Bottom line, is the sound has to reach certain SPL levels to meet the listener's need.
I suppose one way to look at it is that with very efficient speakers, the amplifier is asked to do less to achieve that goal. That opens up a whole different ballgame if you are an amplifier manufacturer in that the burden is lifted to some extent. So you might lower cost on the amp or focus on other quality aspects of the amp I suppose as desired, depending on your target market's needs.
Now, if the speakers are less efficient, there is more of the basic function of an amplifier to do to achieve the goal, ie the amp must amplify more. That changes the game accordingly as well, however my point is that I feel comfortable that modern and more mainstream innovations in amplifier technology, with all the economic advantages that go along with being more mainstream, are up to the task of retaining high quality and value in this game on par with the best out there.
I might not have felt quite the same way about this a few years ago before testing the waters with modern, high efficiency Class D amps that target the audiophile market, but my call at this point is that the efficiencies in modern amp design can offset whatever historical efficiencies may have existed for speaker designers.
I think amplification can be done well in many ways, either mechanically using horns or electronically using modern SS or even tube amps, chose your preference.
Not to say all makers of speakers or amps actually do it really well though. Some do it really well. Many do it pretty well. The rest do not survive or else find a different and less fussy target market.
That is a big difference!
I suppose one way to look at it is that with very efficient speakers, the amplifier is asked to do less to achieve that goal. That opens up a whole different ballgame if you are an amplifier manufacturer in that the burden is lifted to some extent. So you might lower cost on the amp or focus on other quality aspects of the amp I suppose as desired, depending on your target market's needs.
Now, if the speakers are less efficient, there is more of the basic function of an amplifier to do to achieve the goal, ie the amp must amplify more. That changes the game accordingly as well, however my point is that I feel comfortable that modern and more mainstream innovations in amplifier technology, with all the economic advantages that go along with being more mainstream, are up to the task of retaining high quality and value in this game on par with the best out there.
I might not have felt quite the same way about this a few years ago before testing the waters with modern, high efficiency Class D amps that target the audiophile market, but my call at this point is that the efficiencies in modern amp design can offset whatever historical efficiencies may have existed for speaker designers.
I think amplification can be done well in many ways, either mechanically using horns or electronically using modern SS or even tube amps, chose your preference.
Not to say all makers of speakers or amps actually do it really well though. Some do it really well. Many do it pretty well. The rest do not survive or else find a different and less fussy target market.
That is a big difference!