How does comprare 100w speaker of 40 years ago versus 100w speaker in 2023?
Does new speaker have higher efficiency, so less power produce the same level of sound?
I know it’s a not-so-well made question, but maybe we can say something.
Thanks
Watts is watts when measured the same way. 25watts RMS in 1970 is 25 watts RMS in 2023.
There were highly sensitive/efficient speakers in 1970 but also many that were not. Watts became cheaper when solid state happened, so speaker efficiency is less of concern for solid state equipment users (majority out there).
50 year old Klipsch Heritage are still some of the most efficient speakers available
watts does not a speaker make.
Does new speaker have higher efficiency, so less power produce the same level of sound?
Traditional moving coil driver technology hasn’t changed much in 40 or even 80 years. What has has changed is that amplification became more powerful, cheaper, better. This then has led to speaker design trending toward less sensitive designs to take advantage of that cheap power in smaller packages. Companies still produce designs from the 70s because they are still good.
Thanks!
Watts are meaningless. What’s the sensitivity of the speaker when fed 2.83V @ 1m listening position. That’s the important metric
Hopefully a better distortion profile
Power ratings for speakers only means their limit
This is correct. The power rating is just what the speaker can handle while playing music without being damaged. It’s actually a complicated spec that only relates while playing music, not test tones. There’s no relationship between power handling and how loud a speaker plays for a given amount of power. The standard measurement of sensitivity is made with a mic one meter away from the speaker with an input of 2.83 volts. Some speakers will be loud under these conditions and some will not. 90 decibels is a typical measurement for normal speakers, give or take a couple of decibels.