Hi efficient speaker, bass problems

My gut instinct tells me that even any well designed speaker, high or low efficiency, is likely to have bass deficiencies unless setup properly and matched to the right amp and associated gear.

Also, I would not expect most amps to deliver equally excellent bass performance on both high and low efficiency speaker designs.

Other than these things, I would say the devil is all in the details....

TIm,

That's good to know.

I don't doubt many good amps would sound quite excellent with both.

I just wonder though if any one is truly optimal in both cases or if the two extremes require different amp characteristics for optimal results in both cases?

Of course, "optimal" is a subjective thing, but in general I am hard pressed to recall where two different speaker/amp combos sounded exactly the same an an a/b test.

If they sound different, then each individual will have to prefer one over the other, right?

Most speakers I have heard that do bass well are not considered high efficiency.

I do not have enough experience with high end high efficiecy speakers to say.

I think I notice it with more common commercial and other horn designs I have heard but that may not be a fair comparison.

I suspect that high efficiency designs do bass best with different amps (tube amps?) than less efficient ones in general ( SS amps).

It seems to me that crossovers in lower efficiency speakers that do bass well have something to do with it but not sure why exactly.

All forums have bashers....and defenders.

I am a fan of facts and honest opinions, but not "bashing". It is usually not very productive.

I suppose its part of human nature and hard to resist the urge sometimes....

"Sad, but True".

Probably fair to say all speakers have bass problems.

Just some more than others.

I would think field coil technology would enable higher sensitivity designs by nature due to stronger magnetic fields being made possible than with natural magnetic materials.

I've assumed that the potential for greater magnitude magnetic fields (and hence potentially greater sensitivity in accordance) is the prime benefit of FC technology and why I personally would covet such an approach for its game changing potential ?

Still waiting for the first field coil walsh driver to make it to market.

John Strohbeen, are you listening? I suspect the OHM CLS 2 way Walsh driver approach would lend itself best to pushing the limits using a field coil approach.

DDD drivers might benefit as well but tend to do less of the bass s perhaps less beneficial there.

Full range Walsh drivers can be destroyed relatively easily still using conventional magnetic fields, so perhaps less value there.

Duke,

I think your assessment of the pros and cons of ports is right on!

The BC ref1000m monoblocks I use have damping factor spec of 1000 I believe.

I use them with Dynaudio monitors and OHM Walsh speakers.

The OHMs in particular have a reputation as benefiting from high damping so this is something I sought specifically.

The bass is the most articulate and rewarding over-all I have ever had with both.

Damping is a useful spec to consider when attempting to match speakers to amp for best results.

Some speakers may benefit from high damping and others not, either by accident or design.