and all will always be (much) more steeply priced, though are hardly representative in this context. Fortunately they needn't be that pricy to show the merits of high efficiency designs.
Largely it comes down to size, sound type and association, I believe; high efficiency speakers are closely related to if not directly derived from the pro sector (certainly driver-wise), a sector audiophilia isn't too comfortable with, and coupled with their sonic imprinting as typically more direct, dense, dynamic and present (also due to their dispersive nature) may not appeal to audiophiles and their more widespread exposure to a "softer," thinner, more laid-back and "reverberative" sound (some even feel the dynamics capabilities of high eff. speakers to be "exaggerated"). I'm sure many regard high eff. designs as more "brute" and lacking subtlety, not least when linked to the pro/studio environment, but it's often very far from the truth (did I mention conjecture?). As if sheer volume wasn't an issue already high eff. into the lower octaves takes some very serious size - there's no noodling around that requirement either - and when most have jumped ship with the high eff. main speakers long ago it's even more rare seeing subs in this category of speakers.
What's most popular in hi-fi is also a popular narrative, and that's an inertia not easily brought to hold.
I'd agree with poster @ctsooner here. Pro manufacturers, the more or less sole supplier for this segment, have developed and build their high efficiency drivers for decades now, and relative to their size, material use and R&D are actually very fairly priced compared to "hi-fi" drivers in general. Boutique high eff. drivers with AlNiCo magnets or field coils housed in luxuriously finished cabinets and all will always be (much) more steeply priced, though are hardly representative in this context. Fortunately they needn't be that pricy to show the merits of high efficiency designs.
Largely it comes down to size, sound type and association, I believe; high efficiency speakers are closely related to if not directly derived from the pro sector (certainly driver-wise), a sector audiophilia isn't too comfortable with, and coupled with their sonic imprinting as typically more direct, dense, dynamic and present (also due to their dispersive nature) may not appeal to audiophiles and their more widespread exposure to a "softer," thinner, more laid-back and "reverberative" sound (some even feel the dynamics capabilities of high eff. speakers to be "exaggerated"). I'm sure many regard high eff. designs as more "brute" and lacking subtlety, not least when linked to the pro/studio environment, but it's often very far from the truth (did I mention conjecture?). As if sheer volume wasn't an issue already high eff. into the lower octaves takes some very serious size - there's no noodling around that requirement either - and when most have jumped ship with the high eff. main speakers long ago it's even more rare seeing subs in this category of speakers.
What's most popular in hi-fi is also a popular narrative, and that's an inertia not easily brought to hold.