High Efficiency Speaker Asylum

Need speakers that can rock with just one watt? You found da place.

Return to High Efficiency Speaker Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

dumb questions. High / low efficiency threshold?

107.77.215.170
Posted on November 2, 2021 at 06:57:18
catbert242000@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 268
Location: Puerto Rico
Joined: April 17, 2006
 OK I know this is a dumb question, but I must ask...

At what point does a speaker become what we consider "high efficiency"?

I have read various speaker spec sheets and manufacture claims, but honestly, how many db at one watt, one meter become high efficiency?

My speakers are about 95 or 97 db (according to the mfg.) and seem to perform well with my low power (6.5w) amp. But I have seen some mfg. claim 100+ db for their speakers. ( I would like to try them!)

And what about the other end of the spectrum? How low do some speakers run at? I also have a pair of cheap dynamic speakers rated at about 87, and they certainly need more juice to get volume.

I have never owned Maggies or similar, but understand they run in the 80's.

It would seem that, generally speaking, higher efficiency is preferable, especially for low power amps, but if you have plenty of power, perhaps efficiency becomes irrelevant??

What is your opinion?







 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
Low, middle and high, posted on November 2, 2021 at 11:09:08
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 Low efficiency is less than 88dB.

Middle efficiency is 89 to 96dB. Or so...

High efficiency is anything above that.

You must pay attention to the impedance of the speaker. Most speakers these days are not rated by efficiency but sensitivity and the two are not the same. Efficiency is expressed either as the actual efficiency of the speaker (so as a percentage of the power applied vs the sound pressure resulting) or (more commonly) as 1 watt @ 1 meter (which is almost the same thing, but arriving at a usable dB level). Sensitivity is expressed as 2.83Volts @ 1 meter.

Almost no-one uses the older efficiency spec anymore.

Here's the important bit:
2.83 Volts is 1 Watt if the speaker is 8 Ohms, but 2 Watts if the speaker is 4 Ohms. So by simply reducing the impedance, the speaker becomes more sensitive while not being any more efficient. So if you have a 4 Ohms speaker subtract 3dB to arrive at its efficiency (since doubling the power is 3dB).

Normally this isn't an issue unless you like tube amplifiers! Tubes do not double power as impedance (the speaker) is halved; so the efficiency spec is more useful.

Since solid state power is generally less expensive than tube power, knowing these things can save you lots of aggravation and dollars!

 

RE: dumb questions. High / low efficiency threshold?, posted on November 2, 2021 at 11:26:54
Paul Joppa
Industry Professional

Posts: 7296
Location: Seattle, WA
Joined: April 23, 2001
 This was discussed here several years ago; it comes up again every now and then. My own opinion is that 96dB/watt/meter marks the boundary. That is enough for "most audiophiles, most of the time" when using a 4-watt amplifier, such as a 2A3-based SET.

But the boundary is quite arbitrary. Another value, equally arbitrary, is 1% efficiency (92dB/w/m, which corresponds to a 10-watt amp).

The amp criterion used above (and in the linked FAQ post) is based on a crude statistical analysis of reviews in Stereophile magazine over a period of a few years in the late 90s. Not everyone agrees, of course. It's important to note that the variation is quite large!

 

RE: dumb questions. High / low efficiency threshold?, posted on November 2, 2021 at 12:42:06
Jack G
Audiophile

Posts: 9740
Joined: September 24, 1999
 I'm not sure there is an official number for high efficiency but mid 90s and up fit the bill. All else being equal, higher efficiency is preferable. A flat and/or high impedance can also help. Unfortunately, all else is never equal, so there will be compromises elsewhere.
That said, most of the speakers I've owned were 94 db and up.
As a side note, one doesn't have to run low power with high eff speakers.
They can sound good with higher power too.
Jack

 

RE: dumb questions. High / low efficiency threshold?, posted on November 2, 2021 at 16:31:33
grindstone
Audiophile

Posts: 188
Location: GMT -6
Joined: August 10, 2008
 If you care, I think you can deep-dive on this very board because it was a topic pretty early. My memory holds that there was much discussion and the number that the preponderance went 98 (???) but my memory also fails me daily.

