2. speakers
  3. 167757-93216

Recommendations for speakers that sound great at lower volume levels.

I have a pair of Harbeth SHL5 Plus and they sound wonderful when I crank them up. But at moderate to low volume levels they sound disappointingly flat and unengaging - instruments are less palpable, bass has less bloom, and soundstage has less air and dimensionality. I drive my speakers with a tube integrated - a Line Magnetic 845 rated at 26 watts of power. My Harbeths are rated at 86db. Would a higher sensitivity speaker be helpful? Or how about a good quality small shoebox sized pair of speakers coupled with a subwoofer? Or not. What speakers are going to deliver music you can feel at low volume levels? What say all you wisened audiophiles?
128x128neptune123
jjss49's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
jjss49
6,612 posts
 
High efficiency is over 100db 1 watt 1-meter omega is not a high eff loudspeaker.


no hard and fast rules or accepted definitions of what high efficiency is among speakers...  omegas are certainly presented as high efficiency speakers

if you are coming from a 100 db.w.m horn they are not... if you are coming from a 84 db.w.m harbeth p3 they certainly are...
neptune123's avatar
neptune123 OP
24 posts
 
High efficiency is over 100db 1 watt 1-meter omega is not a high eff loudspeaker
That's interesting and worth considering. What do other people think?  You know, Omega speakers promote themselves as high efficiency and a good match with the LM 845ia. 
audition__audio
1,483 posts
 
I think that tube amps are much better at low volumes inherently provided that the speaker doesnt present to difficult a load. The best low volume speakers I have heard are horns (compression drivers), but they arent very good in other areas which I find significantly more important.
kingharold
304 posts
 
When I began reading this thread it struck me how free of typical volume considerations I am.  Since my wife of fifty years plus recently passed away I live alone in a house pretty much in the middle of my eight acre plot.  Despite this my listening levels seldom exceed 87 dB on crescendos.  My fully horn loaded, triamplified, 103 dB sensitivity, DIY speakers are very good at maintaining good detail, imaging and frequency balance at quite low levels.
avanti1960
1,476 posts
 
you have 4 options-
1 an amplifier with more robust power and dynamics, e.g. a rogue audio cronus mag iii, go to seperates with a rogue audio stereo 100 or a tube preamp with powerful solid state power.
2 more efficient speakers, a slippery slope that comes with compromises, e.g. omegas, klipsch heritage.
3 subwoofer(s)
4 amp and subwoofers

its about getting cone movement, bass excursion at lower volume.  it takes a more robust amp or speakers that resond better to the amp you have. 
i chose option 4 including a tube preamp solid state amp. i loved the sound of my HL5+ and could not think about what i would lose to gain efficiency.
More to discover