The Best Sounding Systems can Play Loudly with Low Distortion

@helomech 

Who said anything about before 85db?  And if you look at my system, you’ll notice that there’s no way my amps are struggling or my speakers lack dynamic range.

You have totally lost me!

I would argue that if your ears give out before reaching 85dB averages at your listening position, you’ve either suffered significant hearing damage already, or you’re actually hearing your system struggling, either because the speakers lack dynamic range and/or the amplifier lacks headroom. 

@curiousjim 

I suppose you completely lost me with your ill-fitting Tootsie Pop commercial analogy. If your ears give out well before your system does, there’s a good chance it’s a high performance system (presuming you previously experienced true high performance for reference). And no, looking at your system components tells me little, considering there is plenty of absurdly overpriced audio jewelry out there these days. Forgive me, but I’m one of those whackos who still respects science and objectivity. Your system might very well be great, but it’s not necessarily great because of its heft or price tag. 

"Best for whom?" is always my question.  I actually think playing speakers loudly, when that’s NOT how you listen to music is a terrible idea.

That’s like needing a family van and racing it across the Mexican desert.  

Test/listen to speakers like you live. 

Leave the PA testing to live music performances. 
 

I see now I should’ve specified systems that come remotely close to bridging the gap between live, unamplified dynamic range, and those systems that merely playback recordings such that they sound like a miniaturized ensemble, with a clearly obvious smearing or veiling of transients and decay. In my experience, the systems that can sound great at very high SPLs also perform best at low SPLs. And it’s not so much a matter of speaker efficiency, rather, it’s a matter of total system distortion and headroom. The lowest distortion drivers remain the lowest distortion drivers whether played loud or softly, especially played softly. And if you know much about component contribution, you know the speaker’s driver quality is paramount, similar to room acoustics in that regard. 

To each their own.  I have two systems in my house.  One requires some oomph before the speakers open up and really perform their best.  I’ve run those speakers with three different amps of varying power.  I get the same result, meaning the speakers need a bit of power above what I consider quiet listening, before they really become dynamic.   The other speakers, which are in my listening room, sound dynamic at low volumes and keep it up to the point the volume is too loud for me.   Interestingly, the speakers in my listening room are supposedly not as sensitive (87db) as the speakers in the other room (96db).   It’s a mystery. 

One thing I have learned in my (relatively) short “audiophile” journey is that there is no such thing as too much headroom and I still hate tootsie pops & rolls.