 

RE: Low, middle and high, posted on November 2, 2021 at 16:47:02
catbert242000@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 268
Location: Puerto Rico
Joined: April 17, 2006
 thanks, that is instructive. My speakers are Altecs 8 ohm, EV Aristocrats 16 ohm, Dayton 8 ohm.

I don't have the sensitivity on the Altecs or EV's, but the efficiency is in the mid 90's I think. The Daytons are "Sensitivity: 87 dB 1W/1m" per the maker. They require more power for equal volume.


I was surprised how well my tube amp a SET MP 301MK3 (6.5w) drove all my speakers. More power than I expected or need. Now I am wondering how a OTL amp would work in my setup.



 

RE: dumb questions. High / low efficiency threshold?, posted on November 2, 2021 at 20:58:54
hahax@verizon.net
Audiophile

Posts: 4310
Location: New Jersey
Joined: March 22, 2006
 The famous LS3/5a is in the very low 80s I believe.

And you're right about Maggies but it isn't that simple with planar speakers because the further you sit from them the less the standard measurement matters. This is because planars(and line sources) lose loudness linearly with distance rather than the faster loss of conventional speakers which lose loudness with the square of the distance.

 

If the impedance is benign, posted on November 3, 2021 at 08:24:22
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 an OTL can work quite well. You'll find that they are far more transparent than SETs- you can hear that difference in 5 seconds. Its not subtle. I've been running OTLs on my 'high efficiency' speakers for a long time.

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 3, 2021 at 08:40:06
catbert242000@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 268
Location: Puerto Rico
Joined: April 17, 2006
 how do you determine "if the impedance is benign?"

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 3, 2021 at 08:44:32
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 For an OTL it simply needs to be high enough. 16 Ohms is fine! 8 Ohms isn't bad either. 4 Ohms- better check with the OTL manufacturer.

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 3, 2021 at 09:05:52
catbert242000@yahoo.com
Audiophile

Posts: 268
Location: Puerto Rico
Joined: April 17, 2006
 ok. now I get it. Well, if that is the case, I'm in good shape. The mains are Altec Valencia @ 8 ohm & EV Aristocrats @ 16 ohm.

I usually play both mains with my SET 6.5 watt amp. They are a good match, with more than I need power and super clean/open sound.

Would a OTL amp make any difference or improvement?

 

RE: dumb questions. High / low efficiency threshold?, posted on November 3, 2021 at 09:51:15
Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2120
Joined: September 15, 2001
 C

The size of the magnet in a woofer is the major player in the efficiency of a speaker. However making the magnet larger beyond a certain optimal point will limit low bass extension in a direct radiator speaker which is not horn loaded. The reason for this is the effect that back Electro Motive Force/EMF comes into play. The magnet and voice coil are a motor which responds to energy from the amp, but the voice coil moving in the magnetic field is also a generator and the back and forth movement along with the musical signal can create a back EMF voltage which can counteract the bass performance, so there is a trade off with making the magnet larger beyond a certain point as it starts to limit low bass. For direct radiator speakers this limits the sensitivity to the low or mid 90 dB region with the usual 1Watt/1 meter yardstick. If the woofer is horn loaded however, the acoustic resistance of the horn becomes a major player much in the same way that if you increased the mass of the cone would, and if the horn is large enough you can get the low bass back you would lose with a large magnet driver in a direct radiator application. So in the 100 dB @ 1 Watt/1 meter and above region you are in horn territory. The above contains simplifications and generalizations, and I hope it helps. BTW someone may object that I have used efficiency and sensitivity somewhat interchangeably here, and that they are not exactly the same thing. This is true, and the electrical impedance of the driver is also a factor as one of the other posters have commented, however horns are both high sensitivity and high efficiency.

