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sensitivity comparison chart (looking for)

A

arbalest

Active Member
Is there a good (comprehensive) chart out there somewhere?

I've searched here and on the web in general looking for a chart that lists manufactures specs (especially sensitivity) for various models/brands with very little luck so far. There is one chart out there but it doesn't include any of the maybe 10 sets of speakers I have around here. That chart has some 173 speakers listed but no Advent, Infinity, Mission, Realistic/Optimus, CV, B&W etc at all.

Yes, I know I can search on each speaker I have and find the results but it seems that such a chart must exist -- somewhere.
 
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arbalest said:
Is there a good (comprehensive) chart out there somewhere?

I've searched here and on the web in general looking for a chart that lists manufactures specs (especially sensitivity) for various models/brands with very little luck so far. There is one chart out there but it doesn't include any of the maybe 10 sets of speakers I have around here. That chart has some 173 speakers listed but no Advent, Infinity, Mission, Realistic/Optimus, CV, B&W etc at all.

Yes, I know I can search on each speaker I have and find the results but it seems that such a chart must exist -- somewhere.
Click to expand...

Good luck with that. Seems like you could have just found the info you wanted for your particular speakers in the time you took to search for the "all-in-one" chart. Side note....that would have to be one BIG spreadsheet; there are thousands upon thousands of different speakers out there.
 
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arbalest said:
Is there a good (comprehensive) chart out there somewhere?

I've searched here and on the web in general looking for a chart that lists manufactures specs (especially sensitivity) for various models/brands with very little luck so far. There is one chart out there but it doesn't include any of the maybe 10 sets of speakers I have around here. That chart has some 173 speakers listed but no Advent, Infinity, Mission, Realistic/Optimus, CV, B&W etc at all.

Yes, I know I can search on each speaker I have and find the results but it seems that such a chart must exist -- somewhere.
Click to expand...
Try here...

http://audio.claub.net/software/kougaard/ubdwnld.html
 
The old Audio magazine October issues listed most of the commercial speakers that were sold back in that day and included some spec info. Unfortunately, no one has continues that since the demise of Audio.

Parts Express has a listing of all the woofers they sell with specs in a giant spreadsheet.
Not sure if you seek driver sensitivity or whole loudspeaker sensitivity.
 
kcbluesman said:
Good luck with that. Seems like you could have just found the info you wanted for your particular speakers in the time you took to search for the "all-in-one" chart.
Click to expand...

I know that and said as much. And, I didn't expect that there would be an exhaustive all-in-one chart.

But in addition to looking up what I have I am also looking for how my speakers compare to the well known audiophile units out there. And I want to have a quick reference for when something comes up on CL, etc. Maybe it would also be a starting point for searching on some auction site.

Yes, I can search here for the well recommended speakers then look those up individually. I think I'll do that as others have replied, it is unlikely that I will find such a chart.
 
Sorry...I was under the impression that you thought such a chart must exist and you were just not finding it. It would be great if it did, but I don't know who would be motivated to pull one together...especially since it's so easy to find the info (if it was ever provided by the manufacturer in the first place) on a one by one basis.
 
I've started searching for my speakers and the ones most commonly suggested around here at AK. Maybe I will post what I have when it gets more populated. Would anyone be interested in that data?

I am running into reviews that state something like "rated 89, tested 87 in a room and 83 in an anechoic" as so on (I just now made up these numbers so they may not make sense). So, I'll have to deal with that.

Maybe Wharfedale is one of the companies that didn't publish the sensitivity information as W60 or W90 are mentioned a lot around here yet I haven't found any specs while searching. Klipsch seems to be in separate league so far in my searching.
 
Coytee said:
Does this help?

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/89-sp...ence-level-high-sensitivity-spl-speakers.html
Click to expand...

That turns out to be the only list I found - which had very few of the common speakers on it. Two interesting things about that list 1) several speakers cost as much as some new cars each and 2) the bottom of that list (when sorted by efficiency) is in the range of many of the speakers I have already looked up. Long story, short - I will probably never cross paths with any speakers on that list...
 
Do you want high-sensitivity loudspeakers? Tons of fine offerings (at least in days gone by) from Electrovoice, JBL, Altec... and there's always Lowther (and even... Klipsch). All made and/or make loudspeakers with sensitivities 100-plus dB SPL @ 1 meter with 1 watt input... and some of them even sound superb while doing it.
 
mhardy6647 said:
Do you want high-sensitivity loudspeakers? Tons of fine offerings (at least in days gone by) from Electrovoice, JBL, Altec... and there's always Lowther (and even... Klipsch). All made and/or make loudspeakers with sensitivities 100-plus dB SPL @ 1 meter with 1 watt input... and some of them even sound superb while doing it.
Click to expand...

I want to at least try/experience high-sensitivity speakers. This is all part of a journey and learning experience for me. Also, I want to recognize them as such if/when I bump into them at a yard sale, etc. I mean I already have run into good speakers at fair prices but have passed on them because I have too many and can't justify buying without them being a new step on the journey. At some point I might even (gasp) buy new if some big enlightenment happens later in the journey.

