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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Car Audio / September 2004newbe - how do I best power new speakers?
I bought some pioneer 3-way speakers to replace the old stock units in my van. The van has 6.5" speakers in front and back. I bought two pair of the new pioneers to replace the old ones. I didn't really check out the new speakers (Oops) before I bought them, or I would have noticed that the nominal wattage required is 55watts (max 200)per speaker. Does this mean I need at least 110 watts for the front and 110 watts for the rears? My old head unit doesn't put out enough power to drive the new pioneers. I have disconnected the speakers, as I've heard you can damage speakers by under powering them. I'm planning on buying a new head unit. most likely one with 200 max watts. is this enough to drive the speakers? do I need to get an amp to drive them? if I do get an amp how many channels and watts would be best to buy? I don't really want to spend a ton of money, since my van isn't worth a lot. thank you for any advice or tips. That's maximum wattage, not minimum wattage. They will sound fine with a considerably lower-wattage amplifier. Have you tried your existing amplifier? Does it sound OK? At one time Radio City Music Hall was supplied with a single 100-watt amplifier. Most speakers are rated for more power than the amplifier can put out. It is very easy to damage speakers by overpowering them. You will not damage speakers by underpowering them unless you turn your volume and bass way up in an attempt to get sounds that your stereo can't produce. As long as you have normal-sounding sound coming out of them, they'll be fine. Only one special situation -- extremely heavy bass, severely clipped -- can damage speakers by "underpowering" (actually by making DC flow through them). That's a situation you can easily avoid because it sounds dreadful. Set your bass controls for good music -- not maximum bass -- and you'll be fine. >I bought some pioneer 3-way speakers to replace the old stock units in > my van. The van has 6.5" speakers in front and back. I bought two pair [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > thank you for any advice or tips. > Only one special situation -- extremely heavy bass, > severely clipped -- can damage speakers by "underpowering" (actually by > making DC flow through them). That's a situation you can easily avoid Clipping, even when severe, will never cause DC to flow. >> Only one special situation -- extremely heavy bass, >> severely clipped -- can damage speakers by "underpowering" (actually by >> making DC flow through them). That's a situation you can easily avoid > > Clipping, even when severe, will never cause DC to flow. Only momentarily. The top of a clipped wave is (temporary) DC. > >> Only one special situation -- extremely heavy bass, > >> severely clipped -- can damage speakers by "underpowering" (actually by [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Only momentarily. The top of a clipped wave is (temporary) DC. Nope. It may resemble a square wave to an extent, but alternating DC just does not make sense. Les > > Clipping, even when severe, will never cause DC to flow. > > Only momentarily. The top of a clipped wave is (temporary) DC. There's no such thing. You can't have a direct current that's alternating. That, by definition, is an alternating current. What you're describing is essentially a square wave. A square wave, when described by simple Fourier analysis, does not contain a DC component. I understand that the point you're trying to make is that the flatness of the peaks acts in a similar manner to that of DC applied to the speaker. But this isn't true either... > > > Clipping, even when severe, will never cause DC to flow. > > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > the peaks acts in a similar manner to that of DC applied to the speaker. > But this isn't true either... Awww Mark, you're no fun. Can't we just defy science just this one time? I mean, it won't hurt anything and most people won't even know that were doing it! Les thanks for all the great feedback. > That's maximum wattage, not minimum wattage. They will sound fine with a > considerably lower-wattage amplifier. Have you tried your existing [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > > > thank you for any advice or tips. Go ahead and hook up the new speakers again. The nominal power rating is a maximum, not a minimum. They might sound better with an amp, but you're not likely to damage them with your old head unit. > I bought some pioneer 3-way speakers to replace the old stock units in > my van. The van has 6.5" speakers in front and back. I bought two pair [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > thank you for any advice or tips. |
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