Wayne Parham Messages: 18756 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
This is a good topic, Bruce.
Since I run efficient speakers, the acceptable noise floor is lower than it would be for speakers with average sensitivity.
Speakers with voltage sensitivity in the mid-to-high 80s don't hum as much from power supply noise as high-efficiency designs that are 10dB more sensitive. So I am much more concerned with power supply ripple and rectifier switching hash than some folks.
Of course, the white noise from tape or lots of gain stages is as much a function of overall gain as it is in the efficiency of the speakers. So that's different - a similar but separate issue. I also think it's a little less distracting than power supply noise, or hum from ground loops and that sort of thing.