Paul

 

If you like smoothness, transparency and bandwidth, yes nt, posted on November 3, 2021 at 11:05:29
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 -

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 3, 2021 at 19:03:38
grindstone
Audiophile

Posts: 188
Location: GMT -6
Joined: August 10, 2008
 https://www.dhtrob.com/overige/tubefriendly_lsp_en.php

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 5, 2021 at 06:43:50
Retsel
Audiophile

Posts: 1239
Joined: April 17, 2000
 I would not put all SE and OTL amps into the same buckets.

Different SE amp output transformer have different levels of effect on the audio signal. Also, operating the output transformers of SE amps as autoformers removes a lot of the output transformer's effect.

On the other hand, the parallel output tubes of OTL amps is a factor.

Retsel

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 5, 2021 at 09:34:31
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 On the other hand, the parallel output tubes of OTL amps is a factor.

I've heard people say that a lot, but never found any good explanation for it. Usually the saw is that distortion is high, but almost any OTL made has significantly lower distortion than any SET.

To give you an example, our M-60 makes 60 watts into 8 Ohms and has between 0.5 to 1% THD at full power. Compare that to a 300b SET which is 10% at full power (clipping). If you run the M-60 at 7 Watts (the power that a 300b makes at clipping) its distortion is about 3 orders of magnitude lower. And it does that without feedback, although usually we run about 2dB of feedback on it.

What am I missing?

 

TAD 1602 and similar, posted on November 5, 2021 at 12:17:15
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 For direct radiator speakers this limits the sensitivity to the low or mid 90 dB region with the usual 1Watt/1 meter yardstick.

The TAD woofers in my speakers are about 97.5dB. A field coil version of them exists that's 98dB. The 1602 has a free air resonance of 22Hz; in my speakers the response is 0dB down at 20Hz.

I'm not exactly sure what you are saying in the quote above, but there seem to be plenty of examples that suggest the 100dB or so is actually where you might be dealing with horns. There are 'full range' drivers that are every bit of 99dB.

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 5, 2021 at 14:45:35
Retsel
Audiophile

Posts: 1239
Joined: April 17, 2000
 My first response is that you don't operate the SE amp at full output power. I have Lowthers mounted in front waveguides and I don't need more than 1 watt, even if I am cranking the volume and risking my hearing...

My second response is that the higher low, even ordered distortion is much less damaging to the sound than much lower quantity higher, odd order distortion (at least many people think so).

Again, not all SE amps are the same, nor operated the same way. Here are some measurements of a 300B amp which provides measurements based on different ways to adjust its performance:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/cayin-300b-integrated-amplifier-measurements

In addition to using the transformer as an autoformer, I use a lower number tap with my 300B amps (8 ohm tap into 15 ohms), reducing distortion.

I admit, though, I have never heard an OTL amp. I have purchased Rosenblitz' book though with the intention of building one someday, although actually at this point I am more interested in building Bench's concept. But my 300B amps sound so good, building an OTL amp is far off into the future.

Just to be clear, I am not bashing your amps as I have heard great things about them, I am just trying to provide another perspective.

Retsel

 

+1, posted on November 5, 2021 at 15:11:53
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 I'm of the opinion that if you really want to hear what an SET is about, it should not be run past about 20-25% of full power, since the higher orders start showing up above that level.

Totally agree with your comments!

 

+ another 1, posted on November 5, 2021 at 15:23:10
Paul Joppa
Industry Professional

Posts: 7296
Location: Seattle, WA
Joined: April 23, 2001
 I also agree that SET amps need some headroom to sound their best, especially with spectrally dense material (orchestral, big band, etc). I'm using JBL 2220 woofers at 101dB with 8-watt 300B amps.

