interesting!
a few questions for you, mr salk.
what does the exotica monitor r offer for 2000 dollar more than the silk AT ?
These are two completely different types of speakers. The Silk AT is a lower efficiency model with a 5" woofer. The smaller woofer would normally provide a bit better off-axis response than a speaker with an 8" woofer. The lower efficiency will generally mean the speaker will play a bit deeper in the bass regions. And the cabinet volume would be less as well (there is no free lunch where speaker drivers are concerned). The Exotica Monitor will require quite a bit less power to achieve the same SPL's. Each 3db difference in sensitivity is equivalent to a doubling or halving the power requirements. So a 5db difference would be equivalent to about 3 - 4 times as much power required to drive the Silk AT to the same volume levels as the Exotica 3.
what is the advantage of the bigger woofer of the exotica when the bass output is limited to around 50hz? would the bigger woofer offer a better / wider / bigger sound stage?
The larger the cone surface area, the easier it is to move more air, which is what is required the deeper the speaker plays. An efficient driver like the W8 in the Exotica 3 Monitor will move more air with less power. But the trade-off is that it will not play as deep and the cabinet internal volume needs to be greater.
Another difference is that the larger the cone, the more it tends to fire straight forward. The smaller the cone, the better the off-axis response.
The sense of speed you get with a more sensitive driver is different as well. You can clearly sense the attack of a bow on the strings of a violin or cello with the Exotica's W8, primarily because it can start, stop and change direction more quickly.
what is the size of the woofer from silk at ? 6.5 inch?
5"
what is the difference between silk and silk at? is it only the efficiency, or do they have different sound signature since they have different woofers?
The Silk Monitor will play deeper bass in a smaller cabinet due to it's lower sensitivity. It is a very smooth driver. The Silk AT will not play quite as deep and the cabinet is larger, but it is more efficient. Hopefully you're starting to get the idea...in general, the lower the sensitivity of the driver, the deeper it will play in a smaller cabinet, but it will require more power to drive.
Both the Illuminator driver in the Silk Monitors and the Audio Technology driver in the Silk AT Monitor are very high quality drivers and both produce excellent sound. The character of the sound may be a bit different (hard to describe), but both are excellent in every respect.
thank you
Hopefully this helps.
- Jim