Well ....
Aren't DR and headroom the same side of the coin, just seen from the component side?
A speaker, say KEF R300, is capable of 110dB SPL max (1 meter).
For a good movie experience, say I need 80-85 dB at seating position.
This speaker is 88dB sensitivity; at 10W it does about 96-99 dB (1 meter).
At seating position this would be about 85-90 dB.
If in the movie soundtrack there's content that is 10 dB higher momentarily, the power draw is 100W.
My AVR definitely cops out (it is a little 50 watter) . This where the outboard amps shine.
To present the full dynamic range in movie content two things are necessary, as I understand it:
- speakers capable of higher SPL (clean rendition)
- amps capable of higher instantaneous current/power (clean delivery)
Horn loaded speakers have the advantage of higher sensitivity, agreed.
Eg. Klipsch will work very well in HT, but they are not for all kinds of ears.
These will sound absolutely harsh for music.
I may have got this wrong, have not explored more in HT for almost 6-8 years now
About Outlaw Audio M2200, procured from US (a friend was relocating)
Yes, I run 2 pre-pwr combinations but its mostly for 2-channel.
In fact the HT setup is 3.1 (and there are compromises here)
Signature has the configs I use for movies/HT
Cheers,
Raghu