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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?

bobbydd
alexberger
863 posts
 

Just imagine speaker voice coil even with most effective dissipate heat is possible. When you need dozens of watts to drive the speaker the heat on this voice coil is huge. You can’t cool it in closed small box without fan. Another story if it is just around 1 watt of power. I don’t like sound of any dynamic speakers that need 100+ watt amplification. For me all of them sound tiresome, boring and lack of live and real musicality.

Most people can't understand how much heat produces just 8 watts. I have a DIY phono stage in a big metal box with a resistor with heatsink attached to the chassis. The heat dispersion on this resistor is around 8 watts. Despite the phono stage sitting on an open stand shelf it is getting pretty warm when it is on.

alexberger
863 posts
 

Another factor is - the crossover parts like resistors, inductors are heating when you push dozens of watts on a speaker. As a result, parameters of drivers and crossover parts are changing with the power. As a result most low sensitivity speakers can sound good only on one particular volume level.

britamerican
52 posts
 

I think you are barking up a tree there @alexberger . No way crossover parts are heating as much as voice coil. Inductors probably not at all and what are we paying all that money for fancy resistors for??

ditusa's avatar
ditusa
1,729 posts
 

@alexberger Wrote:

Another factor is - the crossover parts like resistors, inductors are heating when you push dozens of watts on a speaker. As a result, parameters of drivers and crossover parts are changing with the power. As a result most low sensitivity speakers can sound good only on one particular volume level.

I agree!

Mike

johnnycamp5's avatar
johnnycamp5
122 posts
 

There’s no way in hell the crossover is heating up as much as the voice coil!!

Think of thermal compression at 1 watt at 84db vs. 1 watt at 99db!! 
I’ve heard the difference hundreds of times…… the 84db (low sensitivity) sounds stuffy and congested with no dynamics. Doesn’t really matter what topology 

The volume (db) can be there with low sensitivity (with high wattage) but never the punch and drama…it’s just a wall of high db….

IME


 

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