I was wondering if a system's speakers can hold what the amplifier pumps through.

Usualy, you get speakers who 'are' double as much watts as the amp can produce. So for example the speakers are 2 x 100 Watt while the amp delivers 2 x 50 Watt.

That way, is it impossible to break the speakers by turning up the volume? And what about when you turn on extra features like bass boost and the like?

If not, how many times must the watts of the speakers be bigger than the watts of the amp for no possible damage? I heard once that the speakers may not be too powerful for the amp. Where's the good balance?

What does rms mean? Has it anything to do with my question?

It all depends on how you hook-up to speakers? If you hook-up speakers in paralel the resistance is half of what they say. This means you get more power to the speakers and they will be louder then if you hooked them up by them selfs. But you can blow everything up quicker too (speakers and amp).

If you hook the speakers one on each side of the amp you will be fine. Most amps are rated at peak power. Which means they send one frequence to the amp and set the amp to make that frequence the most power.

If you hook up speakers up in series the resistance in the speakers is double.

R.M.S.=Root mean square,

http://www.telling-amplification.co.uk/power-ratings.html

hmm... I have 2 x 50 amp power and 2 x 100 speakers, one on each output of the amp.

When using eq settings like that bass boost, does that just mean that some frequencies are emphasized more, without them ever exceding the 50 watts, so without them ever being able of damaging the speakers?

Yes, it sounds like your amp is rated at 100w each side puts out 50w each. Your speakers are rated at 100w each. Bass Boost is when they take 0-100hz and boost the power to those signals. It may boost it to 50w in your case but you need to check with the manufactor. The bad thing with bass boost is it puts more stress on your sub woofers.

Usually damage comes to speakers from overheating the driver coil. While hooking up speakers in parallel, lowering the resistance and increasing the wattage, you also increase the heat that the speakers must deal with. For a long time, makers of equipment could not stablize a system that was running 2 ohms. Thermal runaway would shut the system down, if it was thermally protected or would burn out the driver coil or amp outputs. Advances have been made in car stereos and probably home stereo as well. Do not depend on cheaper stereos to have thermal protection. It is one of the reasons they are cheaper. A general sign that you are thermally protected is a pause after you turn on the amp before you hear music. Some systems use a low power "always on" that eliminates this so it is not a firm rule.

RMS or Root Mean Square is a standard for measuring outputs of stereos. Too many manufacturers had to many ways of measuring their product and there was no way to determine what you were actually buying and if it was worth the money. Pioneer is an example of one who makes you think you are buying something you are not. They use a unit called "music power" and it is not standard. Divide "music power" by 3 to come out with a rough equivalent.

Essentally, RMS measurement uses 70% of the amps output for continous driving. The other 30% is for transients such as a hand clap, or other quick nonsustained signal. The 30% is not for long term use and contains amp noise that is unacceptable to the ears in long term driving.

Over amping speakers is a sure way to blow them. The double wattage rating that manufactures couple to systems in the speakers is a sure way that they will meet the specs of the system and the user will not blow the speakers because of overdriving. Even 75% is acceptable but few manufacturers want to replace your speakers if they don't have to so they err on the side of caution.

Some of the better manufactures of systems under rate they equipment so that they can ensure that they will meet the specs of what ever they say their equipment is. That is rare so do not depend on it but there are makers that do this.

While Pioneer has long been known for excellent radio reciever sections their amp side sucks. That is why they use the "music power" rating. Uninformed customers will go for the brand name and the number they see. They are not getting what they think.

As you can see, I have a problem with Pioneer refusing to use the same scale and why that is.

The bad thing with bass boost is it puts more stress on your sub woofers.

yess... but never more than 50w, cause the amp can not give more, so never too much for the speakers?

Or is there a catch?

Are we dealing with home equipment or car equipment? If so what quality are we talking. It makes all the difference and what kind of options you have to do what with that you have.

a decent 50w rms amp can peak at twice that. it is a distorted signal that causes speaker damage in most cases. bass boost or loudness as it is commonly known in audiophile terminology is generally used in low volume settings. if you need it on in loud volumes, upgrade your speakers. trust your ears! if it sounds like shit, you are exceeding the amps capabilities.
dynamic range spec is what indicates how much an amp can exceed its rms rating.

Most equilazers, bass boosts, ect. are preamp. They process the signal before it reaches the amps. As spookz has mentioned, you can distort the signal to be amplified and then the amp makes it even worse if it is turned louder than it should be.

Spookz has given you a basic rule of thumb to be used, no matter what the quality or what is hooked up and it is a good one.

damn you, pre-amp!!

I really would like a system that is capable of playing at max volume with all bells on. Not to play it that loud, but to know it can do that. I do not risk trying with my system.

It is a FW730C Philips mini hifi system. Best buy according to a consumer organisation in Belgium a good five years ago. I am pleased with the sound, although it can't compete with man size speakers.

Which reasonably prized system would you recommend for the future, or what is a good thing to look at when buying one?

Is it worth buying those "class 1" speakers, costing beaucooup money?

dude
this is inefficient.
newsstand> stereo mag section>browse>buy>home>expert!

dude!

you're right!

thanks for the tip and the previous advise.