 

RE: TAD 1602 and similar, posted on November 6, 2021 at 10:10:17
Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2120
Joined: September 15, 2001
 Ralph

I did mention to the OP that my comments contained simplifications and generalities, and were in the context of a general discussion of efficiency in speakers. The TAD 1602 is intended for subwoofer duty, and the specs are unusual to say the least. Back in 3/2/2000 GM made a post here questioning the 97 dB 1/W/1M spec and claimed it was closer to 95, but he gave no details how he arrived at this. Either way it's close enough to the mid 90's estimate I mentioned for guvament work. The spec sheet for the 1602 has a number of typos. The Highest Recommended Crossover: 1.200 Hz (!), and there are other places where commas were used (and vice versa) where decimals should have been (Qes: 0,23!). Correcting for this, the Effective Bandwidth Product/EBP=21/0.23=91 Hz which indicates that the 1602 would be best suited for a vented box application, but the spec sheet states it can also be horn loaded with no info on the type of horn to be used, and you would need a horn to get at least into the low 100 dB region. This is not meant to be a critique of the 1602 which I would be expect to be of very high quality, but a critique of the specs where they appeared to need someone fluent in both English and Japanese to proof read it. There are indeed drivers in the upper 90 dB region, the Lowthers for instance which are usually seen in back loaded horn applications where the front of the driver is direct radiating, but to really get much above the 100 dB region a horn is needed unless you can accept a trade off in the bass. The back EMF effect is quite real and can be easily demonstrated: just take a woofer and connect it to a VOM and pump the voice coil back and forth and note that you are creating a voltage. Us horn guys are used to looking at the usual suspects for horn drivers which are typically electric guitar/bass musical instrument types with large magnets which will typically have a free air bass response which will start to roll off about an octave above above Fs because of the large magnet, and this puts them at a disadvantage in the home Hi-Fi market where lower efficiency drivers can go lower in similar or smaller boxes. There are of course drivers which can bend the rules, Tom Danley (who can change the course of mighty rivers, get manufacturers to build drivers to his specifications etc) designed his Labhorn sub before there was a driver available for it, which specified a large magnet along with a relatively heavy cone compared to the usual suspects, and his design works quite well as a subwoofer. So with speaker drivers you are constantly confronted with a number of barriers which you have to get over, around, under or through. With horns "dirty tricks" are needed as Paul Klipsch has said.

Paul

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 6, 2021 at 16:08:46
91derlust
Audiophile

Posts: 1101
Joined: December 25, 2014
 When thinking through power and gain for a system design, I aim to keep the H2 distortion if the output tube at <2%, even on peaks when playing at levels I think are loud. For my current design/build, the DHT gain stage/s should contribute little distortion. Most of the time I will be listening well below loud levels anyway.

A quick look at the WE300B gives plenty of operating points with their calculated H2 and H3 distortion. 10% H2 distortion points for a 300B SET at full power should be easily avoidable.

I also like running highish loads on tubes - I'm happy drop 10% to 20% at full power to reduce distortion by roughly 40% to 50%... and the gain in damping factor is often nice (though I have speakers designed for SET-like source impedance).

My next amp might be an all-DHT PP amp... Let's get the SET amp that is still at the CAD stage done first. ;)

Take care.

"Confusion of goals and perfection of means seems to characterise our age." Albert Einstein

 

RE: If the impedance is benign, posted on November 8, 2021 at 05:17:17
morricab
Distributor or Rep

Posts: 9181
Location: switzerland
Joined: April 1, 2005
 http://beatamusica.de/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Amplifon_LP417Druck.pdf

This SET can put out more than 30 watts with <1% THD. They are not all high distortion...not that most of that is audible anyway when low order...

 

From the specs, posted on November 8, 2021 at 09:42:20
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 it looks like this amp clips at 42 watts but is rated 30 watts to get that 1%. Look at how the distortion is skyrocketing by the time it reaches 1% @35 Watts. Its tricky telling what is going on exactly, but the distortion curve climbs up at lower power, suggesting that the amp employs negative feedback- making it a bit unusual. Overall seems an impressive design- in particular the bandwidth!

