i want to learn about stereo/ speaker watts and rms and stuff

[Rome702]

where can a newb to car audio learn about this kinda stuff? i saw a link for www.bcae1.com but thats alot of reading, im looking for maybe a shorter version to get a good grasp on whats what faster while i read the novel that is bcae1.com.

i have sony stuff and want to get new speakers, i have 2 amps, 2 subs and my 4 speakers and i dont really know how the watts and rms watts relate from the amps to the speakers. i want to get new front speakers and wanna size them properly i guess, any help so ill know better and be an educated shopper?

also i wanna learn about 2 way, 3 way, and 4 way and whats the difference and what applications there for. thx for any helpful info

id also like to learn something about "componant" speakers? im lost with car audio. im sure we all were at some point :P

Ya I have a small 444w amp for my 4 speakers and a 1000w amp for my subs.

I was wondering, my small amp will give more power if I only use it for the 2 rear speakers. Can I use he built in head unit amp to power my front 2 speakers? The head unit says 50x4. It's 17 watts rms x4. I was wondering g if I can get 30-40 rms x2 to power my front speakers.



On a side note all my Sony stuff is over 5 years old. But works great. I have no complaints. I just want to put my ex pods back in up front. I picked up some kenwoods and am gonna throw them in tomorrow.

All you have to do to get the power out of your amp to power all 4 speakers... is bridge the front 2 speakers together and the rear 2 speakers together on the amp

[Rome702]

So the more ways a speaker has the better? And more rms and peak watts on your amp is better then more on your speakers?

You will want your amp to supply more power than what your speakers can handle. Do not worry about peak watts, cause they dont mean a thing... the RMS is what is important. Always remember to little power is more damaging to your speakers than to much power. The ways of the speaker depends on the setup you are doing. If you want a simple system that doesnt take a lot of work than go with a four way speaker. if you are goin to run a system with major bass and an EQ, then you will want to go with specific drivers for those frequencies

[sonikaccord]

a simple way to buy audio based on watts is to look at the RMS of the amp and speaker. Now remember that Impedance will have a lot to do with how your speakers will function with that wattage. Just remember, to little power creates to much impedance causing the speakers to over heat, so always chose an amp pushing more power than what is needed, cuz the amp gain can always be turned down.

Power doesn't create impedance/resistance. They aren't related in that matter.
P=VI...

[sdhardcoregamer]

All you have to do to get the power out of your amp to power all 4 speakers... is bridge the front 2 speakers together and the rear 2 speakers together on the amp

Will that work? How does it work?

[platinumb]

when choosing speakers you need to make sure that you add up the peak watts.. and rms of the speakers you will connect to the amp. if your amp has 1000 watts peak and 500 rms lets say, and your speakers only add up to 700 watts peak and 250 rms.. welll then chances are you may blow those speakers cause the amp is putting out more power then the speakers can handle. Now you can run them regardless, and just make sure you don't turn the volume up to loud, or set the gain on the amp to its lowest setting. But no matter what it is always better to pair your speakers as close as possible to the power rating on your amp both to protect your speakers, as well as get the most sound out of your investment

When properly adjusted it is not possible to blow a speaker by using an amp with too much power, 99% of speakers blow from too much distortion in he signal delivered to them, usually because they are run with an amplifier that does not have enough power to run the speaker without overworking. The gain on the amp although it changes the output level really shouldn't be used to compensate for too much or too little power there is really only one correct setting for the gain it's function is to latch the input of he amplifier to he pre amp output sending it the signal, for example if your deck has a 4 volt pre amp output, then there is only one correct setting for the gain no matter what speaker is hooked up to it. Hard part is most decks oher than eclipse and some older alpine units the pre amp voltage varies with bass treble and volume adjustments so setting the gain perfectly is more by sound hN actuall voltage. Wow sorry I was pretty far off topics rambling.

[platinumb]

a simple way to buy audio based on watts is to look at the RMS of the amp and speaker. Now remember that Impedance will have a lot to do with how your speakers will function with that wattage. Just remember, to little power creates to much impedance causing the speakers to over heat, so always chose an amp pushing more power than what is needed, cuz the amp gain can always be turned down.

???

[Rome702]

When properly adjusted it is not possible to blow a speaker by using an amp with too much power, 99% of speakers blow from too much distortion in he signal delivered to them, usually because they are run with an amplifier that does not have enough power to run the speaker without overworking. The gain on the amp although it changes the output level really shouldn't be used to compensate for too much or too little power there is really only one correct setting for the gain it's function is to latch the input of he amplifier to he pre amp output sending it the signal, for example if your deck has a 4 volt pre amp output, then there is only one correct setting for the gain no matter what speaker is hooked up to it. Hard part is most decks oher than eclipse and some older alpine units the pre amp voltage varies with bass treble and volume adjustments so setting the gain perfectly is more by sound hN actuall voltage. Wow sorry I was pretty far off topics rambling.

lack of power from the amp does create resistance/impedance. thats why when you bridge a speaker, it lowers the ohm (Impedance of the speaker), because it has more power being pushed through the line. Impedance is caused by something drawing more power than what is produced. If you have to much impedance, then the speaker starts to over work itself to compensate.

[sonikaccord]

lack of power from the amp does create resistance/impedance. thats why when you bridge a speaker, it lowers the ohm (Impedance of the speaker), because it has more power being pushed through the line. Impedance is caused by something drawing more power than what is produced. If you have to much impedance, then the speaker starts to over work itself to compensate.

Again...turning the volume knob to the left does NOT "create" impedance.
No, more power being pushed through the speaker does not mean that the impedance has lowered.
You can't bridge a speaker only an amp.
Wiring speakers in parallel DOES lower resistance.
Impedance attempts to stop current flow. It's frequency based not power based.
Too much impedance would cause less power to the speaker.

In simple terms, the speaker is dumb. It doesn't actively respond to the amp.