Max. SPL for any speaker - 04/27/21 05:51 PM
This topic has been bantered about over the years. People have asked 'how loud can my axioms go?' sort of thing. The question here is a bit more general but asks the same thing.
How loud can a speaker go?
Add to this specifically, how loud can a speaker go cleanly (no distortion, compression...)?
We have factors like efficiency, power available, physical limitations of the drivers. Axiom presents the speaker specs like many other companies so go with the assumption that these specs are relatively accurate for comparison for the purpose of the question.
In talking with people who are very versed in audio technical aspects, which is to say those who repair gear, design gear, i've heard things like "typically if you go more than 15dB above the efficiency rating you run into compression regardless of how much power you have" or "these speakers can play cleanly to 110dB" (but without noting at what distance or how much power would be required for 'clean non distortion' playback).
What is the truth in these statements?
Distortion can be easy to hear when it gets bad enough, you can measure a SPL and say "ok, i need to keep my volume under that level". A person then wonders if you get more power, could you go higher?
Now to confirm, power compression causes thermal distortion in a speaker driver just to be certain that compression and distortion are not two separate entities.
Yes we all know about the Axiom high powered drivers which serve a purpose to alleviate some of these issues, but even those drivers have limits. With unlimited power, what is the max SPL for an Axiom HP driver before compression/ distortion (at 1m, pink noise, in room, for the sake of setting some reference points)?
How does this compare to their standard drivers?
How does it compare to some other speaker brands?
It's too bad Soundstage doesn't add some measurement to their tests (max. SPL before distortion @1m....).
=======================
The backstory.
I'm looking at replacing our big Tannoys in the main room (32' x 14' if you include the dining area and kitchen off to the left, all open concept, sunken living room as well so both 10' and 12' ceilings making an approximate 4,480+ cu ft space).
The Tannoys are rated at 94dB sensitivity.
Looking for some other sound character so another brand and no, with Axioms in the basement we won't be adding more on the main floor.
Will be replacing the existing amp (Anthem MCA30) with something beefier (maybe a digital Class D Hypex or Parasound A21+?).
I had eyeballed some Monitor Audio Platinum speakers but they are rated significantly less efficient (90db).
There were suggestions that think i won't be able to play the same SPL as the Tannoys even if i had more power because compression will start regardless. If that IS the case, the majority of speakers out there are no where near 94dB unless you go with horn designs, larger cabinets, and we have limits on both cost and WAF of course (wife acceptance factor).
The bottom line is i can't help but wonder, how long have i been playing these Tannoys potentially at or slightly beyond their distortion limit, if at all? What can i do to replace them without getting big theatre sized speakers? Maybe i should be looking for a really tall speaker (M100 sized like) with lots of drivers instead of just three bigger ones.
I feel like i need another trip to the Axiom factory to have all my questions answered. I would love to take a closer look during the measurements of the destructive sound testing stages.
How loud can a speaker go?
Add to this specifically, how loud can a speaker go cleanly (no distortion, compression...)?
We have factors like efficiency, power available, physical limitations of the drivers. Axiom presents the speaker specs like many other companies so go with the assumption that these specs are relatively accurate for comparison for the purpose of the question.
In talking with people who are very versed in audio technical aspects, which is to say those who repair gear, design gear, i've heard things like "typically if you go more than 15dB above the efficiency rating you run into compression regardless of how much power you have" or "these speakers can play cleanly to 110dB" (but without noting at what distance or how much power would be required for 'clean non distortion' playback).
What is the truth in these statements?
Distortion can be easy to hear when it gets bad enough, you can measure a SPL and say "ok, i need to keep my volume under that level". A person then wonders if you get more power, could you go higher?
Now to confirm, power compression causes thermal distortion in a speaker driver just to be certain that compression and distortion are not two separate entities.
Yes we all know about the Axiom high powered drivers which serve a purpose to alleviate some of these issues, but even those drivers have limits. With unlimited power, what is the max SPL for an Axiom HP driver before compression/ distortion (at 1m, pink noise, in room, for the sake of setting some reference points)?
How does this compare to their standard drivers?
How does it compare to some other speaker brands?
It's too bad Soundstage doesn't add some measurement to their tests (max. SPL before distortion @1m....).
=======================
The backstory.
I'm looking at replacing our big Tannoys in the main room (32' x 14' if you include the dining area and kitchen off to the left, all open concept, sunken living room as well so both 10' and 12' ceilings making an approximate 4,480+ cu ft space).
The Tannoys are rated at 94dB sensitivity.
Looking for some other sound character so another brand and no, with Axioms in the basement we won't be adding more on the main floor.
Will be replacing the existing amp (Anthem MCA30) with something beefier (maybe a digital Class D Hypex or Parasound A21+?).
I had eyeballed some Monitor Audio Platinum speakers but they are rated significantly less efficient (90db).
There were suggestions that think i won't be able to play the same SPL as the Tannoys even if i had more power because compression will start regardless. If that IS the case, the majority of speakers out there are no where near 94dB unless you go with horn designs, larger cabinets, and we have limits on both cost and WAF of course (wife acceptance factor).
The bottom line is i can't help but wonder, how long have i been playing these Tannoys potentially at or slightly beyond their distortion limit, if at all? What can i do to replace them without getting big theatre sized speakers? Maybe i should be looking for a really tall speaker (M100 sized like) with lots of drivers instead of just three bigger ones.
I feel like i need another trip to the Axiom factory to have all my questions answered. I would love to take a closer look during the measurements of the destructive sound testing stages.