How important is the efficiency of a speaker to you?

@atmasphere 

Im going to depart with your thinking when you say things like

"There are attempts to get around the thermal compression problem with lower efficiency speakers, such as vented pole pieces and the like. The incentive is high because lower efficiency speakers are a lot cheaper to make."

This is simply not true.  As mentioned before and elsewhere, lower efficiency drivers may sacrifice some efficiency to gain other features that improve performance such as lower distortion, better linearity, better low frequency extension etc.   The idea that lower efficiency is always done as a cost saving excercise is clearly not true.   

Brad

@lonemountain You are inferring something I did not say with this statement:   

The idea that lower efficiency is always done as a cost saving excercise is clearly not true.   

I don't need to repeat myself here. But it may interest you to know that high efficiency drivers, in particular woofers can be 10x more expensive than drivers of similar bandwidth and power handling that are not efficient. As an example the TAD 1602s (15", 97dB, Fs 22Hz) are typically $4000.00 each. Put a field coil into the mix and the driver gets even more expensive.

What I said when you quoted me is correct.

Dear @phusis  and friends:  we have to remember that atmasphere is a tube electronics and from several " vintage " years his flag ship argument to hit class A and AB solid state amps always is that: harsness/brigthness " but with out real facts. His article is only bla bla bla as always in that regards.

If he can proves what is his solid state agenda then that comes here and shows at least 10 SS top/high power amps tha showed what he said in the last 10 years with measures of those amps and what the reviewers said it about. Here one example  and the other is my very old 20.6 monoblocks  where just does not happens his bla, bla, bla,:

Halcro dm58 monoblock power amplifier | Stereophile.com

R.

Loudspeaker power handling vs. Efficiency. Magnetic flux modulation compression see here.😎

Mike

In my experience low sensitivity speakers not just make unpleasant compression but also mask microdynamics and texture. It is so obvious that producing low sensitivity drivers is much cheaper. Weak magnets are cheaper, heavier diaphragms are cheaper, rubber suspension are cheaper. But you pay for marketing, and a beautiful box that was lacquered dozens of times.