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-   -   How important is POWER? (https://www.caraudioforumz.com/general-discussion-10/how-important-power-5356/)

Paul Niwranski 07-23-2004 12:55 PM

^ I don't think so anymore. Used to be the case back in the day though.


More power. As Ettore said - you can't get 150watts out of a 100watt amp if you find you need the 150watts. True, you may overspend but if you buy it too small and have to rebuy you will spend even more [img]graemlins/dunno.gif[/img]


Personally, my plan is 75x2 for the tweeters, 75x2 for the mids, and 300x2 for the midbass. I like midbass :D

JohnVroom 07-23-2004 04:48 PM

I am currently using a 150 WPC (TU-600) front stage and 1000W amp to my sub, so yeah if you want it loud like live music is pull out the wallet and punch out the power.

BUT I was actually sounding every bit as good (though absolute volume was compromised) with my 75W x 4 amp (TU-4360). I am not convinced that little amp didn’t sound BETTER than its big brother.

mike bisson 07-23-2004 05:27 PM

Having ample power "on tap" helps with "headroom" -- the transition from quiet passages to musical peaks. If you have the gain control on your amplifier all the way off (like I do) than all the better -- the amplifier has something left when needed. Underpowered speakers are more likely to blow than "overpowered" speakers.

Jmac 07-23-2004 06:22 PM

No, pushing an amplifier into clipping to attain the desired volume blows speakers ;)

Feeding 50 watts to a 100 watt speaker isn't going to hurt it ... Trying to get 100 watts out of a 50 watt amplifier probably is ;)

[ July 23, 2004, 07:23 PM: Message edited by: Jmac ]

mike bisson 07-23-2004 08:09 PM

HELLO!!!!! You are being somewhat redundant ;) What I mean by "ample power" is that the amplifier is not being overdriven (ie clipping) -- usually this means someone is driving a 25w (RMS @ 4ohms) at full gain with the volume at 30 (out of 30), usually with the loudness on and the bass at full, and they wonder why there is distortion! ;)

Dereck Waller 07-23-2004 08:51 PM

Yes but he is pointing out that "underpowering" is not the right word to use technically. It is easy to say underpowering though, where as I have tried to explain the concept of clipping to some people, and no matter how simple you make it and how many drawings you make they don't get it.

goalie 35 07-23-2004 10:01 PM

smart system design and a good quality amp should get you right where you want to be. ex. i use a orion 2100hcca in 4 ohm stereo mode to run my quart mids and tweets, not alot of power but my amp never clips and has tons of headroom, now defro uses single amps per spkr with tons of power and his car is probable one of the top sounding cars in north america!! both cars sound great but are done with different enginering concepts. my point is take alot of info, pic out what applies to you and experiment. remember half of car audio is trial and error and the other half is beer and whiskey shooters!!!

defro13 07-23-2004 10:06 PM


Originally posted by DWVW:
where as I have tried to explain the concept of clipping to some people, and no matter how simple you make it and how many drawings you make they don't get it.
yes. thats why mike called it underpowering, a very basic term even the most beginners could understand, if described properly. [img]graemlins/thumb.gif[/img]

Jmac 07-23-2004 11:30 PM

Except that if you actually run 50 watts or less from an amplifier that can produce up to 50 watts cleanly into a speaker that can handle 100 watts, it won't hurt the speaker [img]smile.gif[/img] Most beginners are under the impression that you WILL blow the speaker if you run this 100 watt speaker off this 50 watt amplifier, no matter the settings on the amplifier, because the speaker is being "underpowered."

Anyways, the point is that it's better to buy more power than you think you'll need [img]smile.gif[/img]

Chadxton 07-24-2004 01:03 AM

I have had no problem feeding 3x recommended power to my speakers.

After the install, and the equipment you use, it's all about the power. :D

[ July 24, 2004, 03:18 AM: Message edited by: Chadxton ]


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