How are the number of watts determined?

[dirtbagz89 10+ year member]

This might sound like a stupid question but...

How do you know how many watts a sound sytem has?

Is it the amount the speakers have plus the amount the amp has?

Also, I'm looking at speakers and the one I'm looking at has 250 watts. Is that per speaker or the total of the 2?

I'm new to this and confused.

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[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

just the amps

 

[dirtbagz89 10+ year member]

just the amps

Really? Hmm...

So if I buy an amp with 250 watts...how many watts would teh speakers have to be for them not to blow? Under 250?

 

[Atimm693 10+ year member]

Your going to have to give us links on the amp and speakers for us to determine anything. We need to know RMS ratings, speaker type (subwoofer, 6x9 etc) and how many.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Here's a bit better method of approaching this ~

First, completely disregard any wattage rating given as "Peak" or "Max" output. Those aren't numbers that even remotely resemble what you'll be able to use in a real-world situation and consequently ratings presented as such are completely useless excepting for marketing purposes.

Secondly - RMS wattage (whether it be output on an amp or input on a speaker/subwoofer) is where its at - this is the statistic you need to pay attention to.

You look at the amp's output ratings which is given in X amount of wattage per channel when presented Y level of electrical resistance.

Ergo - 375w X 1 channel at 4 Ohms, 750w X 1 channel at 2 Ohms, and 1,500w X 1 channel at 1 Ohm is what my monoblock amp is rated for RMS output from the factory.

Then you need to look at what resistance load each of your speakers/subwoofers are. Additionally you want to figure out what method of wiring you are going to use to achieve the necessary resistance level for the amps you are using.

http://www.bcae1.com has an overabundant wealth of information contained within. It's a long read, to be sure, but an outstanding resource for the novice to the hobby and experienced "veterans" alike.

Take a moment or three and have a look at the reference material there. It's well worth any time invested learning there.