|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
71.50.140.32
In Reply to: RE: Zu Soul Supreme sensitivity posted by rockdoc on May 25, 2017 at 13:28:39
...sensitivity doesn't tell the whole story. The speaker's impedance has a lot to say about the actual "sensitivity." The Supreme is 16 ohms and will draw less power from the amp to achieve the same db level as a 4 or 8-ohm speaker. So using that standard, it's actually more sensitive than 91 db. This has also come up in reviews of Devore speakers, which under JAs test conditions don't meet their sensitivity spec but have 12-ohm impedance so are actually more sensitive than the test indicates.
Follow Ups:
You mean the difference between acoustic power output per input voltage, versus acoustic power output per input electrical power, which I would call 'efficiency'.
3 watts? Aint enogh for me, I like Big powerful bass!
110db sensitive 20hz -3db speakers with a 3 watt amp
110dB - 1 watt
113dB - 2 watts 20hz no problem
84dB stand mount at the usual 50-70hz
84dB - 1 watt
87dB - 2w
90dB - 4w
93dB - 8w
96dB - 16w
99dB - 32w
102dB - 64w
105dB - 128w (speaker compresses pinching the bass and creating distortion
108dB - 256w (standmount explodes never putting out any real bass).
System A utterly destroys system two for both bass and volume level.
Fortunately most people most of the time listen at under 80dB which is why you do see some people with 8 watt amps using speakers in the middle 80s sensitivity. Which is smart because loud listening damages hearing.
Actually listening at an average level of 85 dB is very loud and even inefficient speakers only need a watt or 2 to do this. Power is needed in these speakers for peaks that in classical music can be 30 Db or so for very short periods. that's the need there for high power, clean peaks to maintain fidelity for very short periods. Efficiency is good but the problem as you pose it is exaggerated.
Yes it is an extreme example because there are not very many 110db sensitive speakers.
Most amplifiers however in peaks can go much higher in output for short duration - coupled with the way tube amps clip and the given quality of the amplifier.
Subjectively - the other issue is this - Assuming say 85dB sensitive speakers if amp A is a low powered single ended variety let's say and for 95% of musical listening at normal volume you find it sounds vastly better than amp B that is high power SS - do you take amp A over B even if B does a better job at handling peak loud power passages. If that is the only thing it does better?
The choice to me would be to look for 95dB-100dB sensitive speakers requiring the amp to work 1/10th as hard and cover those peaks. Noting that most people don't listen to pedal organ recordings.
And heck SS is dirt cheap - you can always buy both kinds of amp - so when you really want that juice it's pretty cheap to buy since SS is practically worthless on the second hand market.
Actually few amplifiers have more than 1-2 decibels of peak ("short duration") power output. Interesting idea to have 2 kinds of amp; you could indeed get some real sweet sounding thing, then with a massive switch (break before make!!!!) change to lke a Behringer iNuke to blast the neighborhood. I like the idea!
What we need is a high quality amplifier switcher (not a speaker selector).
So you can run say four amplifiers to a switcher box - so when you want to listen to your 3 watt SET you can, then switch to your home theater amplifier when you want to use your 7.1 surround sound system, then you want to listen to your favorite EL34 Push Pull tube amplifier you can, and finally maybe your favorite 211 or 845 based tube amps or your 4000 watt Analog Domain amps.
For instance I have a home theater set-up via a Marantz receiver and a 12 watt tube amp. So when I want to play a movie or video game I have to disconnect the speaker wires and connect the speaker wires from the receiver and back and forth - it's not that big of a deal - but some folks may have speakers awkwardly positioned or use those ridiculously bulky connectors.
But Audiophiles are picky and we don't want some cheap $3 box muddying up the sound of such a connector box. There seems to be a market for this - a silver wired internal shielded blah blah blah box for $200. Someone will pay it. Me for one.
Love the idea, with all the cosmetic and electronic bells and whistles (so it might actually sell). But for true appeal it must have a stomp box for the foot of the listening position; perhaps with a programmable delay.
This just seems a more personal change (raging through the amps) perhaps not as satisfying if performed with just another remote.
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: