Hi,
Chess has posted the link (thanks), but I've edited a few comments from my post about distortion in speakers:
". . . if you scroll down and look at the NRC curves for THD&Noise at various sound levels, you'll note that with all speakers, the curve begins to climb as the frequencies get lower and louder. On many smaller speakers, the NRC test signal is limited to 90 dB SPL, because if you try to measure the speaker at 95 dB SPL, the distortion will climb to very high levels--10% or more. We hear this as a kind of fat, bloated bass sound (some enthusiasts even grow to like it!) and an increasing "edgy" quality as distortion climbs when SPL levels get really high.
Large floorstanding speakers will generally have much lower overall measured THD levels in the bass, typically 1% or less, than bookshelf systems because they usually have larger--and more--woofers."
Remember too, that volume levels of 85 dB SPL are subjectively termed "quite loud"; and 95 dB SPL "very loud."
While lower levels of THD in speakers contribute to preferences in blind listening tests, it's really the overall smoothness (linearity) in frequency response, especially in the midrange and upper octaves--as well as the absence of coloration--that most influence our judgments of speaker sound quality and accuracy.
It's that smoothness and transparency that distinguishes the M22ti, and raises it another notch above the M2i and M3ti. Of course, the M22's extra drivers do keep THD under control better, particularly as the audio signals get louder, but neutrality and transparency are the ultimate criteria for ranking sound quality.
Regards,
