Current amp vs Voltage amp

No offence taken Bombaywalla. Actually, in some of my private communications with Al and Ralph, I too mused that it would be a great boon to the hobby if speaker designers could, with the flip of a switch, change the electronic crossover for SS or tube application. It might require an external crossover -- dunno. But I too take great exception when the industry doesn't disclose the simple fact like Revel, that "so and so speaker is designed to be driven by a [___] amp." Further, where are the tube amp manufacturers? No disclosure there either. The modus operandi is plug and play. IMO, bad form.

It seems that it is easier to design a speaker with a consistent impedance if the impedance is low rather than high.

This thread is very educational and thought provoking and comments here are well informed. It really asks the obvious question, why on earth do we have such a high number of these roller coaster impedance speakers? What is their upside. Does it truly demand that much more high level engineering expertise to build flatter impedance speakers with better phase angles? If that's the case then those who are capable of doing this deserve more respect and recognition for their achievement. It's a superior speaker when it allows the buyer more flexibility with amplifier selection.

Because with available amplifiers capable of dealing with them, it might allow the speaker designers to put more emphasis on other considerations?
One could also ask why amp designers choose not to build amps that can deal with such loads?

Unsound -- fair point. But if nothing else changes, A'gon members who read this post and other like it will realize that it takes more than lip service to think it's an easy task to match speakers and amps.

Not sure this is true, but I surmise that most (not all) of the hi-end speakers on the market have roller coaster impedance and phase angle plots. Al and Ralph have made this point many times -- it's important to understand what the designer had in mind when designing a particular speaker.

As I mentioned above, my S8s are advertised to have a pretty flat FR plot, as confirmed in a number of independent bench tests. And maybe it's true. But as I also mentioned above, it was only after I called Paradigm that I learned for a fact that my speakers love high current/high power SS amps. Almost eats them up for desert.

So the lesson for the rest of us is that until there is more disclosure, caveat emptor is the rule. If one is interested in a particular speaker, unless the sales literature recommends a particular type of amp, call the factory and ask questions until you get a credible answer. Let's face it, speakers and amps can cost a lot of bucks. The smart consumer will ask questions to ensure the pieces fit together.

Cheers and I hope our fellow members will read this post.