amp watts into speaker watts

[matt78]

hi all,

sorry if this has been covered before, but my current amp is 120 watts per channel and my speakers are also 120 watts. i am currently looking at upgrading my amp followed by my speakers early next year. now what is the best way of matching watts? if my amp was 80 watts per channel and my speakers were say 120 watts would that be enough power for them? from my research most modern amps arnt any way near 120 watts per channel. please advise

 

[nopiano]

Unless you are complete headbanger with no awareness of what overdriving a loudspeaker sounds like you need worry no more about this. Any "matching" in terms of watts is virtually irrelevant. Let me try to explain.

120 watts is the maximum potential continuous output of your amp. In theory, 120 watts will not destroy your speakers. However, on music (rather than sine waves, upon which such measurements are typically based) you will probably average one watt and peak at 20 to 50. Unlikely to harm speaker or stretch amplifier.

Far more relevant is your speakers' impedance, and how low that goes (in ohms), and how well your amplifier tolerates low impedances. An 80watt amp is plenty for most rooms. This also links with efficiency, or electrical sensitivity of loudspeakers, usually shown as somewhere between 85 to 92db for 1 Watt. The bigger the dB the louder for a given input.

And above all this semi-technical guff, the most vital thing is does the amp sound good with those speakers!

PS. I haven't read this but it is likely to have some more info:-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker#Efficiency_vs._sensitivity

 

[matt78]

cheers, yeah i know to match ohms just wasnt sure about watts. think once ive upgraded my amp i wil take it to a shop and audition speakers in there sound room. i just want a better sound at low and high volumes, ideally i would have a mini pa, lol as i like loud dance music but also low accoustic and chilled music

 

[matt78]

cheers, yeah i know to match ohms just wasnt sure about watts. think once ive upgraded my amp i wil take it to a shop and audition speakers in there sound room. i just want a better sound at low and high volumes, ideally i would have a mini pa, lol as i like loud dance music but also low accoustic and chilled music

 

[matt78]

cheers, yeah i know to match ohms just wasnt sure about watts. think once ive upgraded my amp i wil take it to a shop and audition speakers in there sound room. i just want a better sound at low and high volumes, ideally i would have a mini pa, lol as i like loud dance music but also low accoustic and chilled music