How important is the efficiency of a speaker to you?


I went to an audio meeting recently and heard a couple of good sounding speakers. These speakers were not inexpensive and were well built. Problem is that they also require a very large ss amp upstream to drive them. Something that can push a lot of current, which pretty much rules out most low-mid ( maybe even high) powered tube amps. When I mentioned this to the person doing the demo, i was basically belittled, as he felt that the efficiency of a speaker is pretty much irrelevant ( well he would, as he is trying to sell these speakers). The speaker line is fairly well known to drop down to a very low impedance level in the bass regions. This requires an amp that is going to be $$$, as it has to not be bothered by the lowest impedances.

Personally, if I cannot make a speaker work with most tube amps on the market, or am forced to dig deeply into the pocketbook to own a huge ss amp upstream, this is a MAJOR negative to me with regards to the speaker in question ( whichever speaker that may be). So much so, that I will not entertain this design, regardless of SQ.

Your thoughts?

128x128daveyf

Dear @daveyf : The issue thatan amplifier working harder develops higher distortions could not be exactly as was posted.

You can read in the link that the JC 1+ gives you at full power output same distortion levels at 8ohm, 4ohm and 2ohms: 0.15%.

 

The other issue about is that the levl of distortions each one of us can detect it as an added colorations depends on what the brain amygdala whole audio/MUSIC information is hang on to for the life experiences of different kind of sound and different kind of SPLs.

J.Curl knows exactly how design  "  a huge ss amp upstream ".

Speaker efficiency always is important depending how you paired with the rigth amp in the rigth room and of course inside your MUSIC reproduction priorities or restrictions. 

Now and is something that you don't touched yet other than " good sounding " and you did not tell us with wich electronics ( overall ) you were listened, with which MUSIC sources and MUSIC gender and at which SPLs.

 

R.

Noise/distortion --> the room and the speakers trump whatever anyone’s attributing to any decent amp.

It’s like you’re having your carriage pulled by a dying horse, but you’re dead focused on greasing the wheels with some special oil secreted on a blue moon night.

 

 

@rauliruegas I cannot comment too much on the sound of the Parasounds and the speaker at this fellow’s room. I heard the combo briefly, but do remember thinking that the synergy was not there between the components.

Keeping in mind that the speakers in question drop down to around 1ohm in the bass, resulting in a speaker that very few amps can drive to anything that can bring about their best. Nonetheless, the Parasounds were not an amp that resulted in this fellow being impressed with the combo.

Keeping in mind that the speakers in question drop down to around 1ohm in the bass, resulting in a speaker that very few amps can drive to anything that can bring about their best. 

Any speaker that drops to 1 ohm was designed by a lazy low IQ individual. Such a speaker (his low IQ legacy) should be torn down and thrown in the garbage can.

@deep_333 LOL, there are a number of well respected speakers that drop down to 1ohm. I won’t consider them for purchase; but I suspect that most folks will not label their designers...’lazy low IQ individuals’! The speakers I was listening to in my OP come from a well known designer who has had several ’amp busting’ speakers on the market in the past.