Sound quality of Newer versus Older speakers

Hi @tennisdoc56 

Cheap watts leaded us to wrong direction - low sensitive speakers.
low sensitive = compression!
You can do nothing with low of physics. Hight power heats voice coil and cause thermal distortion including compression.
You can use nuclear plant power for amplification it wouldn't fix compression of low sensitive speakers.

I started upgrading my 1990 system with replacing my kef R105/3 speakers and I found to get equal quality from new speakers I have to spend 4 to 5 times what they cost and I’m still making some compromise. Electronics seem to actually sound better, but Either I’ve destroyed my ears or all these exotic materials are 95% marketing and 5%sonic improvements. My .02

Concept 16.5 Receiver  
JBL 4343B Speakers 

 

the benchmark for me was a pair of circa 1982 maggie tympani III panel speakers demo'ed @ definitive audio in north seattle. precise imaging that could be heard all over the room without getting too warped. AND depth that made [on the right recordings] one think there was room beyond the end of the room where the speakers were speaking. a direct-disc recording of some cathedral organ transformed the room into the original recording venue, but for an almost palpable "cloud" of surface noise between me and the speakers. the music was back behind [literally] the surface noise cloud.  prolly the least efficient speakers ever made, a pair of class A monoblocks each the size of a dorm room fridge, were effectively heating the room too near to sauna levels for my long-term comfort. after sweating some, i left the room to listen to their little brothers, the SMGs. like a tiny version of their big brothers, without their seamless wall-to-wall omnipresent imaging, but with the essential tone quality and stereophonic imaging/depth, i was sold. they were the first truly high-quality speakers i had. before i had a pair of nova 6 acoustic suspension compact boxes, they were probably the mellowest speaker i'd heard outside of a pair of advents. neither could image anything like those maggies. 

@alexberger,

It’s incredible just how hot the voice coils can get.

Hundreds of degrees Fahrenheit.

After 30 minutes or so it’s more than likely to have some effect particularly with some designs.

Thankfully I’ve only ever had to replace one driver because of this, but compression due to overheating has certainly been an issue with some of my speakers in the past.

The trick is to hear it (in any sized speaker) and back off before the poor thing gives up the ghost.