High sensitivity folks (not efficiency)
Ive had lots of all the above (and still have many of both). One mans "dynamic range" is another mans "loud" or "in your face" so its a hard subject to discuss.
IME yes, high sensitivity = more "dynamic range"
Loudspeaker sensitivity and dynamics: are the two inexorably linked?
Have been listening to quite a few speakers lately, and increasingly I've noticed that more sensitive speakers tend to have better microdyanmics - the sense that the sound is more "alive" or more like the real thing.
The speakers involved include my own Magico A5's, Joseph Audio Pulsar 2's, and Wilson Watt/Puppy 7's, as well as others including the Magico M3, Wilson Alexia V, various Sonus Faber's, Magnepan's, Borressen's, and Rockport models (Cygnus and Avior II).
A recent visit to High Water Sound in NYC topped the cake though: proprietor and vinyl guru Jeff Catalano showed off a pair of Cessaro horns (Opus One) that literally blew our minds (with a few listening buddies). The Cessaro's sensitivity is rated at 97 db, highest among the aforementioned models. That system was very close to live performance - and leads to the topic.
I'm not referring to maximum loudness or volume, rather that the music sounds less reproduced and more that the instrumentation and vocals are more real sounding through higher sensitivity speakers.
Is this a real phenomenon? Or is it more the particular gear I've experienced?
Thoughts?
- ...
- 58 posts total
@deep_333 wrote:
If only it was that simple. |
Hello all, I don't dive in much these past couple of years. The old timers know that I have a speaker back ground and it is where I occasionally chime in. So the question: Are they inexorably Linked? No, not inexorably at all, but they are somewhat linked. So what is Dynamic Range in speakers? For easy terms, lets call it speed, the ability to move from very low volume to high volume and back without breaking a sweat or touching the volume! Whether you have a 10 watt amplifier or a 1000 watt amplifier, there is no doubt that the amp will drive a 97db sensitivity speaker dramatically easier than a 83db speaker. I have both right now. When you have a high sensitivity speaker, an amplifer has power reserve, it can loaf and still drive that speaker easily. There are amplifiers that may be decent, but not enough current reserve to handle difficult loads, then when you combine that with low sensitivity , you have a combination that sucks the life out of dynamics. Remember, you have to double your power to add 3db in volume. When you gain the factor of high sensitivity, say 10db more sensitive that same decent amplifier now never has to be pushed hard to deliver great performance, you will find pace and dynamics both improved when an amplifier is not pushed. When an amplifier is well built with a great power supply and has CURRENT to spare and is loafing to boot, you will find dynamics galore in a high sensitivity speaker. Mind you, you can have a high sensitivity speaker that may not be so dynamic. Difficult impedance loads and inductance clearly matter with an amplifier producing its best dynamics. So in the big picture, a highly sensitive speaker that is well designed for a smooth impedance curve and lower inductance definitely will be more dynamic with most amplifiers than with the opposite type speaker, but that doesn't mean a low sensitivity speaker cannot be dynamic. If you have a well designed amplifier with the proper current capability, Lower sensitive, well designed speakers can have great speed, air and transparency, no doubt. |
@timlub -- Good post, in which you did however only touch upon the amp side of things and not the speakers, which with low efficiency in particular will potentially further complicate issues with thermal compression/modulation as heat build-up in the voice coils, even if it’s only for short periods of time as a rather "dynamic" phenomena. I might also add that removing the passive crossover between the amp and drivers for active configuration will have the amp(s) seeing a much easier load, with the better driver control and sonic benefits this entails, while also thriving on load independency between the amp channels coupled to their respective driver segments and limited frequency spectrums. So, a combination of high efficiency, good power handling, active config. and sufficient quality power will be among the core parameters to ensure the most optimal outset for dynamic prowess, as well as other aspects in sound reproduction. As the article supplied by poster @ditusa points to, not everyone is in the need of the same effective headroom (if there even is any to speak of) for their specific requirements and setup context, and so to their needs may be dynamically well served with smaller, low efficiency speakers. That’s however also a clear indication of what's relative to the individual benchmark one sets about to work from, and the importance that is assigned to this specific area. Tom Danley on headroom and power compression (excerpt):
https://www.avsforum.com/threads/danley-dts-10-super-spud-diy-kit.1189404/post-17409024 |
- 58 posts total