Bass Vs speaker efficiency

So the million dollar question is that if high sensitivity is the way to go, given that such speakers give you the freedom to pair with low watt amplifiers, why do companies continue to make speakers below 89-88db? Is it just a conspiracy to sell mega-bucks amplifiers? 

Also, for some reason I have never met a high sensitivity speaker that I like. I listened to a bunch of Klipsch Heritage speakers (except LaScalas), Devore Orangutan 0/96, JBL. etc. I cannot put my finger on it, but there's something about low sensitivity speakers that pull me in much more so than the high sensitivity ones. I'm sure I'm not the only one, otherwise why would anyone ever buy them.

^You’re not the only one. I feel the same way.

why do companies continue to make speakers below 89-88db? Is it just a conspiracy to sell mega-bucks amplifiers?

Also, for some reason I have never met a high sensitivity speaker that I like. I listened to a bunch of Klipsch Heritage speakers (except LaScalas), Devore Orangutan 0/96, JBL. etc. I cannot put my finger on it, but there's something about low sensitivity speakers that pull me in much more so than the high sensitivity ones. I'm sure I'm not the only one, otherwise why would anyone ever buy them.

Drivers with low efficiency are a lot easier to make since they need less precision in the voice coil gap. So its easier to make money and solid state power is inexpensive, so this works for many manufacturers.


The only problem is that low efficiency speakers are inherently less dynamic, owing to a thing called 'thermal compression'. This is the quality of the voice coil to heat up in an instantaneous fashion, preventing the amplifier from making as much power since its impedance of the voice coil goes up with the heat.


This is easy to hear and easy to measure.


My surmise is you've not heard a higher efficiency speaker set up properly. When that happens you get no less resolution (often more) and no more coloration. My speakers (Classic Audio Loudspeakers model T3-3) go down to 20Hz flat; they are 98dB and 16 ohms. You don't need a lot of power to make them play- 50 watts is usually far more than enough. This is easy for both tube and solid state amps. The higher impedance allows all amplifiers to have audibly and measurably less distortion. 'Audibly' because the most audible distortion is higher ordered harmonics and intermodulations; small reductions of that result in smoother more detailed sound. 

@atmasphere -- sorry I don’t know how I missed your response earlier. I really appreciate the explanation. It seems to me that you’re basically implying that the primary reasons the manufacturers continue to build low efficiency speakers has to do with cost and the fact that they don’t need much precision to build, which again translates into lower manufacturing costs.

I have been reading your posts and have a lot of respect for your experience and knowledge, so I hope this doesn’t come off as confrontational because that’s certainly not my intent. Having said that, I don’t know if your explanation makes complete sense to me. There are a number of highly respected manufacturers like Harbeth or Dynaudio whose speakers are more on the inefficient side of the spectrum. Is it possible that their reasoning has less to do with cost (they can always pass on the cost) or precision (I’m sure they have the manufacturing prowess to address precision), but maybe they feel that less efficient speakers bring something to the table that higher efficiency ones cannot? In other words, it could very well be a conscious design decision driven by the type of sound they’re aiming for and not necessarily cost.

AFAIK, other brands like Magico also make speakers that are not particularly efficient. Again, I find it difficult to assume that cost or lack of precision is what’s driving their decisions.

Lastly, I have heard high efficiency speakers at several dealers and always assume they know how to set it up properly. You might still be right that maybe they were not positioned in the most optimal manner. But this begs the question, what makes it more difficult to set up high efficiency speakers? That seems to be a disadvantage to me at least.

Is it possible that their reasoning has less to do with cost (they can always pass on the cost) or precision (I’m sure they have the manufacturing prowess to address precision), but maybe they feel that less efficient speakers bring something to the table that higher efficiency ones cannot? In other words, it could very well be a conscious design decision driven by the type of sound they’re aiming for and not necessarily cost.

  It could be- I have no idea what that 'sound' might be. IMO the only 'sound' to be looking for is one that is neutral so music can sound real. IMO that is the goal and the efficiency would have nothing to do with it. Based on that the thermal compression exhibited so often would seem to take away from that.