Speaker Efficiency

Guys, thank you for all the Info. I think the Amator's are going back in the bedroom :)

@ghdprentice  I agree, 80db is loud. What is the limitation? If the speakers are rated for, lets say 100 watts, why is the sound degrading at such a low wattage? I can see putting to much power into a speaker and it clips, but this is the opposite.

Typo, the Electa Amator is 4 ohms at 88db

@mapman thank you, that makes sense now.

So, at 8 watts, into 4ohm 88db speakers, is the amp being damaged at playing 70db room volume?

@mikelavigne   hmm,  sounds like impedance curve has a an equal of greater effect than just speaker sensitivity. @mapman had mentioned Fritz Speakers (thank you mapman). Looking at the Fritz Carrera, with a sensitivity rating of 87db, but recommended watts is 5 to 200. Thanks for the Harley article, I'll read it this weekend.

@knotscott My current setup will remain as it was. The 300b amp with Forte's in the living room, with Dac. The Sonus Faber's in the bedroom with a Hegel Integrated and turntable. I agree, I love the sound of the Electa Amator's, and they look really nice, so the wife doesnt mind them in the BR.

    I'm spending the weekend swapping components of the two systems around out of curiosity. I do think at some point I may swap out the Forte for another speaker. @mapman suggested fritz, they are very interesting, and not hugely expensive. I have also listened to Devore, Audio Note, Spatial Audio, Zu Audio, all seem like a good match with the Decware amp. maybe even a Decware Speaker.  

@bigkidz I agree, the less expensive amp, may sound better depending on all other parts of the system. Trying to compare a myriad of components, matching speakers, down to the minutia of cables, cartridges and tweeks can be daunting. I listened to Devore O/96 this week at dealer and they sounded excellent, but this was a well treated room, with very expensive Dac and amplification. I thought, how would these speakers actually sound in my mediocre room, with my equipment?

Thank you @audioman58 , I like the Decware 300b, so that's not going away. I would not leave the Sonus Faber's on that amp, it was more of an experiment, and that prompted my post. I certainly have a better understanding of speaker matching with all that has been written here. Regarding the Forte's, I like them, the pairing sounds very good. I'm sure upgrading the Forte's could result in a better sounding system, but what is the "cost / reward" ratio ?

Thank you @perkadin . As I sit listening to an Oscar Peterson LP, I agree the Forte's a great match for the 300b. The La Scala's would be wonderful in this room, but man the are beasts.

@ozzy62 that's interesting. I had a pair of Spatial M3's fed by a Parasound Halo amp. The clarity was amazing, even at deafening volumes. I don't play my systems that loud anymore. I sold the M3's and the amp to a buddy, and he has it set up in well treated room, sounds fantastic..... I miss those speakers.....

If I were to go in that direction, I would certainly talk to Clayton at Spatial.

@paradisecom  Looking at all the great information provided above, if your 6watt amp can provide 70db with 85db speakers, and your not on the higher end of the volume control, your probably not taxing the amp too badly. Continuing to play at louder and louder volumes, would create more distortion, and sound quality would diminish. Higher efficiency speakers would work better with the Decware amp, and should have less distortion on the signal, and overall could sound better.  If this is an office system, you probably don't need 40 watts.

I'm not sure whats out there for high efficiency bookshelf speakers, but if your system is in your smaller office, you may not need to be in the mid to high 90db range.

These are interesting, albeit expensive

https://devorefidelity.com/devore-fidelity-speakers/orangutan-series/micr-o-speakers/

@deep_333 Funny, :)

Ok, I did just that. Hildur Guðnadóttir 12’ away, at 85db, the "fleawatt" was at about 75%, the Roon app was at 80%, if I had to guess, I was probably running at 2, 2.5 watts. My room is 14X20 with vaulted ceiling. I didn’t hear any problems with the signal, although the room was shaking, and the dog ran like hell :0. But the real question is, why? You cant honestly listen to that soundtrack at 90db and enjoy it. I do like Schiit stuff, I’ve had Yiggi and Bitfrost DACs, I dont need a 200 watt Schiit Tyr to drive a pair of Forte’s? I do have a Hegel H590 (2 x 301 W into 8 Ω, Dual Mono) for the Sonus Fabers, maybe I’ll do a comparison.