When does speaker distortion become audible?

Hi Kijanki, please put a face on the point you made about speaker distortion. IOW, ... is speaker distortion measured in percentages?? What are considered respectable distortion stats as a function of frequency? To what extent is it fair to assume that beyond a certain SPL, speaker distortion rises quickly, kinda' like when an amp clips.

Is it also fair to assume that the higher the magnetic flux density as measure in Gauss, the more control the magnets will have over the cone, thereby lowering distortion. For example, the magnetic flux density of my tweeter and midrange drivers is 20,000 and 15,000 Gauss, respectively. I have no clue if these are good, bad, neutral or irrelevant stats.

Happy Holidays,

Bruce

Thanks for the response Kijanki. Smiling a little after reading the quote from Robert Lee of Acoustic Zen. You may find the bench test results -- particularly those relating to distortion at 100 db SPL -- for an earlier version (v2) of my speakers (v3) to be interesting:

*ww.hometheaterhifi.com/surround-sound-speaker-systems/surround-sound-speaker-systems-reviews/a-secrets-speaker-system-review/page-4-the-paradigm-reference-signatures-on-the-bench.html

Cheers,

Bruce

Kijanki, thanks for your response. Of course, the Paradigm Studios 60s and Signatures 8s are very different speakers at very different price points. Nevertheless, I think technical specs can only take one so far. There's the "X-Factor" that counts for a lot as to whether a speaker sounds fair, good or great.

Then of course there's the equipment, especially the amp. I noticed a major improvement in sound, particularly bass, when I sprung this year for the ARC Ref 150. I suspect the sonic presentation improved in large part because the Ref 150's DF is almost twice that of my previous amp, the ARC VS-115 (14 versus 7, respectively). In addition, the power supply in the Ref 150 is triple that of the VS-115 -- 1040 joules versus 335 joules, respectively. ARC's sales literature puffery that the Ref 150 "will dominate" one's speakers may not be total hyperbole.

Regards, Bruce

Kijanki, I recall reading that folks who owned the Signature 8s (v1) also complained about the so-called "Go-Pal" tweeter being harsh, hot and fatiguing. The Go-Pal used some type of gold/aluminum dome. The later version of the S8s (v2 and v3) use a beryllium dome tweeter, which is a very different beast. Much of the HF ringing was eliminated because the beryllium dome's HF resonant point is much higher than its Go-Pal predesessor.

Btw, the Home Theater HiFi link I provided to you above is to the bench test report of the S8 (v2). The test results are notable because the S8's measured distortion is less than 1 percent over most of the measured frequency response spectrum -- while the speaker is pushed to 100db of SPL. I don't know how that converts into input wattage, but does it mnatter?? Sustained listening at 100 db will rupture the organs in small animals and damage one's hearing.

BIF

Kijanki,... I started reading the article. It's fascinating. It looks like it really speaks to a fallacy in cold reading bench test reports in general and those relating to speakers in particular. Namely, the bench tests may be testing stats that are not terribly important, and not testing stats that may be important. Ergo, why live auditioning is so important.

Makes sense Al. Moreover, listening to a sonically perfect speaker might be figuratively like drinking triple distilled pure water. Pure H2O -- yes. Taste good, not really.