Question concerning db sensitivity

There is no truth to this. Speaker sensitivity has no more to do with sound quality than amplifier power, which is zilch.

John

dB Sensitivity is a measurement of how loudly a speaker will play driven with 1 watt of power as measured from a distance of 1 meter from the drivers.

Whether lower sensitivity speakers typically sound better is a subjective opinion which will likely have both proponents and detractors whom are adamant in their position...and more or less equally split.

The only thing that can be generalized is that a high sensitivity speaker, all else being equal (never is), will have a more limited low frequency response than a lower dB speaker of the same size. This means nothing with respect to sound quality, unless that "someone" uses low frequency extension as the only yardstick.

Someone recently told me that in their experience, in general, that the higher the db sensitivity of a given speaker, the more you sacrifice in terms of sound. In other words, lower db rated speakers [ 86-88 ] typically sound better. Any thoughts on this?

Yes this is true. This matches my experience with conventional box speakers. As generalizations go, this is actually quite a good rule of thumb (there are exceptions).

The light weight and rigid diaphragm structures necessary to produce very high efficiencies (ceramic, metal etc.) generally result in an under damped system (high Q - resonances). Furthermore, the highest efficiencies are often achieved by using a long voice coil in short magnetic gap which means the linear operating range of the driver excursion is modest and it is less efficient at dissipating heat than a short coil mounted in a more expensive massive magnet assembly; this results in more distortion and compression at modest SPL's and the speaker will sound positively dull and boomy at high SPL's.

I haven't mentioned horns here, all I will say is that I have seen plenty of horns used for sound reinforcement but rarely, if ever, have I seen a horn used as a professional studio monitor; this fact alone speaks volumes about the fidelity of high efficiency horns...