Hi Jay, not really. You can record Leq or LAeq for each relevant frequency.
If and only if you confine the
excitation to that frequency, at which point any non-flat frequency weighting is irrelevant.
The single figure value is actually determine from the log sum of each frequency band.
State the formula you use to determine the "log sum."
SPL figures that quote a
weighting other than flat necessarily apply to
broadband signals. They were specifically developed for that purpose. If you're interested in comparing response variations at specific frequencies or in specific narrow (say, 1-octave or less) frequency ranges, then weightings are not appropriate.
Direct comparison will yield the correct result. Referencing weighted SPL figures is, at best, superfluous.
“A fairly driven sound refers to the speaker operating in a nonlinear way, typically when driven by a tube amp with gain settings high enough to induce preamp or power amp distortion.
IOW, levels at which both the
linear and
nonlinear responses of the
amp contribute substantially and will vary
depending on load impedance vs. frequency, which is different for different speakers. IOW, the differences you cite could be caused entirely by the differences in the behavior of the
amp. Pro tip from one whose entire career has relied on accurate testing of loudspeaker response: in order to isolate the behavior of a
speaker, you must eliminate
all nonideal behavior from every other element in the signal chain - including power amp, microphone, and analyzer electronics - to the greatest degree possible. If you haven't done so, you cannot attribute the behaviors you observe to any single component.
Close-miking at 2 or 3 cm, on-axis, highlights the 2kHz (or 1-3 kHz boost) which becomes more pronounced with harmonic distortion from high-gain signals.
Again, this is most likely due to the
effect of different impedances on the amplifier's nonlinear behavior (distortion).
Observed distortion products at, for example, 2kHz necessarily came from
excitation frequencies an octave or more below that. A speaker's impedance in the range of 100Hz-1kHz will affect the amplifier's distortion in that frequency range, and those distortion products will be
manifested (and observered) at higher frequencies. Add to that that a speaker with lower sensitivity will need more amplifier power, which will be accompanied by higher distortion, to be driven to a given level.
All this to say simply that nothing you have described establishes the effect you claim.