 

the 97dB figure is real, posted on November 8, 2021 at 10:30:51
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 And the 1602 isn't the only driver TAD made in that range.
My 1602s are in a bass reflex cabinet that is about 5 feet high weighing nearly 300 pounds each. A horn midrange and tweeter are also present, padded down considerably. The speaker is the T-3 made by Classic Audio Loudspeakers in Brighton, Michigan. The proprietor, John Wolff, got started building Hartsfield reproductions.

 

RE: the 97dB figure is real, posted on November 8, 2021 at 13:09:22
Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2120
Joined: September 15, 2001
 Ralph

If you and John Wolff have verified the 97 dB spec, then I believe it too. The spec sheet for the 1602 does not inspire confidence as written however.

http://www.hornstudio.de/1602.pdf

Paul

 

Why is that? nt, posted on November 8, 2021 at 13:18:38
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 -

 

RE: From the specs, posted on November 8, 2021 at 16:00:03
morricab
Distributor or Rep

Posts: 9181
Location: switzerland
Joined: April 1, 2005
 A friend of mine heard it in Germany and told me it's the amp he has waited his whole life for.

 

RE: the 97dB figure is real, posted on November 9, 2021 at 07:36:55
claudej1@aol.com
Audiophile

Posts: 817
Location: Detroit
Joined: August 17, 2007
 If you are looking for a driver in the Kilobuck-a-pair price range, you may find the offerings from Acoustic Elegance will fit the bill for all kinds of bass variations.

 

RE: Why is that? nt, posted on November 9, 2021 at 07:50:43
Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2120
Joined: September 15, 2001
 Ralph

I first heard a 300B SET through John's Hartsfields back in the 90's during the Sound Practices era. It was nice to hear something that actually lived up to what you read in a magazine. Much of the audiophile stuff I have heard at shows winds up being disappointing in person compared to what the regular audio magazines say. I have heard your amps at many shows through the years and good sound is always expected when your amps are there. The typos in the spec sheet for the TL-1602 are laughable at times: Highest Recommended Crossover 1.200 Hz. Perhaps they used this as a test tone when establishing the Max. Excursion Before Damage (P-P) 36,0 mm. BTW thats their comma after 36 and not mine, and their Crossover spec which reads literally as 1.2 Hz.

Paul

http://www.hornstudio.de/1602.pdf

 

RE: dumb questions. High / low efficiency threshold?, posted on November 10, 2021 at 05:20:20
claudej1@aol.com
Audiophile

Posts: 817
Location: Detroit
Joined: August 17, 2007
 All original Paul W. Klipsch designs (know as "Heritage") meet this criteria.

 

RE: the 97dB figure is real, posted on November 10, 2021 at 07:48:27
Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2120
Joined: September 15, 2001
 Claude

The A.E. drivers are interesting in the context of the present discussion, but the EBP is about 77 Hz which puts them in the middle compared to 50 which would be closed box, and 100 which would indicate bass reflex. Above 120 would be horn territory. I live in a 128 year old frame house and I gave up on the idea of building a horn sub woofer after hearing the Edgar Seismic and some of Tom Danley's designs in some home applications. Just a bit much for all this old wood here and any man made earthquakes.

Paul

 

RE: the 97dB figure is real, posted on November 10, 2021 at 08:50:49
claudej1@aol.com
Audiophile

Posts: 817
Location: Detroit
Joined: August 17, 2007
 I have owned and currently own a bunch of Danley stuff, met Tom, and corresponded in Email. Been to Danley sound labs twice in the last 3 years.

I think Tom Danley is the most prolific speaker designer in the world today.

I recently acquired Titan II's which I'm very impressed with also.

Also spent a day with Paul Klipsch at his factory and home in 1985 when I was still a "kid." He treated me like a long lost grandson, since he was born the same year as my grandmother, who outlived him by 7 years!

The Seismic Sub is all you need for music, and I'm totally happy with that. It's terrific for music.

I started to build a modified Gjallarhorn with twin 12" TC sounds drivers that will be flat to 13 Hz.with the same output as the 2 Danley DTS-10's I used to own. This will be in the rear complement my twin Danley TH-50 prototypes that I use as "speaker stands" for the R and L SH-50's I use in my full Atmos HT (11 speakers and 3 subs). My Super Tapped Horn will be done by end of January.

