Amp and speaker power ratio
Thread Starter
Scooby Regular
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 727
Likes: 0
From: South London
Hi all
please excuse if this is a novice question, but here goes.
I currently have Focal 165Vs (150W) in the front of my Scoob. I am planning to get an amp and sub to compliment the Focals.
What power does the amp need to be in order to give good quality sound? If the amp produces say 60W per channel, will this lead to sound distortion?
Also, what does RMS and WRMS stand for?
Thanks
Sonu
please excuse if this is a novice question, but here goes.
I currently have Focal 165Vs (150W) in the front of my Scoob. I am planning to get an amp and sub to compliment the Focals.
What power does the amp need to be in order to give good quality sound? If the amp produces say 60W per channel, will this lead to sound distortion?
Also, what does RMS and WRMS stand for?
Thanks
Sonu
Scooby Regular
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 236
Likes: 0
From: West Berkshire
I'm sure someone qualified will be along soon, but I'll stick my ha'penneth in anyway.
RMS is Root Mean Squared, and is essentially the continuous power than something will provide or take without going into meltdown. When referring to an amp's power output then distortion figure should also be quoted, and should be less than 1% to be of any use. A figure quoted at 10% distortion for example is pointless because it would sound terrible by that point. WRMS is Watts Root Mean Squared and for the sake of this discussion is exactly same thing.
First important thing - always compare like with like. RMS measurements are the best thing to use as they're fairly consistent. Some manufacturers quote things like "peak" or "max" power ratings. These are also pretty meaningless as everyone has their own idea of how to define "peak" !
As to matching amps to speakers, I always favour an amp with a higher power output than the speakers are rated for. Believe it or not, you can blow up speakers by using a low powered amp that is driven too hard. Also, an amp with a decent reserve of power will normally give better control over the speakers than a small amp. If I were to be forced into a rule of thumb, I'd say aim for an amp rated 25% higher than the speakers, remembering what I said above about RMS & peak power ratings.
Having said all that, here's a blatant plug for an amp I'm selling on eBay. Closes a 10pm so be quick
Steve.
RMS is Root Mean Squared, and is essentially the continuous power than something will provide or take without going into meltdown. When referring to an amp's power output then distortion figure should also be quoted, and should be less than 1% to be of any use. A figure quoted at 10% distortion for example is pointless because it would sound terrible by that point. WRMS is Watts Root Mean Squared and for the sake of this discussion is exactly same thing.
First important thing - always compare like with like. RMS measurements are the best thing to use as they're fairly consistent. Some manufacturers quote things like "peak" or "max" power ratings. These are also pretty meaningless as everyone has their own idea of how to define "peak" !
As to matching amps to speakers, I always favour an amp with a higher power output than the speakers are rated for. Believe it or not, you can blow up speakers by using a low powered amp that is driven too hard. Also, an amp with a decent reserve of power will normally give better control over the speakers than a small amp. If I were to be forced into a rule of thumb, I'd say aim for an amp rated 25% higher than the speakers, remembering what I said above about RMS & peak power ratings.
Having said all that, here's a blatant plug for an amp I'm selling on eBay. Closes a 10pm so be quick
Steve.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
