More sensitive speaker - should be louder?

[alanbeeb]

Folks - been trying a different speaker in my system.... it claims 94dbW sensitivty, a lot more than the 86dbW claimed by my usual ATC SCM12.

Now, I thought this would mean turning the volume down a little bit on my amplifier, but quite the reverse, I am having to turn it up a little bit (normally 68-69 on the digital dial when I listen to the ATCs, now listening at 72.5 to achieve same subjective volume level). I find this surprising. Does it mean the claimed sensitivity is nonsense? The speakers are Living Voice Auditorium II. thanks.

 

[lordsummit]

Could it be that whilst they are more sensitive they also have a lower impedence and are more power hungry? I would have expected that to have made a big difference. It could also be some other things:
They are easier to drive so you can get them louder before things get edgy.
They make a nicer sound so you can enjoy them louder
They are voiced differently to the ATC's so that they attack the notes in a different way
All conjecture of course.
I've always found the better my hi-fi gets the louder it will go without me noticing, but also I don't want to listen to it as loud as I used to.

 

[alanbeeb]

I checked with an SPL meter at my chair and they are definitely at the same or lower volume as my usual, and they want the amp turned up higher. Could be the impedence thing.

 

[The Devil]

The extra noise from the ATCs is 19th order harmonic distortion, coming from the midrange.