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Here's why amps can be more important than speaker

I was looking at B&W's site:
You will notice that speaker total harmonic distortion figures tend to be worse than those of amplifiers and it is reasonable to ask why amplifier designers bother to get down to levels of say 0.01% or lower if the speaker is so much worse. The reason is that most of a speaker's distortion is restricted to the lower-order harmonics, whereas amplifiers can readily generate higher-order harmonics that are much more objectionable.

B&W FAQ
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Showing 2 responses by blkadr

blkadr
739 posts
 
In the 70s Japanese manufacturers started a spec war offering amps with incredible #s. Most sounded lousy, my trusty 20wpc NAD seeing many more expensive challangers off. Specs dont mean much these days in sound or marketing. You can find plenty of amps or speakers for that matter with similar specs that sound very different.
Some speakers require lots of current, some work best with low power tubes. Specs can help make a match, but they dont tell you how stuff sounds.
blkadr
739 posts
 
In the 70s Japanese manufacturers started a spec war offering amps with incredable #s. Most sounded lousy, my trusty 20wpc NAD seeing many more expensive challangers off. Specs dont mean much these days in sound or marketing. You can find plenty of amps or speakers for that matter with similar specs that sound very different.
Some speakers require lots of current, some work best with low power tubes. Specs can help make a match, but they dont tell you how stuff sounds.
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