question about cd players and speakers?
question about cd players and speakers?
ok i got these speakers for my 240 hatch because they are really good speakers and they were really cheap they have 140 watts and now i want to get a cd player put in and it has 200 watts does the numbers really matter? or if i matched them up would they sound better? thanks!
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Looneybomber
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Re: question about cd players and speakers? (memo0586)
Out of curiousity, what speakers did you buy and what headunit are you thinking about getting?
Umm, where to start. Hmm.
Speaker manufactures will give a wattage rating for their speakers. Essentially it tells you how much power a speaker can handle without burning up because all of that power gets turned into heat which the voicecoil must disipate or burn up. The more power it can disipate, the more power it can handle/accept for a longer period of time.
Quality manufactures will rate their speakers with a wattage per time because they know their equipment will be used for competitions. They will say "2000w for 15seconds or 1000w for an hour". Other crappier speakers might be rated at "2000w peak/1000w RMS", However, I could easily blow that speaker with much less power. It all depends on the throw of the speaker, the enclosure it's in and the signal it is sent.
The rated max power of a speaker really doesn't tell you much.
Headunits (radios)When you say your headunit is rated at 200w, that is all four channels combined at max power. 50w x 4. It will likely only be able to produce 3/5-1/2 of that without a lot of distortion. So, you're now looking at around 25-30watts per speaker of fairly clean sound.
Watts=powerSpeakers don't "have" power, they "handle" the power.CD players (aka headunits) don't "have" power either, they "produce" the power.memo0586 wrote:...speakers...they have 140 watts...cd player...has 200 watts
Umm, where to start. Hmm.
Speaker manufactures will give a wattage rating for their speakers. Essentially it tells you how much power a speaker can handle without burning up because all of that power gets turned into heat which the voicecoil must disipate or burn up. The more power it can disipate, the more power it can handle/accept for a longer period of time.
Quality manufactures will rate their speakers with a wattage per time because they know their equipment will be used for competitions. They will say "2000w for 15seconds or 1000w for an hour". Other crappier speakers might be rated at "2000w peak/1000w RMS", However, I could easily blow that speaker with much less power. It all depends on the throw of the speaker, the enclosure it's in and the signal it is sent.
The rated max power of a speaker really doesn't tell you much.
Headunits (radios)When you say your headunit is rated at 200w, that is all four channels combined at max power. 50w x 4. It will likely only be able to produce 3/5-1/2 of that without a lot of distortion. So, you're now looking at around 25-30watts per speaker of fairly clean sound.
Do the numbers matter? Not really. Do you want to match them up? Because speakers are typically rated higher than what it takes to blow them, I say no. There will be others that will disagree with me because you're basically wondering if you should "amp limit" your system or not. Amp limiting is a debate that has been going on since you were born. Everyone has their own opinions.memo0586 wrote:...does the numbers really matter? or if i matched them up would they sound better? thanks!
Re: question about cd players and speakers? (memo0586)
Gotta tell you, man, that's a pretty rare combination unless there was a going out of business sale or something. Hey, for a basic understanding, try looking at Crutchfield. They're not necessarily the best to buy from, but the catalog/website have pretty good explanations of most of the basic terminology, abbreviations, etc., that pertain to car stereo. Just a suggestion.memo0586 wrote:...they are really good speakers and they were really cheap...