Wayne Parham Messages: 18783 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
You're so right about low-level amp noise and high-efficiency speakers. I can't tell you how many times I've been to an audio show and let someone swap in their favorite amp or some new amp on the scene and heard noticeable hum. The owners would be embarrassed saying it was quiet on their systems, and start looking for ground loops and what-not. But that wasn't it - It's just that their speakers weren't as efficient - so the hum wasn't as noticeable in their system. Their amp sounds great, maybe, but in between songs you can hear a little hum on efficient speakers.
An amplifier has to be dead quiet when used with high-efficiency speakers.