15 watts & 94 db eff. speakers: how loud?

shadorne, i see what you are saying, i've read a lot of your posts on this topic, just two unversed to put 2 and 2 together. it just seemed like the speaker was able to do more spls when it was clipping (no noticeable harshness or distortion). it does seem like a delicate little driver but compared to some others, it doesn't seem all that cheap. but within its limits it still sounds very nice for what it is. thanks, this has all helped me feel less in the dark.

Thomp9015,

I am not saying it is a bad driver. At $65 retail (probably less wholesale or in bulk) this is a great and well respected driver and will sound awesome at lower volumes than 97 DB SPL.

All I am really saying is not to expect too much - after all to get good clean loud sound above 100 db SPL you are probably looking at something much bigger - a three way or something with perhaps $600 or more worth of drivers. You know - don't expect miracles - or don't believe the math that suggests that a small 94 db SPL full range driver should be able to easily play 110 db spl comfortably (with pure theory suggesting that all you need is a big power amp).

Of course amplifier manufacturers often neglect to mention this as they are often trying to sell you higher end amps with more watts...in a sense they are competing with speaker manufacturers for a piece of your overall "system budget."

shadorne, you're absolutely right, don/t worry, i really love the speaker for what it is, i guess i'm really just trying to find that final volume margin of good sound from them, i know i'm very close, maybe already there, always looking past the horizon perhaps.

still, i would like to have enough headroom with an amp to hear some distortion from the speaker before the amp clips, i can't say why though, since i wouldn't listen to it distorting, i just want to make sure the amp is not the limiting factor in quality output (and also simply trying to understand the system's interrelationships), maybe i just have too much time on my hands : )
thanks

fwiw, eric alexander of tekton told me that he felt the amp is likely malfunctioning, as he said the speaker should go substantially louder with 15 watts, even 10 should be more than enough for peaks over 100dbs. i don't know if he is going on any more than the rated wpc or if he knows more about the Trends 10.1 t-amp. i've also contacted the amp distributor and will see what they have to say. i wish i could simply measure its output.

fyi, after much back and forth and many many opinions, it turns out the trends t-amp was faulty, though the exact problem remains indeterminate. audiomagus went above and beyond to try and determine the problem, even though they could not reproduce it on their bench. so they just sent me a a new one, even though i've had it well past the warranty period. anyway, this one works exactly as it should: it plays much louder with the volume knob going up well past 12:00 rather than the 9:00 on the old one. it really sounds very very good for the money. i KNEW those speakers would play much louder and i KNEW the amp must be faulty...oh ye of little faith ;) most of all, audiomagus really worked with me in real time over the computer to put in some quality time. i was very surprised considering what a modest purchase it was. well worth the effort from both a product and customer service standpoint. i hope they continue to prosper and encourage everyone to check out their small selection of gear...it is unusual stuff but this amp is exactly what i needed. thanks for everyone's help.