Loudspeakers recommandation - late evening listening sessions

[john61ct]

I have an outboard phono.

What does that have to do with anything?

Sorry for my ignorance.

Loudness control must be built into the device you use for ad-hoc volume adjustment, ideally from your LP.

Or put another way, you must use a volume control preamp with Loudness Comp in order to get good value from your system and fully enjoy your music.

 

[Jaxx1138]

How do you know? Have you ever seen measurements of his Revels at lower than the standard volume of 76dB?

That's one beef I have with the standard suite of measurements. I think 76dB is too high. Compression testing should start at 66dB or even 56dB. Loudspeakers are designed for different outputs. A small bookshelf speaker may be more linear when operated at a lower volume, but have terrible measurements at higher volumes. Many people have no need for loudspeakers that can go up to 96dB, or even 105dB.

From my perspective the idea behind the higher level measurements is not so that you can play that loud but rather when you have high crest factors(high dynamic range in your source) that your loudspeakers will not distort when playing those passages. It demonstrates that the loudspeaker stays linear when reaching 100dB plus. Not all loudspeakers can do this. It is not required for many applications but many audiophiles like to know that their loudspeakers can maintain low distortion if these peaks should arise. Snare hits and kick drums in some recordings can have peaks as high as 12-15dB.

CURRENT STANDARDS:
AES75-2023 (The Reference Transfer Function) uses at least 20dB above the ambient room noise.
To ensure the analyzer has enough "clean" data to build a perfect reference model.

IEC 60268-5 (Sensitivity Baseline) 2.83 volts corresponding to 1 watt into an 8-ohm load.
To align with standard sensitivity specs (1W/1m).

AES2-2012 (The 10% Threshold) Starts at a low-voltage sensitivity measurement to establish a baseline for the driver's Small-Signal Parameters
To stress-test the thermal capacity of the voice coil over time.

 

[john61ct]

From my perspective the idea behind the higher level measurements is not so that you can play that loud but rather when you have high crest factors(high dynamic range in your source) that your loudspeakers will not distort when playing those passages. It demonstrates that the loudspeaker stays linear when reaching 100dB plus. Not all loudspeakers can do this.

This is what's meant by "headroom" correct?

I've heard that more in a power amp context, but I guess both components need it for it to useful...

 

[Jaxx1138]

This is what's meant by "headroom" correct?

I've heard that more in a power amp context, but I guess both components need it for it to useful...

Well, I don't think I have ever heard it used that way but it's just a way of demonstrating that the loudspeaker does not distort on loud peak passages. The idea being that if the speaker can hit 110dB at one meter(with let's say less than 5% distortion) then at 90 dB you should (theoretically speaking) be in a completely linear range of the loudspeakers capability. If it mechanically or thermally causes the output to drop you can begin to hear compression.

 

[3125b]

You can use digital loudness.
I‘m not saying that this makes sense, but an ADI-2/4 could for example even replace the phono preamp for MM, digitize and output the processed signal (incl. configurable dynamic loudness) via preamp outputs.
Way too expensive unless you’re looking for that specifically, but it’s possible.
Somebody measured it: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-adi-2-4-pro-se-riaa-mode-measurements.39941/

 

[john61ct]

Buying a Ferrari for its cigarette lighter 8-D