Many of the very best-sounding speakers in the world have relatively low sensitivity.

On the other hand, there are some very good-sounding speakers that have high sensitivity; for example the original Klipschhorn speakers which have a sensitivity of around 102 db per watt!!

I have the Vandersteen Treo speakers, which cost $6500, and I think they are the best speakers you can buy for under $10,000, period. Their sensitivity is only 85 db per watt.

There is absolutely NO correlation between sensitivity and sound quality. Lower sensitivity simply means you need more amplifier power to get the same loudness. That is the only issue.

If your amplifier power is relatively low, and you are not considering changing it, you will be limited to more sensitive speakers in order to get enough sound.

It is quite possible that the speakers you have do not sound as good as they should sound because you are driving them with an amplifier that does not have enough power.

Since they are rated at 85 db per watt, you really should have an amplifier that can put out at least 125 watts per channel with very low distortion, AT THE IMPEDANCE OF YOUR SPEAKERS. If this is not true, the speakers are being underdriven and will not perform like they should.

What amplifier are you using, and exactly which speakers are we talking about? You may have great speakers and the wrong amplifier.

...have a different dispersion pattern and different attenuation coefficient with distance than dome/inverted dome or ring radiators.
Try to toe-in your speakers so as they point directly at your shoulders and space them as much as possible at the same time.
Results are not guaranteed but it might help!

I usually don't give advice if I don't hear about or see the room, but if you read up on how many people have problems with their speaker/room combos you get an idea for the easiest speaker designs to get into. A simple 2-way with minimal crossover (I don't use any) and dome tweeter is the easiest to setup. For myself I don't like the sound of heavy speakers but speakers that have more tone to the cabinet (I use free resonate cabinets). Since you have gone down this path now and have seen it for yourself, my recommendation would be go as simple as possible and let the room do the work. A simple speaker at around 88-92 is right in the ball park. And I would check the drivers themselves to make sure they are not over complicated. You see alot of guys going back to simple paper or easy to drive polies with silk domes like the D-27, an easy tweeter to voice and listen to.

good luck

michael green
MGA/RoomTune

However, all things being equal, one would be the better choice for a particular set of circumstances. The more sensitive speaker will work well with small watt amplifiers like SET tube amplifiers. The downside would be if you are listening in the extreme nearfield where you will potentially get more noise amplification.

A less sensitive speaker is ideal for nearfield listening where power is not required and the lower sensitivity usually gives you a more quiet background.

Keep this is mind, it takes a doubling of amplification to achieve 3db increase. So, an 85 vs 91 would be much the same difference as changing from a 40 watt amp to a 160 watt amp. For example, let's say you are using a 15 watt tube amp with 85db speakers and you change to a 91db speaker. You have effectively turned your 15 watt amp into a 60 watt amp for all practical purposes.

While that seems to favor having sensitive speakers, it really only becomes an issue when you are trying to achieve high listening levels in larger rooms. Most people listen at a level around 86db with a 15db headroom for peaks. It takes very little power to achieve those levels in a modest size room. I forget the math formula for listening distance from the speakers, but if you are using say, 4 watts at your listening position to achieve an 86db average listening level, then 8 watts would increase it to 89db, 16 watts to 92db, 32 watts to 95db and 64 watts to reach 98db and so on.

Now, let's assume you start with a 91db speaker. You would probably only be needing 1 watt at your listening position to achieve 86db levels. 2 watts to get 89db, 4 watts to get 92db, 8 watts to 95db and 16 watts to get 98db.

As you can see from the examples, the better speaker is relevant only to the extent that you need to accomplish your listening levels based on the size of the room and your preferences for loudness and dynamic headroom.

Planar tweeters have a very poor dispersion in the vertical plane, so just make sure they fire directly at your ear level: either you move your listening spot higher (or lower), or you just rise the back of the speakers on the stands so they fire directly at ear level.

Hint: put some treble-filled music (some solo violin may do) than slowly rise from your couch (or armchair), using your arms to "prop" you up. Notice the height difference between your usual seated position and the one that gives you the best tonal balance and try to achieve it (add pillows under your bottom or "stuff" under the back of the speakers.
After you get in the proper "firing range" we'll talk about what's best to use as "elevators".

The answer is both yes and no.

A poorly designed high sensitivity driver will not sound better than a well designed lower sensitivity one. For example, some very high sensitivity drivers are horn-loaded. The horn increases sensitivity by efficiently coupling the diaphragm with a much larger volume of air. Yet, if not very well designed the horn itself can have a resonance that will pollute the audio quality. This example demonstrates that a driver can have higher sensitivity but poorer sound quality at certain frequencies.

