Tom, The way it is with alot of our designs is that what produces the resultant sound is less from the driver, and more about the cabinet.
That said, the Orca Mini driver considered nude is better extended up top, and is rated to handle more power as well. The way we use it, however, it actually benefits from the small, thin walled cabinet because of our "high tech" solid wood internal bracing, and it took us a long time, and many iterations to figure this out. The impulse response and frequency response is phenomenal. The Dungeness Max subs are also bigger, and go lower and are more powerful than the Dungeness Classic/Deluxe subs... but this is for a more nuanced reason than you might think. We still feel that the Dungeness Classic sub is actually the right sub for the Orca Classics. And so too, the Orca Mini's go best with the Dungeness Max, and don't really work very well with the smaller Dungeness Classic.
The "sound" of the Dungeness Max (if a subwoofer can be thought of as having a characteristic sound) is most importantly in keeping with the overall sound making aesthetic of the Mini- which is more geared towards extension, neutrality and flatness, and still remains a manageable size.
On the other hand, I still think of the Orca Classics as our "classic" sound. I don't want to go out on a limb and say that it was inspired from "classic" audio, but as a music historian and audio history nut, the Classic's design, which evolved for 8 years of uninterrupted production and refinement couldn't help but have been inspired by all the amazing old and new gear that I've heard over the years. And you can see the influences of classic audio in the materials - All paper cones including the subwoofer versus the Orca Mini/Max's use of aluminum in the fullranger's dust cap and subwoofer's cone for assistance in reproducing transients from the same driver diameters - 3" and 6.5".
We have thought long and hard about the way that the Orca Classics' sound ought to make someone feel. But of course, people who do not prioritize "feelings," in the way they experience their music might dismiss this approach as hooey. But most people immediately respond to the sound aesthetic of the Classics when they first hear them in person. They are smooth and seductive. Never a bad thing
The Orca Minis/Max are meant for a more performance oriented reproduction but still with the character of a single driver. And still with the all wood, undamped, no BS cabinetry and so they still retain alot of our "classic" signature sound. We sought out to innovate with the woodwork of the Mini's and Maxes. And we did!
The only downside is that the powerhandling/efficiency of the Mini is more geared towards a minimum of 4 watts rather than the 2 watts needed for the Classics. However, we have heard of people successfully hooking up their classics to 50 watts and more, and also their Minis down to 2 watts (or up to and beyond 50 as well). Satisfaction from amplifying our speakers seems to come from an individual's taste and implimentation. Just like everything else in the world. So - no real surprise there.
The Paramount 300B's at 8 watts provide the right balance between dynamic playback and delicacy for me and my system. I like to play the Mini's and Maxes pretty loud and for extended times, actually. They do not fatigue the listener when pushed.
The Mini's are a physically smaller speaker than the Classics, but they behave like a larger speaker in practical utility.
You can think of the powerhandling of our lineup like this:
AND THIS IS JUST A BASIC RULE OF THUMB:Classics: Minimum ~2 watts
Mini's: Minimum ~4 watts
Mako's: Minimum ~8 watts
Thrashers: Minimum ~16 watts
So the Mini's/Maxes are actually the "mid sized speaker" in our lineup, in terms of behavior, though they are the physically smallest speaker we make.
I hope that information helps!
-Clark
