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Re: Do more sensitive drivers offer less distortion at "normal" listening levels? [message #17127 is a reply to message #17124] Mon, 25 October 2004 12:40 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18748
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
Most harmonic distortion from speakers comes from asymmetry in the motor. Generally speaking, the less movement that's required, the lower the distortion. So since high efficiency speakers in horns don't have to move as far for the same SPL, they generally offer lower harmonic distortion.

There are other tradeoffs and things to consider, as is true of all things. For one, high-efficiency designs are generally reduced in bandwidth and sometimes response isn't as flat. If you optimize for efficiency, you generally de-optimize other parameters.

Everything is a series of compromises. You want top speed? You might trade fuel economy. You want max output? You might lose some response at the extremes. The best solutions I've found are those that give me many of the advantages of horns while not sacrificing too much in response. My solutions all seem to be around 100dB/W/M in quarterspace or eighthspace, which is pretty high efficiency but not fully optimized in that direction.

 
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