Tom used to talk about "scaring strangers" with his subs, and I have done the same many times during demos! LOL.

My little brick house was built in 1944, and I have had no structural damage so far, as far as I know!

 

RE: the 97dB figure is real, posted on November 10, 2021 at 10:52:22
b.l.zeebub
Audiophile

Posts: 9361
Location: 52deg 28'N,1deg56'W
Joined: April 17, 2006
 Their Qts is quite low at 0.21.

This means that if the box volume is around Vas and the port tuned to driver Fs the result is a EBS alignment where the output drops by about 3-6dB at around 100Hz and extends flat (hopefully) down to Fs.

The 'lacking' dBs are usually made up by room gain or very easily with the traditional bass shelving EQ that used to be standard on (pre-) amps.

Vintage Tannoys are like that as well. Normal box calculators do not give sensible results.

 

Commas and periods are reversed in Europe..., posted on November 12, 2021 at 16:22:41
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 as compared to the US when used with numbers.

Perhaps in Japan as well?




First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

RE: Commas and periods are reversed in Europe..., posted on November 13, 2021 at 14:49:03
Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2120
Joined: September 15, 2001
 Ivan

I've been to Europe several times and never had a problem with decimals and commas switching places in everyday activities. Hopefully nobody tried to build that 1.200 Hz crossover as specified, though they may have been impressed that it was accurate to 3 digits after the decimal.

Paul

 

Then you would have no trouble with 3,14159265359..., posted on November 14, 2021 at 05:41:09
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 or $1.000.000?


First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

RE: Then you would have no trouble with 3,14159265359..., posted on November 14, 2021 at 08:26:52
Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2120
Joined: September 15, 2001
 Ivan

Thanks for the warning! We were in Paris back in 1994 and I can see now that we were lucky to get home without our credit cards getting maxed out with this vicious trickery.

Paul

 

As long a they don't charge your credit card..., posted on November 14, 2021 at 10:09:56
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 using the metric system, your likely fine.




First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

RE: And don't get me started on the Metric Alphabet...., posted on November 14, 2021 at 13:42:11
Paul Eizik
Audiophile

Posts: 2120
Joined: September 15, 2001
 .....which will be only ten letters!

Paul

 

RE: If you like smoothness, transparency and bandwidth, yes nt, posted on November 15, 2021 at 11:53:10
Retsel
Audiophile

Posts: 1239
Joined: April 17, 2000
 This thread provides more discussion about SETs vs OTL amps:

https://db.audioasylum.com/mhtml/m.html?forum=otl&n=18802&highlight=otl+versus+set&r=&search_url=/cgi/search.mpl

Retsel

 

There is some useful information there but there isn't a disscussion about the effect of feedback., posted on November 15, 2021 at 12:07:18
Ralph
Manufacturer

Posts: 4778
Location: Minnesota
Joined: April 24, 2002
 Feedback plays an enormous role in the sound of an amp.

Of course it reduces distortion. But if in insufficient amounts (which is a very common problem) it introduces higher ordered harmonics which the ear senses as brightness and harshness.

For feedback to work properly and since distortion will never be eliminated entirely, its important to satisfy certain requirements.

First the feedback must be the same at all frequencies in the audio band. Most amps made don't do this- feedback falls off as frequency is increased, owing to insufficient gain bandwidth product.

2nd, the distortion signature should be such that either the 2nd and 3rd (or both) harmonic is sufficiently higher than the higher harmonics that it is able to mask the presence of the latter.

Failing that the distortion should probably be over a 100dB down so that is entirely masked by the audio signal.

If all three of these are satisfied it will not matter what kind of amp it is- it will sound like music to the ear provided the frequency response is flat across the range.

Since getting the distortion down that far is nearly impossible with a tube amp, as well as getting the required gain bandwidth product, then getting the right distortion signature becomes paramount.

 

Page processed in 0.038 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]