car audio questions

[Lao Tzu]

does peak wattage on the speakers refer to each speaker or both combined (i.e., 200 watt 6x9 speakers = 2 100 watt max speakers or 2 200 watt max speaker)?

what does nominal value on a speaker mean? its usually 1/5 of the max power

What is the decibel rating of a 200 watt system?

i am wanting a system about 120 dB tops. I think my stock radio is about 180 watts so i dont know what i need to add if anything.

 

[anabolicmd]

In most brands, the wattage ratings are innacurate and these no benchmark, so dont go by what you read.

 

[RADAR]

does peak wattage on the speakers refer to each speaker or both combined (i.e., 200 watt 6x9 speakers = 2 100 watt max speakers or 2 200 watt max speaker)?

what does nominal value on a speaker mean? its usually 1/5 of the max power

What is the decibel rating of a 200 watt system?

i am wanting a system about 120 dB tops. I think my stock radio is about 180 watts so i dont know what i need to add if anything.

Peak power rating is 10 times the rated RMS wattage-a continous power rating which is more accurate.
DB range depends upon several factors.including the amps power & speakers!

RADAR (CET)Electronics technician

 

[RADAR]

does peak wattage on the speakers refer to each speaker or both combined (i.e., 200 watt 6x9 speakers = 2 100 watt max speakers or 2 200 watt max speaker)?

what does nominal value on a speaker mean? its usually 1/5 of the max power

What is the decibel rating of a 200 watt system?

i am wanting a system about 120 dB tops. I think my stock radio is about 180 watts so i dont know what i need to add if anything.

Peak power rating is 10 times the rated RMS wattage-a continous power rating which is more accurate.
DB range depends upon several factors.including the amps power & speakers!
Check out Crutchfields line of audio systems.

RADAR (CET)Electronics technician

 

[Lao Tzu]

i have more questions. assume i get a 400 watt 4 channel amp and i already have a 180 watt 4 channel radio. Would that mean the wattage to each speaker was 100 watts or 145 watts?

 

[anabolicmd]

i have more questions. assume i get a 400 watt 4 channel amp and i already have a 180 watt 4 channel radio. Would that mean the wattage to each speaker was 100 watts or 145 watts?

Bro, I told you you cannot go by those numbers. Also, you cant hook up both the amp in the radio and your add on amp at once, one or the other. Most radios put out between 15 and 25 watts per channel.

 

[Lao Tzu]

Bro, I told you you cannot go by those numbers. Also, you cant hook up both the amp in the radio and your add on amp at once, one or the other. Most radios put out between 15 and 25 watts per channel.

how inaccurate are the wattage ratings? my main concern is blowing my speakers i figure as long as they have a higher wattage than the radio i should be fine.

 

[Ashamed]

Your questions are confusing...

 

[gonelifting]

Actually the higher wattage amplifier will be better for speakers than the lower one in regards to "blowing the speakers out". People wrongly assume it`s the opposite.

If you get a good powerful amp, It`s better than a cheap less powerful one.

I know in home audio, You can run for example 250 watt speakers with a 400 watt amp with no problem. That`s actually preffered.

 

[RADAR]

Actually the higher wattage amplifier will be better for speakers than the lower one in regards to "blowing the speakers out". People wrongly assume it`s the opposite.

If you get a good powerful amp, It`s better than a cheap less powerful one.

I know in home audio, You can run for example 250 watt speakers with a 400 watt amp with no problem. That`s actually preffered.

Good answer-that is correct...and no you cannot run 2 amplifiers in series(180watt radio-400watt amp) this result in overdriving the system.
In most cases its not the power that blows speakers but the distortion that is created riding the high output sine wave.

Like gonelifting says a cheap amp has more distortion ratio-even tho it may say 200watts,its not completely accurate.you may be lucky is get a clean 30 watts before distortion kicks in.
A good power amp $$$ is the way to go.


RADAR(CET)

 

[gonelifting]

Actually you can bi-amp speakers bi omitting the cable that connect the tweeters and voice/midrange drivers etc. In home applications that can be done. I don`t know about auto.