For what it's worth, I am pleased with what I already have including Advents from the 1970s and a variety of bookshelf speakers. It appears that the most efficient speaker I have is 90db.

I noticed the Klipsch clustered in the high end of the range.

Care to mention some models of Electrovoice, JBL, Altec that are common enough to run into but still have that superb sound you mention?
 
Any speaker of less than 90db is simply an outdated leftover.. from the age of quick 'n dirty cheap High power gear.
It takes superior engineering and manufacturing effort to make a decently efficient driver..
That is why a hi eff driver has what you call magic.
Not that these actually have such, just that Lo eff ones rarely have any.
 
bare said:
Any speaker of less than 90db is simply an outdated leftover.. from the age of quick 'n dirty cheap High power gear.
It takes superior engineering and manufacturing effort to make a decently efficient driver..
That is why a hi eff driver has what you call magic.
Not that these actually have such, just that Lo eff ones rarely have any.
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Excuse me? How long have you been doing this? The whole point of high sensitivity (often confused with efficiency) comes from low power equipment "back in the old days". With amplifiers/receivers pumping out a whopping 10 or 15wpc speaker manufacturers had to come up with clever ways to get more bang from speakers. This went on till the "power wars" of the 70's, when gobs of power was available to anyone with a modest income. Then it was all about big is better, low impedance, and of course everything else. When power had no limits you could drive anything till they popped.

Try listening to an early JBL with any of the famous LE drivers. We're talking from the 60's, maybe even the 50's.
 
arbalest said:
I want to at least try/experience high-sensitivity speakers. This is all part of a journey and learning experience for me. Also, I want to recognize them as such if/when I bump into them at a yard sale, etc. I mean I already have run into good speakers at fair prices but have passed on them because I have too many and can't justify buying without them being a new step on the journey. At some point I might even (gasp) buy new if some big enlightenment happens later in the journey.

For what it's worth, I am pleased with what I already have including Advents from the 1970s and a variety of bookshelf speakers. It appears that the most efficient speaker I have is 90db.

I noticed the Klipsch clustered in the high end of the range.

Care to mention some models of Electrovoice, JBL, Altec that are common enough to run into but still have that superb sound you mention?
Click to expand...
I'm feeling a little like Hardy, wondering about this "journey" of yours. Mostly what you are looking at here is one speaker being louder than another, but NOT necessarily better. I remember years ago looking for speakers with high sensitivity, but this was based on the premise that I couldn't afford a high power receiver/amp at the time. So for the loudness I wanted to achieve I needed a speaker that could deliver gobs of it with smaller amps. Sound "quality" was neither 1st or 2nd in order of importance, it was a matter of what was available scoring high in both areas that made the "list".

I've read about quests for the "Holy Grail", largest, smallest, etc. speakers. But can't recall anyone just wanting to "try" high efficiency/sensitive speakers before. Just to do it. That's different.
 
I am glad others have weighed in regarding speakers with sensitivity less than 90db.

Copa1934 said:
I've read about quests for the "Holy Grail", largest, smallest, etc. speakers. But can't recall anyone just wanting to "try" high efficiency/sensitive speakers before. Just to do it. That's different.
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I'm hoping that there is more to sensitivity (and power) than volume alone, even if that is how the measuring is done. If not I wouldn't be bothering with this question. At the risk of sounding foolish my thinking is based on a signal processing class I had MANY years ago as part of a EE degree (I switched to software along the way and don't claim to be an EE).

In short, I was thinking that power/sensitivity affected the ability to reproduce the higher order frequency components (and I mean that in terms of Fourier Coefficients, not just high notes in the music - a low frequency signal may contain high frequency components) rather than just the magnitude of those components alone.

I am new to audio and I wouldn't know how to confirm or debunk that theory. I do know that my first step on the journey (an upgrade to a 60wpc integrated amp to replace my 40 wpc vintage receiver) made a big difference even at my rather low listening volume. That got me thinking about both more power and more sensitivity in terms of Fourier's theories. The highly efficient speakers that don't sound great could still be explained by other design factors.

So there it is - I'm ready to be called an idiot for my theory.
 
This is one for JBLGuy or someone else with similar expertise. It doesn't seem logical to me that the frequency-based components of the signal would differ based on amplitude (that is, based on power level)....and I've never seen any claims of inherently better replication of the recorded signal from speakers of higher sensitivity. If this were the case it seems to me that all audiophiles would seek to use only speakers at the extreme high high end of the sensitivity continuum...but I've seen no indication that this is the case.
 
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kcbluesman said:
I've never seen any claims of inherently better replication of the recorded signal from speakers of higher sensitivity. If this were the case it seems to me that all audiophiles would seek to use only speakers at the extreme high high end of the sensitivity continuum...but I've seen no indication that this is the case.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That pretty much ends this search.
 
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