For a non-horn type design, I would say that the larger ATC are the loudest and most dynamic speakers you can find. The ATC 3" midrange has a much bigger magnet than 99% of woofers (just to give you an idea). ATC woofers also use heavy magnets and have some of the largest Xmax I know of. Watching Top Gun with ATC is like being there on the deck of an aircraft carrier...either you need ear defenders or you need to turn down the volume to a comfortable level. These speakers are not suited for a condo. |
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klipschorns, jbl vintage ie jubal etc, bose 901's(802's) , westlake audio....other pro designs |
I'm part of what appears to be a very, very small camp who thinks if one focuses first on proper line conditioning, vibration management, interconnects, and speaker cables, you may find that far more speakers will play clean at even extreme volumes.
-IMO |
I was suprised to see someone with enough nerve to nominate Bose 901s, but they are correct. I had a double stack being fed by 500 watts a channel that were capable of producing nightclub sound levels without breaking up. |
Big horns, hands down. If you had a pair of Avantgarde Trios with a few stacked pairs of their Basshorns... |
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I heard the PSB T8's last weekend and was suitably impressed with their abilities. |
Tyler's PD80s. 101db/w/m. a hundred watts a side is all you need....350 watts per side and buckle your seatbelt!!! |
My Klipsch play loud!
Completely agree with Stehno, you are right on! |
In most cases, the speaker is not the problem, it is the amp!!! If you take an amp rated at 30 watts RMS and try to play speakers with a sensitivity rating of 89 dB very loud, the amp will start clipping and distorting. However, if you take the same amp and hook it up to speakers rated at 98 db, it will hurt your ears with clean undistorted sound. The key relationsip is matiching amp output to speaker sensitivity if you want clean undistorted sound at high dB levels.
HG |
If you power them well, Dynaudios are a speaker that fits the bill (and the main reason I own them). I generally listen at loud levels and it seems that the louder they get, the better they sound. |
Hello all, I think that when someone says what speakers play loud or I listen loud we need a reference. The poster of this post says "that play very loudly" what do you think is loud? Have any of the responders measured their system when it is playing loud? How loud is loud? 90db+, 100db+ or perhaps 110db+. I am sure the last would be loud. High 90dbs to me is loud in my system with rare peaks above 105db and even rarer above 110db.
Bob |
That's loud? I consider 94 db to 105 db to be rich, full, and room filling. Beyond that is when the fun begins. :)
BTW, cool bikes.
-IMO |
Tannoy Churchills? ATC active 150's? |
acoustat6 is on mark. i bought a spl meter for $50 (radio shack) and it is a real shocker to realize how loud even 87 db is with peaks to 110. it is the clarity of the sound that is most critical. speakers that sound better loud than soft are not great spkrs imo. spl drops off fairly quickly as you back off speaker. lively rooms will create resonance and high spl but that is not music is it? maybe off point here but realistic symphony volume is possible without sounding 'loud'. fwiw... yes the klipsch can rattle the cabinets. most other horns too. simple physics. |
Judging from their demos at the LA HE show, I'd say MBL. |
Hi Stehno, I find those levels to be loud enough (maybe it is not loud) but it is a personal thing. I agree that 94-105db is room filling etc. At that point it is loud though quite listenable. It does matter though on your system and room acoustics. Some people say that 90 db is loud and others say 80db is loud while others feel that 110db is it. Hence my curiosity when people make reference to a level it needs a number to back it up from their personal experience or what they are trying to achieve.
Thanks for the compliment on the bikes, are you into bikes?
Bob. |
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Acoustat6, my loud comment was half in jest (I did have a smiley after the comment), but those are the listening volumes for me especially for some of the more rambunctious guilty pleasure types of music I enjoy.
BTW, when a topic such as loudness, ear fatigue, etc. comes up, we need to consider that some to many of the responses we read have as much to do with system compression, congestion, time-smear, improper or no line-conditioning, improper or no vibration mgmt, etc., etc..
In other words, without properly addressing some to many of these elements, 65 db, can make even a fine system sound too loud. If you know what I mean.
Am I into bikes? Am I ever!!! I'll just never drive one for fear of road rash induced by others.
-IMO |
Anyone know how the Legacy Focus would stack up in this respect? |
I own the Legacy Focus. I own the Pass labs X 350.5 and I had a Krell KSA 250.
Both Amps could be driven with ear splitting sound if I wanted to and I did not hear any distortion.
The legacy has 3-12" woofers they can take anything you thro wat them. |
I will nomiate Kef. They are very clean and clear all the time. I play mine very softly, just above a whisper and you can still make out every detail. At the same time, I've run mine in the 90 dbs and they are spot on. Not a bit of distortion. This is one of their best traits. I would have to agree with a number of the posters that in this same family would be Revel and Tannoy in my experience. One of my favorite things to show people about Kefs is how the speaker form is entirely unaffected by how loud these speakers get. You can place a nickel standing on edge, on the top of the cabinet and play as loud as you'd like and the nickel won't fall over. |
Was just thinking of this old thread as I sold my Klipsch RF-83's recently. Anyone else want to chime in? |
OHM Walsh. I've owned various models since ~ 1981 and run them both indoors and out. Nothing phases them! Not even my current 500w/ch Class D amp. They just deliver whatever you throw at them.
Once circa 1985 or so, I ran my old Walsh 2s on a farmhouse porch off my old 80w/ch Tandberg receiver for a grad school party going on in a field 50-100 yards away and let it crank like never before. I was shocked. Was that my system or a live group performing on that farmhouse porch? The best sound I had heard ever out of a stereo system ( up to that time).
Also, for small monitors, my Dynaudios go loud extremely well. I believe Dynaudios in general probably do. |
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