How important is the efficiency of a speaker to you?
I went to an audio meeting recently and heard a couple of good sounding speakers. These speakers were not inexpensive and were well built. Problem is that they also require a very large ss amp upstream to drive them. Something that can push a lot of current, which pretty much rules out most low-mid ( maybe even high) powered tube amps. When I mentioned this to the person doing the demo, i was basically belittled, as he felt that the efficiency of a speaker is pretty much irrelevant ( well he would, as he is trying to sell these speakers). The speaker line is fairly well known to drop down to a very low impedance level in the bass regions. This requires an amp that is going to be $$$, as it has to not be bothered by the lowest impedances.
Personally, if I cannot make a speaker work with most tube amps on the market, or am forced to dig deeply into the pocketbook to own a huge ss amp upstream, this is a MAJOR negative to me with regards to the speaker in question ( whichever speaker that may be). So much so, that I will not entertain this design, regardless of SQ.
Your thoughts?
I'll admit I'm old and my ability to hear high frequencies has diminished but from the listening position high efficient speakers when driven by a well grounded and well designed amp solid state or tube are dead silent. By pressing your ear against the front of the speaker it is possible that a faint hiss may or not be heard that's not really an issue as I don't listen that way. Flea watt amps are anything but dumb. Low watt amps and high efficiency speakers are about transient speed.
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Here is a white paper written by Steve Deckert that explains it much better than I ever could. https://www.decware.com/paper43.htm Flea watt amplifiers are class A with minimal circuitry and no negative feedback as opposed to a high powered amplifier that relies on a much more complex circuitry and many more components. As components are added there is a gain in power but it comes at a cost. Top of line amplification can minimize those loses with higher quality components and advanced designs but they then become very very expensive and totally unnecessary with a well designed high efficiency speaker. I'm running corner horns with two watts and can reach 85 to 87db in in a very large space without a sound deficit that's apparent to me. I'm not able (or want) to play at 110db but I still have bass I can feel in my chest and a detailed sound stage that's simply glorious.
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As far at cost to achieve SET sound with power I have no idea. If you're are really interested you should reach out to somebody like Pat Hickman at Whammerdyne. He builds both "flea watt" and hi power hybrid amps and I'm sure he could explain both the benefits and drawbacks of the different levels of power.
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