I'm hoping that Ricci or others with more experience with high end, high efficiency drivers can help solve an issue I am having:
My subwoofer uses B&C iPal drivers. When there is bass content at a very low SPL level (barely audible), the bass sounds scratchy. It is almost like there is static in the signal. Turning the volume up to a more moderate SPL level eliminates the noise and at very spirited levels, it sounds fantastic. Luckily, this exact scenario is very rare during normal listening but it does occur in scenes where the SPL of the bass content is very low like distant background music.
Is it possible that what I am hearing is the result of the high efficiency of the drivers themselves? My thought is that at very low signal levels, the signal to noise ratio reaches a point where noise that usually wouldn't be heard becomes audible. Because the drivers are very efficient, they are able to pickup this very weak signal and produce noise where lower efficiency drivers would remain silent. If that isn't the cause, what might I look at?
I have already tried different receivers, cables, power source, amplifier, etc.