That said, with all other factors equal, a driver with high sensitivity will likely make most systems sound better due to better headroom.

At the same listening SPL, the power amplifier has less work to do to drive the speaker with higher sensitivity than the speaker with lower sensitivity. Depending on the headroom available in the power amplifier this this will result in less distortion.

As you push any driver closer to its limits, distortion increases. At the same listening SPL, with all other factors equal, including driver power handling, a driver with higher sensitivity will have more headroom and very likely have lower distortion.

All speakers are very inefficient. Most of the energy put into any driver is lost to heat. Drivers with high sensitivity lose less to heat and successfully convert more of the energy of the audio signal to sound. Many of the attributes that make a driver more efficient at producing sound also result in better quality sound. Furthermore, some high sensitivity drivers may run cooler at the same SPL, and this is an advantage. As the temperature of the voice coil increases the impedance of the driver goes up significantly and the load on the power amplifier is increased.

So no, a poorly designed high sensitivity speaker is not going to sound better than a well designed lower sensitivity one but if all other factors are equal and the only difference is sensitivity of the drivers the system with the higher sensitivity drivers will have certain advantages.

I think there is a tendency to equate sensitivity and efficiency as the same. While related they aren't the same. The thing I always remind people is that car audio speakers are rarely more sensitive than 6 ohm - and their attached amplifiers are usually about 35 watts. But the fact that they are usually only about 3 feet from your ear and as often as not in a small sealed enclosure end up making them MORE than efficient enough. In other words, think of sensitivity as an electrical measure, and efficiency as an acoustical measure. Also remember, unless you are in an exceptionally large room with an exceptionally insensitive speaker, more than 60 watts (as spelled out above) is really just for people who spend lots of their life in Mahlerland. AC/DC is rarely going to stretch that system. The beauty of a low powered PP amp is the designer can run good silicon class-A well into 10% of it's output without putting too much stress on the power supply (think running a Hafler amp at 300+ mv for the techies in the group) and you have an amp that sings with ALMOST EVERY SPEAKER EVER MADE.

The spec that should be published and tested is how linear is the sensitivity of the speaker. If it's a 4 ohm speaker but never dips below 3 ohms or jumps above 6 ohms, you have a speaker that will scare off owners of that old 35 watt Pioneer receiver or old tube amp, but shouldn't. In a normal sized room, your ears will scream before you run into clipping. The only reason for a high power amp (100+ watts) is to protect your tweeters in periods of high volume listening - which if you listen to, for example, vintage speakers with extremely high quality and unobtainable tweeters is not a bad reason. Once they are gone, they're gone. Remember clipping looks somewhere between ugly AC and stripmined mountains on a scope - that means your tweeter/small gap woofer is seeing DC. Not good.

The takeaway from the above very good posts SHOULD be for the person new to audio is that you just don't need that high power amp/receiver and you'll get much more enjoyment from a very good and more refined lower power power piece of equipment, even if your speakers aren't particularly sensitive.

hcsunshine wrote:

the speakers I have now are not really a brand, they are more like components put together by someone.

I disagree, rather I would suggest that Rick Craig's Selah Audio is a well respected brand of semi-bespoke loudspeakers.

I would not decry a bespoke pair of excellent handmade László Vass Budepester brogue shoes simply because the brand may not be as widely known as a cheaper mass produced commercial brand. Or likewise a bespoke custom tailored suit from a clothier on Savile Row.

hcsunshine wrote:

... maybe the ribbon tweeter is what's throwing me off. the highs don't exactly cut through the air, but at the same time seem to be an accurate reproducer of sound waves. I've had these speakers for two years and I do like them for certain types of music, but for some reason I just can't get used to their sound. I'm looking at "going back" to a dome tweeter for my next speakers.

From the picture you are using in your avatar, the speakers are very much too close to the walls. That will prevent proper transition from 2pi to 4pi baffle edge diffraction which Rick likely compensated for in the crossover design. So pushing in too close to the walls will have the effect of bloating the lower and mid triple digit frequencies which will also make upper frequencies seem recessed in perception, and close proximity of the side wall will lead to interference with radiation from the tweeter, combing. The speakers should be stand mounted to bring the tweeters to the same height above the floor as your ears while you are seated and the ribbons should be near perpendicular to a straight line between the ribbons and your ears, and should be equidistant from your ears. The problem lies in your setup, not in the speakers.