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In Reply to: RE: Who here is running their 90 db speakers with ~ 2 watts? posted by Iczerman on February 16, 2012 at 09:00:48
I realize many people report they are getting "enough volume" with their 2 watt amps and 88-90 dB speakers. However, IME, there is a huge difference between getting enough "volume" especially with low-dynamic-range music vs. simply being able to crank it up and have the dynamic gradation to satisfy. With my 3 watt SET, I am able to achieve that ONLY after going with truly (measured) 95 dB sensitive /pretty-flat 7 Ohm impedance, AND powering 140 Hz down with another amp (SS) via active crossover.With above, I do not have to think about raising the volume or losing dynamic contrasts with any music I own. Of course, there will be horn guys with 110 dB sensitivity who laugh at us, but sometimes such power brings responsibilities, i.e. system noise being amplified, system size, dealing with bass horn vs. another compromise, etc.
Edits: 02/16/12Follow Ups:
I hate the sound of all the horns I have ever heard (not many, mainly high-end EU-types) and feel almost the same about single drivers. That really narrows down the field...for me.So, I am sure there are others out there, like me, who will trade better dynamics and lower distortion for "other aspects" of the sound quality they hear from their easy to drive, but less sensitive speakers.
"You don't need to be a Weatherman to know which way the wind blows"
Edits: 02/17/12 02/17/12
I like dynamic speaker systems but not fully horn loaded ones. The most sensitive horn speaker that I like is the Tannoy DC design, and that's typically just a quasi-horn loaded tweeter, which is phase coherent and doesn't require the distance that a system with a long horn lens does. Lots of problems with most horn designs and most all of them sound awful to me.
I also agree on the full-range speakers for the most part. Perhaps the worst is a horn loaded "full-range" driver. Talk about three steps back...
-Bill
I do agree many (most?) "horn" speakers sound terrible, especially if we're talking about non-round horns that cross over to conventional woofers in critical midrange frequencies.
But there are horn systems out there that are outstanding, e.g. Titan. Then again, it's not exactly cheap to create fabulous horn systems that are coherent, non-grating, yet highly resolving, and they all seem to require larger room..
> > I hate the sound of all the horns
> > I have ever heard and feel almost
> > the same about single drivers.
Me too.
Horns -
I can't stand the metal domes in the tweeters.
Since I hear the ringing they give me headaches.
Also it takes ~15 ft before they come into focus.
I don't have that room in my apartment.
Single drivers -
I went to an audio show and heard over a half dozen
different commercial speakers and was dissapointed.
Some were driven by SS and others by tubes.
Some I could not even stay in the room
because their sound was so grating.
One was so bad it hurt even before I entered the room.
Others ranged from irritating to annoying.
Absolutely none were a pleasure to listen to.
DanL
I can't live with horns at all, and ideally I'd be using panels - stacked Quads, Maggies or Apogee ribbons. I've had all of them in the past. I need the space in my living room, so settled on single drivers in a tall thin cabinet.
Yeah, difficult. I miss the bass and the body in the lower mids - I'd love to have a 12" or at least 10" unit for that, and then a ribbon tweeter. I hate subwoofers - never heard one I preferred on to off. Compromises...
I went the way of Jordan JX92s as you do - couldn't live with the hard upper mids, drove me mad in the end. Replaced them with Alpair 10s. Instantly found them musical and I liked them. Big improvement over the Jordans. The mids are very nice, the highs are a little soft but smooth and the bass is OK. This is the best solution I've found. I listen to a lot of classical music and I absolutely must have smooth strings - hard upper frequencies are not an option, entirely unacceptable. I haven't found better yet in a small speaker - because it's a single driver there's a lot of detail and the sound is very coherent. I urge other SET users (I have a 300B) to try this unit or the Mark Audio range in general.
Andy
.
then you haven't listened to enough horns
.
.
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