Dynamic compression in speakers themselves?

Legacy Audio Focus is about 10K...that could float your boat

If you are ok with used and going up to 15K then you should be able to get what you are after.

+1 ATC SCM 100 as suggested by Phusis. If the 100 is far too boxy for you then ATC SCM 40 and a JL F112 subwoofer would do the job in a slightly more aesthetic manner. Don’t be mislead by “entry-level” description - the SCM 40 has plenty of huge dynamics - it just lacks the energy needed in the very bottom octave which is where the sub would fill in.

@johnk

Thermal compression is one problem - affecting small voice coils much more than large ones. Small voice coils are standard for the consumer market because they are so much cheaper and easy to build as tolerances can be as sloppy as you like.

The other form of compression is from non-linear magnetic field. Long small diameter voice coils are cheap and have good sensitivity but the coil is not immersed in an even magnetic field - so harmonic distortion is high and they run out of linearity almost immediately upon any excursion.

I am sure that most folks here dismiss this problem...so I will include a link to a $30,000 lauded speaker that suffers heavily from compression. This is not an attack on Magico as I can do this for almost ALL high end consumer brands...

Look at the Deviation from Linearity plots - oh dear a cavernous hole in tweeter response - this means lots of distortion too as the crossover won’t work effectively as the tweeter impedance changes dramatically. A terrible design but all too common and almost all major high end brands (20,000+) tested by Sounstage show this weakness!!!!

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1043:nrc-

If anyone challenges me I can post dozens more links all with top speaker brands - all with dismal performance in this area. No wonder live music sounds so much more real and “live” compared to most high end consumer systems. These systems with these deficiencies just sound strained, dull and boomy when asked to produce live dynamic sound.

There is a very small following of folks with giant speakers ( Tannoys etc) that really get this essential aspect of fidelity. And the surprise is that you don’t have to actually listen very loud to hear the difference - just some well recorded dynamic music.

Other speakers: Legacy Focus is good value and great performance. Large Focal good also but expensive. Paradigm Persona 9H. B&W 800. Pretty much the top of the line in any of these brands will bring you quite close to pro main monitor - you will only miss a few dB dynamic range. Unfortunately, nothing really gets around the physics of a giant box with big woofers - you can’t have small aesthetics without taking a little hit in dynamics.

A home system based on pro studio main monitors (mentioned above) is going to be very much the same level of immediacy of guitars and drum shots. It is quite easily done. Of course you won’t listen loud like that all day long.

@phusis 

We agree. My point is mainly about the woofers - big motors and large diameter voice coils tend to stay cool and run more linearly.

I agree horns can be great for mid range dynamics. Both horns and dynamic speakers will likely have dynamic woofers especially big studio type monitors.

@mtrot

No. Extreme high sensitivity is no guarantee of unrestrained dynamics. 91 dB to 94 dB is already plenty of sensitivity. It is the driver design that is important - large voice coil, massive magnet, short coil in long magnetic gap.

12 inch woofers are a minimum but make sure they are pro woofers. Only these designs will give you dynamic crescendos with ease. 

I don’t know about VR55 in particular but VR uses mostly small Voice coils - great speakers but they compress dynamically. Best stick to pro gear if you really want dynamics.

+1 roberjerman

@mtrot 

Large pro studio (not PA) versions of ATC, PMC, Westlake, JBL, Genelec, Quested and Tannoy are all worth checking out if you seek big open dynamic sound and good vocal and timbre. Any of these makes with at least one 15” woofer would be a good start. 

Dynamic compression is very common above 90 dB SPL in traditional dynamic speakers. Voice coils get extremely hot and resistance rises. Also linear cone excursion can be quite limited. Soundstage won’t even test speakers above 95 dB SPL as most will fall apart. Even if it doesn’t blow apart you mostly get distortion above 95 dbSPL.

You are best to go for pro designs like ATC with 3 or 4 inch diameter voice coils in a very tight tolerance massive motor assembly. Large ATC can play continuously at 121 dB SPL with less than 0.3% THD - this is loud enough for totally realistic drums etc. - unfortunately this level of performance is expensive and often only justified in professional studios like this

https://www.blackbirdstudio.com/studio-c/