Speakers Wake Up Too Loud?

musichal

poet emeritus
Do you now (or have you ever) own(ed) speakers that "woke up" at SPLs higher than you usually want to listen?

Perhaps you alternate between speakers due to this? These are my loudspeakers vs a low-level-listening model?

Not that I'm in that situation... my mind just wandered here, and I wondered.
 
Short answer, yes. I rotate between entire systems for this very reason. I have some Dynaudio speakers that sound wonderful at lower to mid SPLs whereas the JBLs like it mid to high SPLs.
 
Polk LSi7s.

I ran these for a bit powered by an external amp of 250W/channel, so they had ample grunt and grip - but it took too much of the volume control to get them to 'wake up' like you said.

Nice speaker for the money, just didn't suit my overall listening mode of low to medium level and loosing inner detail/resolution.
 
My Pioneer CS88s. Although easy to drive, like a decent amount of power to get that big woofer going. Give them at least 60 or so watts and let them rip and they sound great from top to bottom. But at lower volumes they lose some of the highs. I was hoping re-capping would change this but it did not. The exact opposite of them are the Imperial 6s and Dynaco A25s. They are great top to bottom at any volume.

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One of the main reasons I've stuck with panels (Maggies or ESL's) since 1976 is that they pretty much sound the same at whatever level I'm listening.
 
Perhaps you alternate between speakers due to this? These are my loudspeakers vs a low-level-listening model?


That's me... besides , I love to switch stuff in and out

Most of my speakers Retail/DIY have high Sensitivity but the lowest pair are B&W PM1 (84dB) - They need mucho watts to get them where they need to be
 
I just kept blasting it until I lost that percent of my hearing. Now it sounds ideal at my preferred listening levels.

But not usually. when I want the music at low levels I'm usually not concentrating on it enough to notice.
 
My buddy with modified Forte's (especially his wife) always tells me the same thing - "they sound so much better loud". I've heard them hundreds of times and I'd agree...they are not terribly full or engaging at low levels.

The opposite is true of my JBL's - I love them at low levels (where I spend most of my time) but whether it's me or the speakers, I don't love them cranked any more.

jblnut
 
I wonder if the "speakers that wake up too loud" are current starved and an amp upgrade would be a better alternative than swapping speakers?
 
My buddy with modified Forte's (especially his wife) always tells me the same thing - "they sound so much better loud". I've heard them hundreds of times and I'd agree...they are not terribly full or engaging at low levels.

The opposite is true of my JBL's - I love them at low levels (where I spend most of my time) but whether it's me or the speakers, I don't love them cranked any more.

jblnut

My Forte sound good at low level in my room... could be a room thing, or a hearing thing, or a preference thing, or a combo-of-it-all thing.
 
I wonder if the "speakers that wake up too loud" are current starved and an amp upgrade would be a better alternative than swapping speakers?

I've experienced it with speakers having monster amps, so I don't think so. Some speakers just sound better loud, imo.

However, with my aforementioned Klipsch Forte, I don't think that the case. They sound good at low level, and even better at medium, but turn harsh at higher volumes, imo. Because of their sensitivity, and their ability to get loud, they tend to have the reputation, along with other larger Klipsch, of sounding good at high levels among quite a few folks. My loud is probably their medium.

I have ordered an SPL meter, so maybe I can be more precise about levels in the future.
 
Amplitude is another variable to match for. Not surprised you would think one model is better suited than another for low and high level SPL.
 
I have had speakers like that. They needed volume to produce bass and low mids. Long gone.

My current speakers sound balanced at all listening levels.

Your pretty much have to buy them, bring them home for awhile and listen to know that they are right for your room and listening style.
 
One of the main reasons I've stuck with panels (Maggies or ESL's) since 1976 is that they pretty much sound the same at whatever level I'm listening.
The dot seven Maggies are better than their predecessors in that regard. I really liked the 20.1 and considered buying them long ago, but it just doesn't share the same low level resolution as electrostats or the 20.7, IHMO. It needs a bit of level prodding.

I find that a good indicator of a system's overall transparency is how it does at a whisper.
 
There's no question that esl's change very little (sound wise) at varying volumes or that they do this better than just about anything else. Maggies are close but IMO/E the ones with true ribbons have a discontinuity because of the differing dispersion patterns of the quasi ribbon diaphragms and the true ribbon tweeters. The quasi ribbon models (MMgi, .7i, 1.7i, etc.) are closer to esl's in this respect because everything comes from the same diaphragm
 
Oh yes. I had a set of 70's house speakers running CTS drivers in them. Nice cabinets, looked good. Sounded terrible at low volumes, but crank them up and they sounded great.
 
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