Weekly Q&A: Answers | Week of November 20, 2023

Retaining Dynamism and Bass w/out annoying the neighbors...

Q: I just moved into a small apartment where I can set up a system in a room measuring 3m X 3.5m. I don't have a system at the moment but am starting with speaker choice. My listening volume will be extremely low, because of immediate neighbours, but I am torn between two types of speaker combinations. Either a big box JBL 4311/12 type speaker or a smaller stand mount Rogers LS3/5A type speaker set-up. My question is, which combo would be the most dynamic and best bass response at around ½ to ¾ watt. Will be running a 300B integrated amp of some sort with vinyl being my primary source. Thanks.

-Peter

A: We can rather quickly answer your question about dynamics. If we take literally the speakers you mention, the LS3/5a had a sensitivity of about 82db at 1 meter with 1 watt input while the 4311 had a sensitivity of about 92 db at 1 meter with 1 watt input. We realize that you may not literally mean these speakers, of course. With 10 db more sensitivity, a low powered tube amp will have mo…