Best speaker for use at lower volumes?

[buddyrich33]

Kind of a silly question, as I am not at all familiar with the science, but generally louder=good, but does the volume level one listens at matters in terms of speaker performance?

I am looking to replace my current speakers (B&W 683 1st gens circa 2010) with something new. Whatever I get will be driven by a Sonos Amp, 100% used for music listening only, either streamed music or turntable.

I rarely listen at even 50% volume with my current setup, usually less if I am in the room. The only time I have it louder is if I am not in the room, I turn it up to fill the lower part of the house with sound, and even now, since I've got the sonos, I tend to just sync with other zones rather than turn the one set of speakers up but I still do keep it up (especially when working over the exhaust fan in the kitchen).

I ask because my current speakers have a sweet spot. Below 20% it seems there is less seperation between intruments, etc. its all just kinda jumbled... not bad just not as clear as when its louder. but up between 40-70% volume things are much more dynamic sounding... but maybe I am getting old, but the adage of "if its too loud, you're too old" is definitely true.....

Are there speakers that are better/clearer/more dynamic at a lower volume? Would bookshelves perhaps be better? It may be an either/or, I still do want to fill the room with sound on occasion, though it would be rarer.

In terms of what I was thinking of, the KEF Q750/950, KEF R3 Bookshelves or Wharfdale Lintons... Perhaps sometihng else? The Q750/950 seem like you might need to really drive them to get the most out of them, but the R3s and Linton perhaps not. Not looking to spend much more than 2500-3000K CAD...

 

[DVDdoug]

No... Speakers are linear (assuming they are not over-driven). The frequency response doesn't change with volume and they dynamics don't change with volume. If one note is 3dB louder than other note it's 3dB louder at all volume settings.

However the "frequency response" of your ears is not linear. When you turn-down the volume it sounds like you've turned-down the bass even more (Equal Loudness Curves). And of course, quieter parts and "little details" are reduced to the point where you can't hear them.* So you may want to boost the bass (and maybe the treble.) That's not a problem for the speaker because if it can reproduce bass at higher volumes it can reproduce bass at lower volumes.

* The inability to hear the quiet-details might partly account for the feeling of reduced dynamics. You aren't hearing the full dynamic range when the quiet details fall below the threshold of audibility, or are masked by ambient noise.

It's also common to perceive louder as more dynamic... Sometimes "loudness war" recordings (which are dynamically compressed) are perceived by some listeners as "more dynamic".

And the inability to hear quiet details is a good thing if you're playing records because you are less likely to hear the "snap", "crackle", and "pop".

 

[buddyrich33]

However the "frequency response" of your ears is not linear. When you turn-down the volume it sounds like you've turned-down the bass even more (Equal Loudness Curves). And of course, quieter parts and "little details" are reduced to the point where you can't hear them.* So you may want to boost the bass (and maybe the treble.) That's not a problem for the speaker because if it can reproduce bass at higher volumes it can reproduce bass at lower volumes.

* The inability to hear the quiet-details might partly account for the feeling of reduced dynamics. You aren't hearing the full dynamic range when the quiet details fall below the threshold of audibility, or are masked by ambient noise.

That makes sense and might be what is happening. Thanks for the explanation.

There is even a setting that might help. I always thought it was a bad thing, but there is a loudness toggle on the Sonos that actually does just that, boosts bass and treble. More of dynamic EQ as it only applies when the volume is below 50%, and the closer it gets to 50% the lesser the boost and it doesn't boost anything when the volume is past 50%)... Ive always used it on my Sonos speakers as they sound "fuller" when playing at lower volumes, but always turned it off on the Amp... didnt want to monkey around with the signal... Maybe that will help for listening at low volumes, though wouldn't that just compress everything (ie. the dynamic range... the difference between the quietest parts and the loudest)? Maybe thats why I didn't use it.

 

[Head_Unit]

Are there speakers that are better/clearer/more dynamic at a lower volume?

I think you could play around with a lot of speakers and maybe be satisfied or maybe not. To me this seems more a candidate for Yamaha's variable loudness, or the calibrated loudness of the Bucharest A700s my friend bought to address this-to his satisfaction. BUT the reason he was dissatisfied in the first place turned out to be a response hole from 50-130 Hz like 10 dB deep.

Since our ears are very sensitive to changes in bass level, I think you should try to make some measurements to see if you have any response holes aggravating your low level listening.