efficiency

[jdlowe13]

I am sure this question as been asked before.
I am curious to know why the vintage speakers of the past are so much more efficient than todays speakers. For example, the Altec 515B is about a 30 watt speaker while almost any decent 15" speaker made today are 200 watt and up. Am I correct? So why don't manufacturers produce efficient speakers today. With all of the new technology out there I would think todays speakers would be more efficient than those of the past. Does anyone else agree with me?

Thanks
Josh

[MikeInNH]

Hey...I can answer this one...Maybe.

The main reason they were more efficient was because they had to be. There weren't high powered amps back in the early days. Most were tube amps putting out a mear 12 watts. You better have a very efficient speaker if you expect to fill an auditorium with sound from a movie track on a mear 12 watts. They did do some tricks by bi-amping and tri-amping the speakers for increased power...but NOTHING near the 10k watts easily available today.

[MikeInNH]

You're also confusing something. Power rating has NOTHING to do with how efficient the speaker...well almost nothing. A 200 watt rated speaker tells you NOTHING about how efficient it is. Just that it's capable of handling 200 watts. Then you get into the realm of is the 200 watts continuous or peak???

Many speakers today are very efficient (over 100db). They don't have to be, but they are. There are advantages besides what the power supply is for being efficient. I find a efficient speaker to be more realistic, and less muffled. I've heard very few low efficient speaker (i.e. less then 90dbs) that sound good no matter how much power is thrown at them.

[Old Guy]

True- a speaker's power handling has little to do with it's effiency. As Mike said, speakers of the day HAD to be efficient.

What has happened is that adhesives and materials are much better, and engineers are better at designing ways to get rid of heat.

Many manufacturers use technology to produce a product cheaper. Only a dedicated few use the best materials and engineering. Products have become commodities, like it or not.

[selmerdave]

There is something to your comment of power handling, a 30-watt voice coil will look quite different from your 400-watt voice coil, the latter being far heavier of course. For some this is not a good thing.

Dave

[jdlowe13]

I appreciate everyone's input.
Thanks for clearing this up for me.

Thanks
Josh