Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions Efficiency rating question-

Can anyone help explain to me exactly what it means when a speaker is said to have a high efficiency rating? Does it mean it uses power well? And if so, what does this do to the sound if they are "more efficient" than another speaker?

Just wanting to improve my knowledge on the physics of how speakers work. Thanks for the help.

Kevin

a speaker with a high effieicncy rating such as 98db 1watt 1 meter will get louder with one watt than one rated at say 89db. meaning you will be able to attain louder volume with a high effieicncy speaker than a low efficiency speaker. meaning high efficiency speakers are better suited for amplifiers with a lower power rating.

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meaning high efficiency speakers are better suited for amplifiers with a lower power rating.

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Hey, that's a negative way of saying it! I would say: high efficiency speakers can play louder and can fill a larger room than low efficiency speakers, when driven by the same amp/receiver.

yes. That would be a better way of saying it. but what i mean is that if you have tubes or SET a high efficiency design would probbly be better.

Hi KCSkins and all,

Actually, the correct term is "sensitivity," not efficiency. Relatively speaking, all loudspeakers are horribly inefficient in terms of producing acoustic watts from electical watts.

Actual speaker efficiency varies from about 0.5% to a maximum of about 10%. The most sensitive, or efficient, are huge horn-loaded systems and arrays you see used for outdoor concerts and auditoriums. These often have sensitivity ratings of greater than 100 dB/1 watt/1 meter, which means they produce extremely loud sound at a distance of 1 meter with 1 watt of input power. In these designs, fidelity and accuracy are sacrificed for sheer sensitivity, so enormous 10,000-watt amplifiers aren't required to fill an auditorium.

Most domestic hi-fi speakers that don't use horn-loading have typical sensitivities between abou 86 dB/1W/1m and 95 dB/1W/1m. There is no necessary correlation with speaker sound quality and sensitivity, except when you move into horn-loaded systems. . .

Regards,

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There is no necessary correlation with speaker sound quality and sensitivity, except when you move into horn-loaded systems. . .

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Hey Alan,

You just piqued my curiosity... As I recall, you do not like the Klipsch much (neither do I). But have you ever encountered with a horn-speaker brand that sounds good to you for home audio use?

hi sushi have you ever heard of triad speahers?i was doing some work in a house that had a thx inwall system ,inwall subs too that sounded great.but i like the sound of horns too and still own klipshes do you recall what line of klipsch you did not like because they have some real crap but they also have some great sounding speakers,or do you dislike horns in general?...ron

Ron,

I want to find out whether I dislike horns in general -- that's one of the reasons why I asked the question above.

The Klipsches that I've ever listened to seriously are the current Reference series, both 7's and 5's. I have to say I did not like them. I've also listened to much more exotic horn systems when I was still in Japan (15 years ago and further back), but none of them really impressed me.

And no, I haven't listened to the Triads yet. All I know is that they make very good fully-enclosed inwalls with some horns.

Hi Sushi,

I didn't mean to imply that all horns sound bad. With careful electronic equalization applied, some horn-loaded systems can sound very good. I'm thinking of some of JBL's custom Synthesis systems for homes (very expensive).

As you may be aware, all of the speakers behind the screen in large Dolby and THX cinemas are big, horn-loaded systems. Otherwise, it would be impossible to fill big movie theaters with high-volume, low-distortion sound. And the sound in lots of theaters can be quite good. So all horns don't have to sound bad. It just costs a lot to get them sounding reasonably decent!

But to answer your question, I've found Klipsch, Tannoy, and other domestic horn-loaded speakers to be very colored compared with the best non-horn-loaded designs. I've never heard Triads.

Regards,

Hi Alan and everyone else who took the time to write here-

Thanks for helping me understand this aspect much better. I appreciate everyone's time.

As I sit here and wait to save up more money to get my first set of Axioms, I'm sure I'll probably have more questions for everyone, too. My days have been reduced to staring at pictures of the M80's and the M60's, if that tells you how much I can't wait to get my own set here.

All the best until then.

Thanks,
Kevin

I know what you mean. I keep looking at pictures of the M22s and the custom finishes...

Your days will soon be gloriously reduced to listening to the Axioms, Kevin!
Welcome!