Back to the question I asked previously, is thermal compression an issue in home audio? In pro audio, speakers have to deal with dissipating 100s to 1000s of watts on a near constant basis, a typical direct radiating tweeter in a two way bookshelf more than like is about 3-5dB more sensitive than the woofer. Let’s assume a soft dome 1” tweeter has a sensitivity of 91dB, regular music contains less and less energy as frequency increases, compared to 100hz-4khz, content above the typical 2500hz xover frequency is significantly lower, a tweeter may only be responsible for playing signals that are about -10dB or lower in comparison to the midrange. If we assume one listens to music at 80dB, with 95dB peaks, and sit 3m away, that’s only about 1w of power to the tweeter max.
If it isn’t power compression, what else could explain the difference between speakers dynamic range?
That's a good question. (I always say that when I don't have a good answer
.)
Your point is true. Typical home audio speakers tweeters are more sensitive than woofers. Therefore tweeters in home audio don't seem to suffer from the heating problems of pro audio.
Is there a way to measure dynamic range, or thermal compression? The only way I can think of is to run many sweeps of SPL vs. frequency at different volume settings. Plot them in a way that shows the range of volume settings in which the speakers have a wide & flat frequency response, and at what volumes (high or low) the speakers loose that ability. It would look for a range of SPL over which the speakers respond to changes in volume in a linear fashion while keeping a wide & flat frequency response. Is there a simpler way?
I've always assumed that differences in dynamic ranges are caused by differences among drivers themselves. Some drivers deliver it in spades, and others cannot, even though they do perform well within a narrower range of SPL. Some speakers sound good at moderate SPL, but cannot handle louder sound. And other speakers, those designed for loudness, tend to perform less well (IMO) at lower SPL. In that sense, they need to be loud to sound good.
But I haven't taken that idea beyond an assumption. And I cannot explain what design feature(s) of drivers generates greater dynamic range.
Independent of speakers, I do find that a wider dynamic range is possible with good recordings on less noisy media, and more powerful and quieter amplification, combined with speakers capable of a wider range of SPL.
The problem I have with my idea is, if true, speakers with a large dynamic range will always sound better than speakers without it. And, in my experience, that isn't always the case.
Anyone else have ideas directed toward Yep's question?
