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mrlewp
join:2012-07-15
Gainesville, FL

mrlewp

Member

Speaker RMS vs. Radio Watts Power

Just wanting to replace basic speakers in car. They are 6X9 in. The new radio is only rated at 17W, and that's adding! the 4 spkrs., which I know isn't a true value.
Regardless, dilemma is finding a simple pair of spkrs. that's not rated at a billion Peak watts! (ha) I really find it not believable that a pair for $30 can be capable of handling
350 watts, but will a very low power device sufficiently drive a spkr that's in a much higher league?
Only online have I seen some rated at 30W for ex., which would seem a far better match to me. Please, only if you know for sure- not just a hunch or feeling. Anyone know, can I pick up the ones in store (350W), or seek online for ~20W, 30W, or so?

Tursiops_G
Technoid
MVM
join:2002-02-06
Brooksville, FL
ARRIS TM1602

Tursiops_G

MVM

Look for wattage ratings in RMS or Peak power (not the Bogus "Peak Music Power" rating that some dubious companies like to use for a marketing gimmick. )

Note: This is only *MY* Opinion, but Speaker Peak power ratings should be approximately Twice the Amplifier's RMS output rating to prevent damage on extremely loud passages (like cranking the volume to 100% while playing 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' For example ).

With an Amplifier rated at 17W per channel RMS output, speakers rated at 35W Peak would be a good match. Paying more for anything higher is just a waste of money, IMHO.

mrlewp
join:2012-07-15
Gainesville, FL

mrlewp

Member

Thanks. That's 17W total! Not per spkr. If memory serves me, I found that they were 75W RMS rated.
DDK65JAG
join:2009-06-09
Cambridge, MD

DDK65JAG to mrlewp

Member

to mrlewp
Good question mrlewp.....I'm a guitar player & a lot of us pick our speakers very
carefully. After all, it's the speakers you actually hear not the stereo. So, my
advice is going to be generic, since I'm not familiar with specific car stereo products.
Your BS meter seems to be working fine, Peak watts is a marketing term derived
from driving a speaker or amp at an undisclosed freq. for an undisclosed period of time. Meaningless! Good products will be rated in Watts RMS or possibly continuous
music power.
Here's my list of important specs. In order of importance(some may disagree).

1. Ohm rating - This must match the stereo output Ohm rating(ie 2,4,8,16).
2. Power handling - this should be equal to or greater than the stereo's total
power output. I would recommend 2X, so if 17W is total output 30W spkrs
will give you some overhead & probably a better sound at higher volumes &
less chance of ever blowing a spkr.
3. Frequency range - The ability of the speakers to reproduce sound in the freqs.
that matter to you. Within reason, 6x9 won't do a good job @ very low freqs.
4. Speaker sensitivity - Rated in SPL (db @ 1 watt/1 meter). The higher this is
the louder the spkrs will be. Each added 10db will make it sound 2X as loud.
? Price - This is a wild card, you'll have to insert this according to your budget.

Happy shopping, ddk.


foureight
@50.138.50.x

foureight to mrlewp

Anon

to mrlewp
as mentioned, use the 2x factor for power rating of the speakers.

17 sounds like a strange number for total watts, cause that'd be 4.25 watts per channel, odd.
17 per channel sounds more normal.
can you confirm that, or say the model # of the radio?

partly mentioned: many car audio, amps and speakers, are rated at 4 ohms instead of the 8 ohms that home stereos are rated at. using 4 ohms gives doubled numbers for power, sounds bigger but really isn't. if, for example, the radio is spec'd at 17 watts at 4 ohms, it's rating at 8 ohms would be half that, 8.5 watts.

just guessing, too, about the ones in the store, if their 300 watt rating is 2x exaggerated (peak watts instead of rms watts) at the 4 ohm spec, they'd be 75 watts rated normally. they should work too.
can you say the model you were looking at at 350 watts?

you should be able to find something local in the 30 watt range. walmart, best buy, etc etc.