Speakers, sensitivity, low volume and liveliness....?

[freefallrob]

What do you reakon?

It was something beobloke posted the other day about a certain model on Mission speaker (I think). He said they sounded great on demo but when listening at home at lower volume, they didn't cut it.

What makes a good low volume listening speaker?

Sensitivity, cone area, bass extension, ease of drive (not to reactive), light drive units ??

I've noticed my little EPOS ELS3's are a little sleepy at first, my Dad says they are lazy.... turn the wick up a bit and they wake up.


Comments invited.

[icehockeyboy]

A fuck off great big amp usually.

[oldfogey]

I'm sure others with better knowledge will add views from a technical perspective. I observe that my ATCs, active speakers produced as a coherent whole by their designer, are much worse when listening a low levels than my Geddes Nathans driven by an ATC integrated amp. These are two speaker designs that each have big dynamic range, but from a very different design perspective.

The Nathan's provide all the detail when music is quiet, like being in a concert when the audience concentrates on a quiet solo instrument or a singer in a quiet passage of a lied. With the ATC's, you turn it up and know that when the music gets loud, the speakers won't worry either.

[Mr_Sukebe]

I know that my system sounds simply like "hi-fi" at low volumes, then sounds like the band is in the room when it's warmed up and I crank it up.

[ultrawomble]

Isn't it all to do with the human ear rather than the speaker - Fletcher-Munson curves and all that? Because the human ear is less sensitive to low frequencies you have either turn the volume up or boost the bass with a 'loudness button' when listening at low levels. Something like that anyway I believe.

[Matt J]

Sensitive speakers seems to be the trick (for me any way) the best I've heard at low levels has been Tannoys.

If you mean ultra quiet then I don't think anything give you what you're after, I listen at low to medium levels, even lower in the evening.

[wickfut]

I thought it would have something to do with your room...

Lower volume excites fewer nodes and so is more true to what your hifi really sounds like

[SSM]

I reckon it has more to do with how the speakers are balanced. Swapped a few in my heydays, several with varying frequency tailorings. Those with additional wallop in the bass are incoherent when played at very quiet levels. Those with added spice in the treble sound tinny and bodiless. The ones with ruler-flat responses fared the best.

Owned the ELS3 and they were sequentially partnered with MF X-80 (50W), X-150 (85W) and Creek EVO(85W). Playing them at lowish levels the first area to fade away was the midrange, creating a hollowish sound which makes you notice the metallic tweeters.

However, the EVO was the one that elicited a fuller performance from the ELS3 at these whisper levels, even though the MF X-150 was the more powerful amp. This personal experience suggested to me at least that amp power may not be the major determinant...


SS