The max SPL of a speaker is a tough question to answer. Let's discuss this free space at one meter.
At 200 Hz and up, a single M100 will deliver 120 dB. As you go below 200 Hz, delivering high SPL becomes more difficult. But the triple 6.5's in an M100 should still do in excess of 110 dB at the 80 Hz crossover level.
What most don't understand is 110 dB will drive you from the room, and 120 dB will cause hearing damage fairly quickly.
Then add into the mix the room gain, and a pair of speakers, and I cannot imagine a scenario in a home in which a pair of M100's would not be able to generate 115 dB at the listening position from 80 Hz and up.
Back to "driving you from the room" ... in our blind tests here, I have run a 90 dB sine wave (measured from the listening position) and asked people to guess the SPL. It was so loud the lowest guess was 100 dB. The average guess was 107-108 dB.
Does this help answer the question?
What I don't understand then Craig, is why there are talks of developing the T-Rex speaker that, anecdotally, is being conceived to deliver 130 dB anechoicaly. This sounds like insanity!