 

[Lao Tzu]

In most cases its not the power that blows speakers but the distortion that is created riding the high output sine wave.

RADAR(CET)

Thanks. you 2 seem to knwo what you're talking about sooooo

i have a pretty good stock radio right now so i dont think i need to replace that or anything. It is almost as loud as i want it but i'm afraid of turning up the volume higher for fear of blowing the speakers and due to distortion. SO what should i look for in speakers? would 250 watt speakers (2 6x9s & 2 6.5s)suffice for a system that pushes 110 dB?

How would an amplifier work if you attached it to a 200 watt stereo? like if you had a 200 watt, 4 channel stereo how would you add an amp to that?

 

[gonelifting]

Thanks. you 2 seem to knwo what you're talking about sooooo

i have a pretty good stock radio right now so i dont think i need to replace that or anything. It is almost as loud as i want it but i'm afraid of turning up the volume higher for fear of blowing the speakers and due to distortion. SO what should i look for in speakers? would 250 watt speakers (2 6x9s & 2 6.5s)suffice for a system that pushes 110 dB?

How would an amplifier work if you attached it to a 200 watt stereo? like if you had a 200 watt, 4 channel stereo how would you add an amp to that?

I don`t know the answer to that, but If the speakers you have are good, Then I would go with a higher amp for better sound.

 

[Lao Tzu]

thats the thing i dont know if the speakers are good as they are stock. i know nothing about them. i was just thinking of adding some new speakers ($90 total for the 4), 250 watt pioneers and hope they could handle the stereo w/o distortion.

What kind of amp would i use and what is a ballpark figure on how much it would cost? would it be a 200 x4, 400 x 4 or what?

 

[gonelifting]

Hopefully some else can answer. I don`t want to leave you ahnging now. I`m home audio

I would think that the higher amp would be more beneficial to your needs. (of the 2 you mentioned)

like I said before you don`t have to match the speakers to the ap 1 to 1. You get a higher amp than the speakers are rated for.

Somened else can chime in on car audio. Also, I think car audio specs are weird. I`ve seen 1000 watt amps for like $100. lol wtf? I have a 220 watt amp in my house and it shakes the house. I can`t believe those car specs to be true.

Unless they mean 200x5=1000. not sure

 

[Ashamed]

It is preferred to have more power on tap from the amplifier than is actually needed. This is because you want to minimise distortion at high volumes. Actualy it's clipping that is the real problem; it is clipping that causes distortion. Basically, clipping is when the output rails of the amplifier's output channels e.g. L, R, centre, etc. are exceeded and thus we have a flat DC output wave rather than an alternating DC output wave. What happens is the top bits of the output wave are chopped off at maximum rail voltage cos the desired voltage peaks cannot be reached. The delicate copper windings of the tweeters cannot handle pure high amplitude DC flatliners for long durations; the coil can burn out. I believe the tweeter is most at risk from amplifier distortion; the amp will probably be ok; they usually have thermal cut out anyway. Peak output or gain on most hi-fi amplifiers is 12oclock or half power with the high outputs (about 2-3v) of most soundcards and CDP's. Of course, this only really matters if you like loud volumes greater than say 12 oclock (half way) on your amp dial when playing a CD or MP3 at max volume on the CDP or soundcard. If you like more modest volumes, it is fine to run a 200W speaker with a 50W/ch amplifier.

Woofers fare well in the face of adversity.... but they can also be blown.. they too have delicate voice coils... only not quite as delicate as the tweeter's...

If you want maximum loudness for minimum outlay, you are best choosing the highest sensitivity speakers you can find... a speaker with a sensitivity of 88db/W/m will go half as loud for the same watt of power as a speaker with a sensitivity of 91db/w/m..

The problem with manufacturer's Wattage ratings is that they often qoute wattage output at different distortions and impedances so they cannot easily be compared....

 

[anabolicmd]

If you are stasrting out with a stock system, change the speakers. Just get a decent pair and dont worry too much. You can add an amp too, then you are pretty much et, unless you want da bass.