The most brutally insensitive speakers you've heard ?

estreeter

estreeter

Super Member
I'm going to limit this to conventional (dynamic) speakers, and bookshelf speakers to boot - I'm kinda stunned by the number of 4/6-ohm bookshelves rated at less than 88dB for sale in 2013 (never sure if that is the anechoic or room measurement). Manufacturers seem to feel that, for nearfield listening, it wont be an issue - John's impressions of the LS50 seem to support my theory. Dynaudio Excite is another - 4-ohms and 87dB.

Thoughts ?
 
B&W 805 Matrix. A fine loudspeaker that punches well above it's class....with the right (read: beefy) power. 86db and 8ohm advertised. Maybe, but I never was able to provide enough juice when they were here. Always questioned that impedance too....did it dip lower? I bet it did.

I do wonder at times how they'd like 500w with my current power setup if they did in fact dip to 4ohm on occasion. :scratch2:

attachment.php


Mike
 
Ok, 87db. My mistake. Just looked at the brochure. They seemed like they were 84db when driving them.
 
Apogee Scintilla's were probably one of the most insensitive and difficult to drive speakers of all time, especially the latter models from the late 80's which were presented a 1 ohm load with a 79db sensitivity rating.

ApoScin.jpg


EDIT: Ooops... brain fart moment about "I'm going to limit this to conventional (dynamic) speakers, and bookshelf speakers to boot". :D
 
Last edited:
MikeCh said:
Are you asking me that question?
Click to expand...

I just wonder why they (the hifi industry) make such difficult to drive speakers when they don't have obstacles such as acoustic suspension and have much better materials, instruments and manufacturing tech. Regardless how well you voice such a inefficient speaker, to me its a flawed design for the 21 century. Where is the progress 50 years later. :no:
 
Pandovski said:
I just wonder why they (the hifi industry) make such difficult to drive speakers when they don't have obstacles such as acoustic suspension and have much better materials, instruments and manufacturing tech. Regardless how well you voice such a inefficient speaker, to me its a flawed design for the 21 century. Where is the progress 50 years later. :no:
Click to expand...

I can't answer you. Here's a fine review that might shed some light? http://kenrockwell.com/audio/b-w/matrix-805.htm

Regardless of how difficult (or seemingly difficult) they were to drive, they sounded fantastic. I suppose that's all that matters.

Mike
 
Ahhh... the controversial Ken Rockwell comes up even in an audio forum. :D

I'm not a fan of his reviews, whether it be photography, audio, cars, etc... He advocates positioning of any and all speakers 10 feet out from all boundaries? Really??

"Used in a music room 10 feet (3m) away, their brightness is less annoying and adds to the detail and transient bite on the top end. In a good-sized room they sound great, but of course full-sized speakers like the B&W 802 will sound even better.

Like all speakers, try to keep them at least 10 feet (3m) away from any side walls in every direction. Of course if you've got that much room, then use full-sized speakers! If your room is too small, I prefer to run them near-field to try to make the room sound go away."

MikeCh said:
I can't answer you. Here's a fine review that might shed some light? http://kenrockwell.com/audio/b-w/matrix-805.htm

Regardless of how difficult (or seemingly difficult) they were to drive, they sounded fantastic. I suppose that's all that matters.

Mike
Click to expand...
 
There's always the Platinum Audio Solo's. 84dB/W/m (2.83V). Needs loads of watts to really make them sing.

 
The AK Indignias are right around 85dB@1W1m. Of course they'll also hit high 30's for bass in a .38ft^3 box.
 
Yeah. Not a fan of ken Rockwell... He panned the camera I own. Merely because it was slightly slower for the pictures to appear on the screen. Compared to others... No mind it takes excellent pictures and is very reasonably priced... He's a little too emotional and deals too much in absolutes
 
trhee said:
Ahhh... the controversial Ken Rockwell comes up even in an audio forum. :D

I'm not a fan of his reviews, whether it be photography, audio, cars, etc... He advocates positioning of any and all speakers 10 feet out from all boundaries? Really??

"Used in a music room 10 feet (3m) away, their brightness is less annoying and adds to the detail and transient bite on the top end. In a good-sized room they sound great, but of course full-sized speakers like the B&W 802 will sound even better.

Like all speakers, try to keep them at least 10 feet (3m) away from any side walls in every direction. Of course if you've got that much room, then use full-sized speakers! If your room is too small, I prefer to run them near-field to try to make the room sound go away."
Click to expand...

Ahh...have you ever listened to or owned a pair yourself? Or, is your dislike of the reviewer so great that you immediately dismiss them altogether?
 
No. He has a fair point about Ken Rockwell regardless of the merits of the products he reviews. Those speakers may be amazing... But kens reviews aren't particularly impartial
 
I'm not discrediting the speakers in question as they are fine speakers.

Ken Rockwell's "reviews" however are questionable, bordering on laughable at times.

MikeCh said:
Ahh...have you ever listened to or owned a pair yourself? Or, is your dislike of the reviewer so great that you immediately dismiss them altogether?
Click to expand...
 
matteos said:
No. He has a fair point about Ken Rockwell regardless of the merits of the products he reviews. Those speakers may be amazing... But kens reviews aren't particularly impartial
Click to expand...

Ok, fair enough. I'm not a camera or car guy, so you guys can battle against Ken if you want.

The B&W Matrix models were great loudspeakers but were difficult to feed properly to get the best out of them. The 100w/ch biamp setup I fed them was not near enough imo.

Mike
 
High power is pretty cheap these days. If you like an insensitive speaker, then buy enough power to drive it. There's a trade off there. If you want a smaller speaker to have good bass reach, then the trade off is efficiency.
 
MikeCh said:
Ok, fair enough. I'm not a camera or car guy, so you guys can battle against Ken if you want.

The B&W Matrix models were great loudspeakers but were difficult to feed properly to get the best out of them. The 100w/ch biamp setup I fed them was not near enough imo.

Mike
Click to expand...

I actually reckon those speakers sound fantastic. Ken however.... Doesn't
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom