Badly designed loudspeakers cause audible amplifier differences reviewers attribute to the amplifiers

Evidence

Most power amplifiers are designed to be constant-voltage sources so, unless an unfortunate interaction between amplifier and loudspeaker provokes limiting or protection, all is well. Sadly there have been some notable examples of high-end loudspeakers having impedances that dipped very low: to an ohm or less. This is a problem of incompetent loudspeaker design. However, sensing a market, amplifier designers responded with monster “arc-welder” devices that can drive these problem loudspeakers, but it is overkill for most circumstances. It was amusing at the time to read that these incompletely designed loudspeakers “revealed” differences between power amplifiers, as if it were a virtue. They were the cause of the differences. — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1769

Categorization

• CANDY: A sharp, quotable claim: some expensive loudspeakers were so poorly designed they manufactured the ‘amplifier differences’ they then got praised for revealing.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1769
• XREF: connects to: Distortion rarely drives subjective ratings of consumer loudspeakers; Tube amplifiers sound different mainly because their high output impedance alters loudspeakers; Even professional monitor loudspeakers showed measurable defects in early tests — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 303 (+1 more)

Related

• Tube amplifiers sound different mainly because their high output impedance alters loudspeakers (similarity 0.92)
• Distortion rarely drives subjective ratings of consumer loudspeakers (similarity 0.90)
• Even professional monitor loudspeakers showed measurable defects in early tests (similarity 0.88)
• Sub-2-ohm speaker designs caused the amplifier differences reviewers praised (similarity 0.87)
• Tube amplifiers audibly color loudspeakers as those become more neutral (similarity 0.85)
• Audible distortion in quality loudspeakers is rare within intended limits (similarity 0.85)
• Historically, published loudspeaker specifications were often artistic rather than factual. (similarity 0.82)
• Unstandardized loudspeakers once meant recordings could not reliably reproduce their intended sound. (similarity 0.82)
• Well-designed loudspeakers converge on neutral, nearly identical sound. (similarity 0.81)
• Professional monitor loudspeakers were not reliably neutral or accurate references of sound quality (similarity 0.81)
• Clean amplifier clipping is inaudible until waveforms lose over half their amplitude (similarity 0.80)
• Amplifier damping factor above 20 produces no audible effect on loudspeaker transients (similarity 0.80)
• High-power loudspeakers often trade timbral accuracy, while accurate ones are limited in level (similarity 0.79)
• Selecting flattering monitors perpetuates the flaws of earlier generations. (similarity 0.79)
• Unscientific voicing practices caused arbitrary variations in loudspeaker sound (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Even professional monitor loudspeakers showed measurable defects in early tests #expands (0.75) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 303
• Clean amplifier clipping is inaudible until waveforms lose over half their amplitude #complicates (0.72) — , Toole, Floyd E - Sound reproduction-…, 1792