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High Efficiency Speakers

post #1 of 12
1/21/09 at 4:12pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

I was wondering what the best speaker choices would be for my low power headphone amp. What are others using effectively? I tried a pair of horns with Fostex126e drivers, 95db sensitivity, without much luck. How sensitive must speakers be for moderate listening levels, with say 4 watts?

thanks!

Ron
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post #2 of 12
1/21/09 at 5:00pm
What's wrong with the sound? Are you getting the amp to clip or is the bass soft? I'm doing OK running the 98dB ESS AMT-1 with a 3W amp.

You might be interested in some of Klipsch's horns. Most of them (IIRC) are over 100dB. So are Lowthers and the Jordan JX92S. I know there are other highly efficient horns, but can't think of any off the top of my head. You might want to pick up Stereophile's product guide, out now. It lists the specs (including efficiency) of hundreds of speakers on the market.
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post #3 of 12
1/21/09 at 5:06pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

There just seems to be no fullness or presence or emphasis in the sound. Like it's underpowered.
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post #4 of 12
1/21/09 at 6:46pm
What kind of headphone amp are you trying to use?
Unless it's spec'd to be able to run down at 8 ohms, which most loudspeakers are rated at, most regular headphone amps won't have the current.

As an example, my Cute Battery II is rated at 480 mW (milliWatts) into 75 ohm AKG K270S, or just under 1/2 watt. if you go lower, using the Grado SR-60 which are 32 ohms, its down to 320 mW. Extrapolating downward, its likely that trying to drive 8 ohms, it would only be capable of putting out about 80 mW or .08 Watts..

A typical low power SET amp used for high efficiency loudspeakers is 3 or 4 watts, 30 to 40 times the power that my little headphone amp would put out for the same impedance. There are headphone amps that are capbable of driving loudspeakers also, but you mentioned "low power headphone amp", so I doubt it has the drive capability.

AMB's Beta 22 is capable of driving loudspeakers, but thats a whole different ballgame..
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post #5 of 12
1/21/09 at 7:11pm
I use hornshoppe horns, which use the fostex 126's in rear horn folded enclosure, and it pretty much screams with 45 tubes (2 watts) or 2a3 tubes (3 watts). I do have a sub so that helps, but even without it, its a very nice full bodied sound, great presence. I am about 2 meters away, and the horns are parked pretty close to the back walls for reinforcement. They are meant to be corner loaded, but I am doing fine as is.

I would second the recommendation of klipsch. The cornwalls are fantastic, and should play plenty with 4 watts, with really nice bass below 40 hz. The lascalas would scream, but have a brighter sound and top off around 50 hz.

Depends on your budget, but a nice lowther implementation could be an option, there are many different builds. But expensive!
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post #6 of 12
1/21/09 at 7:19pm
Check out this article here:
6moons audio reviews: Merrill Zigmahornet
using Dave Merrill's DCA4 loudspeakers.. Good and cheap..
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post #7 of 12
1/22/09 at 3:12pm
WLM makes pretty high efficiency speakers. I've heard their floorstanding model (the La Scala), and it is quite good. You might look into those.
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post #8 of 12
1/22/09 at 6:31pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

The amp is a Singlepower Extreme Platinum, the speakers are Atelier First Horns. I was hoping to enjoy the setup in my 15 x 12 x 8 room while reading and such, but the "muted" performance is very dissappointing. Maybe if I used different tubes, but the swapping spreadsheet on this board makes no mention of output performance. When I had the amp built I was assured by the maker that the 4 or so watt output would be more then adequate for the speakers, but that has not been the case.

Any help is appreciated.
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post #9 of 12
1/25/09 at 6:15am
Taka a look at WLM, you can find these second hand at really affordable prices, and they look great too.
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post #10 of 12
1/25/09 at 12:31pm
I have a pair of Klipsch Fortes with upgraded crossovers and tweeters. Ive run them plenty loud off of 5W. You could get a pair of Fortes, Heresys, Quartets, or Forte IIs cheap if youre patient. They are all very sensitive (96dB+), and will sound much better with new networks.
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post #11 of 12
1/25/09 at 12:56pm
The Six Moons review on the Atelier did mention that this speaker did not pair well with some amps the reviewer used. He complained about the music being 'thin', much as you described in an earlier post.

I would contact Wayne Parnham at Pi Speakers for his input and recommendations. You can DIY one of his systems or he can build one for you. I went with a DIY 2 Pi Tower and it sounds great with my 300b monoblocks. The speakers use two drivers; a 10" Eminance mid-bass driver and 4" Vifa tweeter. I hear the 4 Pi is a really nice speaker, one I will likely build next.
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post #12 of 12
1/26/09 at 4:15pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,

When I listen to the horns with my MP-5 they are generally satisfying. I guess the Singlepower is just a bad combo with them. They also sound good with another tube amp I tried (13 watt). I was hoping one of the Singlepower enthusiasts might have stumbled upon the tube combination that yielded the highest output. But maybe that's yet to be discovered. I was wanting to try to experience the stated attributes of this amp through speakers with the whole tube swapping thing and all, but it's not to be so.

Thanks All for your advise!
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