A question about high efficiency speakers

Just wondering if high efficiency speakers, are by their nature, inherently better designed / more advanced than less efficient speakers?

There would seem to be an argument that if you can get more sound for your power, then that would represent some kind of improvement, given a roughly equivalent cost / quality of the components used in any such comparison.

What do you say?

 

By no means!

You can't cheat the physics, so there is a simple tradeoff between senstivity, bass extension and cabinet size (google for Hoffman's Law). Going for more sensitivity is balanced against these other two factors - and it's a harder balance to make, because more sensitivity will tend to also tend to exaggerate things like uneven response and so on.

The dynamics of the best sensitive speakers (good horns) can be alarming - but the minimising the downsides is where the art is, or else everything else about the speaker will be alarming too - for the wrong reasons. Hence so many speakers that are based on getting the voicing right, and to hell with the sensitivity. Speaker designers argue that solid-state watts are cheap, and to a point they are right, except that very low-sensitivity speakers inevitably just sound lifeless. Well, to me, anyway; I'd cite Thiel as probably the ultimate expression of this manifesto...

 

All speakers are some form of compromise.
I have a pair of Impulse horn loaded speakers, which whilst not able to challenge to big Tannoys, are pretty efficient.
As mentioned, they have very good dynamics and in my opinion sound great.

Having said that, by their design, horns tend to have fairly large cabinets, usually leading to cabinet colouration. In addition, and as already mentioned, any "peaks", "troughs" or other issues with the drivers will be magnified. Lastly, there usually isn't the option to port them, meaning that absolute bass extension isn't as deep as say a big pair of B&Ws.

You pays your money, makes your choices...

 

I agree with this bit,

I remember in the 80's when manufacturers were going to extreme lengths to put high sensitivity figures on the spec sheets, even if they didn't operate that way in reality. Just as 'low distortion' seemed the watchword of the 70's, the 80's replaced that with 'sensitivity', amongst others.

I would say that IMO sensitivity doesnt necessarily makes the speaker more advanced - at least not in terms of any technical development. High sensitivity designs being some of the oldest..

 

If we qualify this to specifically talk about horn loaded bass drivers, or full range drivers then I largely agree.

A lot of speakers these days (JBL K series, BC Acoustique etc) use horns for the treble and the mids (or just the treble) and then of course most of these issues don't apply.

 

No, high "efficiency" is not inherently better designed. It's not something you care about when selecting a speaker to buy. When buying a car, no-one asks about the efficiency of the engine either. If it's fastest off the lights I don't care if it is slightly less efficient at converting petrol to horsepower than the one left behind http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/ISEO-rgbtcspd/reviews/20030722/match_speakers.html?page=3 explains the difference between efficiency and sensitivity. Sensitivity might be an issue in less common cases where amp watss are not cheap or are limited for some reason.

 

Hi,

No, the same rules as elsewhere apply. A well designed high efficiency speaker will usually have much lower levels of compression and distortion than a low efficiency one (basic physics that), all else being equal, however there are no guarantees and it might be worse.

Ciao T

 

I use a pair of Snell E speakers.
As far as I am aware Peter Quortrup of Audio Innovations imported these from the States in order to partner and develop his valve amps in Brighton (myold hometown). (Others in the range were the J's which i owned, A's and smaller K's.)
Now the E's used the samedrivers as the J's but in a bigger box and in addition had an extra rear-firing tweeter..
What would be the virtue in that?
Further, PQ disarmed the extra tweeter - what would be the point of that?
Mine, bought secondhand, must have been imported by a.n. other, cos the extra tweeters work.
PQ then, er, 'borrowed' some features of the Snells and made his own versions (I take it without extra tweeter..(?) )- any forumite compared his with the originals?

 

& given your avatar JDM DC2 and 'Vtec addict' handle - too high sensitivity, compare with too high gearing on power steering ..... would you want the Punto style 'wuss button' on your teg?

Audio (like cars) is all about compromise and what fits best. If you prefer a low powered set amp, then you may choose a high sensitivity speaker, but if you have the power then a lower sensitivity could give better results. No one size fits all solution here.

 

I think it's more difficult to design and manufacture an high efficiency speaker than a power hungry and less efficent speaker..

Let me explain ... I owned for 7 years the Harbeth C7ESII and than I bought the Thiel 2.4
The Harbeth can be driven by a little tube amp .. while to drive correctly the Thiel 2.4 I had to buy two Parasound Halo JC1s kinda mosters 400 watts/8ohms and 135 amperes peak output
Well .. it is easier to conceive a hard speaker like the American or Canadian speakers .. because the components 'll be managed by the ultra powered amps they need
On the contrary it's more difficult to conceive an easy speaker .. expecially the high efficiency speaker .. where the little amps won't help this to be managed...

 

Well not more advanced but ... One of the biggest enemies of bass drivers in particular is heat-a more efficient design will convert more elec energy into acoustic energy, a low efficiency driver will require more power for a given output and hence has more heat to dump. High efficiency drivers tend to have less power compression as a result of reaching very high levels well before approaching thermal power handling thresholds.
Most hf compression drivers enjoy sensitivity in the region of 110 dB/w with most dome tweeters 15-20dB below that.
TAD, JBL and Tannoy all tend towards high sensitivity models.