Could you paste me an url? I can only find newspapers there.

http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/speakers_corner/discussion/buyers_guide_hifi_separates/_review_list/

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ye/adven.html

http://www.onhifi.com/askwes.shtml

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/buyingguides/loudspeakers/index.php

http://www.cyberway.com.sg/~meowcat/hifi1.htm

http://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=choosing+low+end+hifi+buy



;)

Depends on what you want and what you can afford. I have had several systems costing $1000's. The difference is that you can hear the smallest things in the good systems that are simply not there in lower quality systems. Such as the sound of the pick hitting the string before the string rings it's note or the sound of the drumstick hitting before the cymbol rings. Also the ability to fool you, such as hearing someone knock at the door, only no one is there, or the phone ring but it isn't.

You will always have to live within the confines of your systems rating. What that rating is determines the cost as the parts put into the equipment and the design requirements to meet those ratings is more expensive as you increase the parameters.

For instance, one Teac reel to reel I have includes adjustable 25 watt preamp outputs. The boost makes the sound much more clear but only if your equipment can handle it. Hook it to a cheapy and it will sound cheap. Hook it to good stuff and even the pets are fooled into thinking it is real. Your speakers can only say what your equipment is capable of. The reverse is true too.

<img src="http://www.sciforums.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=225765">

This is one that I used to have. I have the stereo version of it now.

damn wet!

if i think real hard i might remember those. teacs were THE tape decks! remember revox?

i had marantz amp, thorens turntable (shure cartridge), tandberg cassette (dual capstan,3 motors), revox tape, jensen speakers!!

:D

now my hifi is my computer

;)

I now have Denon and Kentwood for a dual reciever hookup. Denon and Marantz speakers. (The Marantz I had to replace the 15's in last year) Needed the two reciever hookup for enough input connections to hook everything to.

If you want real fun! set up 10-20 thousand dollar sound system for a bowling alley,bar. they want music every where. From bathrooms,kitchens,workshop,lanes and bar. and they want to be able to control the vol. to it all. Then they want to get music from everything (internet,cd player,t.v.,radio)

:D

Revox B77 Tape Recorder brochure from January 1984

http://www.reeltoreel.de/worldwide/B77-2.htm

:D

http://www.megabaud.fi/~jtolonen/ga/revox/revox.html

I won't mention the total cost of the system but it is in that neighborhood. However, it is just a home system and so the demands are only what I would hook to it.

You are correct that when you go to hooking in for multi-room, seperate volumes you are looking at nightmares for hookups. Not to mention the fun of hunting down a bad wire somewhere later on. I will be quite content to have you enjoy that fun. Multiple inputs can be another nightmare. I well understand where you are coming from. I installed stereos for several years at a business while figuring out what I would like to do with my life at one point in time.

Spooz, I remember the first one but not the second one.

Broken wires are a pain in the "backside". Because somebody caused you this headache. I would love to make the person responible for it have to chase it done and fix it

I agree with your observation.

I do think we have diverged from A4ever's initial topic though, of speakers and amps.

The reason that I had asked what we are dealing with in whether it is home or car is that with car audio you have the option with a lot of amps of doing a mono hookup and seperate the bass from the mid and highs. This allows you to beef the bass without affecting the mid and highs. This option is not open to a home system in that sense. Makers are now reaching in that direction though.

http://www.beamecho.mcmail.com/images/esl.jpg

quad electrostatic, mine was grey. i built a subwoofer to boost the low end. mine was grey

:D

Originally posted by Ghost
Broken wires are a pain in the "backside". Because somebody caused you this headache. I would love to make the person responible for it have to chase it done and fix it

quite the business man aint ya?

;)

The because problem with talking sound system is you don't know how much the other person knows or understands.

The best part of installing sound systems is the MONEY!

Nice spooks.

Agree on the money. Comes quick and when the job is over.


Some speakers I had at one time... (4 of them)
<img src="http://www.sciforums.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=225825">

6 speakers per cabinet

People, I am afraid I am out of this league... talk to me again in a couple of years :)

Thanks for the tips and the links.

A4ever,

No one started with this kind of stuff. So don't think your stuff isn't good enough. You had questions, amongest us I think we have your answers.

I can remember having a portable 6 transistor radio and being proud of it.

If anything, what has been posted here is a way of showing someone might have that knowledge you are seeking. Please continue to ask.

Reciever that went with the speakers.

<img src="http://www.sciforums.com/attachment.php?s=&postid=225874">

I was once told " the only bad question is the question you don't ask". That is the fun in a place like this. If you don't know something, somebody here does. All you have to to is ask

Wet1,

my comment was a friendly and happy one. I like hearing about what stuff is out there and why it is good.

I am happy with what I got. It was a big improvement over what I had before. It is surely enough music power for the apartment I live in. It has beautiful sound for the speaker size and the prize.

I will ask more questions if I have them, but it is only fair to first read the provided links and use the information in them.

When I start working and I save up some money which we don't need for anything urgent, I will spend it on a high quality stereo., rather than on a plasma tv or anything.

Music are the future, and music are the past.

:D

pater had a grundig radiogram

If I came through overbearing, it was not meant to be that. Apologies if necessary, A4ever.

Music has long been my life enjoyment. These pics displayed are some of the things I have had or enjoy now.

As a matter of fact I am fixing to shut this down and see if I can rip some reels to mp3. Reels do eventually degrade by magnetic transfer between layers. Some of my reels I have had for near 30 years. That is a long time to enjoy music you love.

Not necessary, Wet1. I just didn't want to come across as a jealous child, two things I am not :)

Have fun.