is there a difference in sound vs wattage, power, and rms?

[Falkor]

my lenghty and specific question is this, all things being equal (except the parts that are listed)

is there a difference in sound from a 500w sub vs a 1000w sub running at 500w?

specifically, let's say i have a 1000w amp rated at 500wRMS.

would a 500w (RMS) woofer sound identical to a 1000w woofer running at 500w?

explanation; I just got a used amp that puts out 800w, and i have an old woofer with 400w (rms).

i'd like to get a new woofer, but would a 800w woofer be any louder if i run the amp at say 20% and 300w most of the time ?

also, i might buy another amp that's rated at 3000w (or more), can I run a 1000w sub on it and only turn it up to push out at 500w and it will sound the same ?

basically, does 300w always sound like 300w regardless of the speaker or amp?

or does a 300w woofer sound better with an amp designed to push 300w, and using a more powerful amp dwindle the quality or sound?

follow up, does a 1000w woofer sound any better or worse when it's run at a lower wattage?

i guess i have a lot of questions.

please excuse any terminology errors.

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[The Camry]

my lenghty and specific question is this, all things being equal (except the parts that are listed)
is there a difference in sound from a 500w sub vs a 1000w sub running at 500w?

specifically, let's say i have a 1000w amp rated at 500wRMS.

would a 500w (RMS) woofer sound identical to a 1000w woofer running at 500w?

Depends on the sensitivity. Some subs get louder on the same power. Sub A might be louder than a diff brands sub B, with both on 500rms. I dont know a ton about subwoofer parts but subs with higher rms rating, tend to have stiffer parts(i assume) and thus need more power to be able to move them efficiently.

explanation; I just got a used amp that puts out 800w, and i have an old woofer with 400w (rms).

i'd like to get a new woofer, but would a 800w woofer be any louder if i run the amp at say 20% and 300w most of the time ?

You get a 3db boost in loudness when you either A: Double the power. B: double the cone area. Two subs on 500 rms is exactly the same loudness as one sub at 1000rms. Those all being the same exact subwoofer.

also, i might buy another amp that's rated at 3000w im not sure you quite understand manufacturer specs. There is no regulation in this industry. A 3000watt max amp wont do 3000 watts. Your looking for the RMS rating and even then, unless its a reputable company. They are probably lieing. To run 3k watts, you'd need extra batteries/ aftermarket high output alternator.(or more), can I run a 1000w sub on it and only turn it up to push out at 500w and it will sound the same ?

basically, does 300w always sound like 300w regardless of the speaker or amp?

or does a 300w woofer sound better with an amp designed to push 300w, and using a more powerful amp dwindle the quality or sound?

follow up, does a 1000w woofer sound any better or worse when it's run at a lower wattage?

i guess i have a lot of questions.

please excuse any terminology errors.

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[Falkor]

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interesting point on its sensativity.

I've thought anything under 90 was un-wanted and yet i see some

I've also considered cone material and coil size, but all things equal, "does a woofer perform better at its rated RMS or is that just a guideline for the amps?"

and all manufacturing specs aside, consider my question with just thinking we really know the true specs whether they be cone specs (paper vs kevlar) or coil diameters and true distortion levels from the signal.

 

[The Camry]

https://www.jblpro.com/pages/general_faq.htm

http://www.jblpro.com/pub/technote/spkpwfaq.pdf

Subwoofer RMS ratings? - diyAudio

 

[blazian87 10+ year member]

interesting point on its sensativity.I've thought anything under 90 was un-wanted and yet i see some

I've also considered cone material and coil size, but all things equal, "does a woofer perform better at its rated RMS or is that just a guideline for the amps?"

and all manufacturing specs aside, consider my question with just thinking we really know the true specs whether they be cone specs (paper vs kevlar) or coil diameters and true distortion levels from the signal.

depends on the company really.. some overrate and some underrate. If you're comparing two different subs using the same power, in your example a 500w rated sub with a 1000w rated sub, typically the 500w sub will just sound louder because it's getting close to it's full potential whereas the 1000w+ sub sounds like it's just getting started, barely getting tickled. Running a 1000w sub with lower wattage amp doesn't make it sound worse per se, it just makes things kinda boring. You're expecting more, so you might end up turning the gain up more higher to compensate, which leads to it sounding worse because of distortion. On the other hand, if you have a super efficient box, you can get away with much less power and still be in the range you need to be.

To answer your other questions, it's good to have headroom for your subs so you can push it to it's limits without sending a clipped signal and to keep your amp running cool, but getting a 3000w amp and pushing it to a 1000w rated sub is pretty stupid.. there's a chance you might blow something if you're not careful. get the appropriate amp for the sub so you don't end up wasting money for nothing. This hobby is not cheap so there's nothing cool about having 3000w in hand if you're not actually gonna using it. 800w amp for a 400w rated sub would be just fine though. You'd be suprised how many 500w subs can actually handle 1000w daily if you look around.

 

[fly_marlin]

Additionally, below are links to pretty good papers on SQ:

GlassWolf's Pages

GlassWolf's Pages

GlassWolf's Pages

One of the first things I can recommend for you is to never think of scenarios in a vacuum as there will also be variables that will change the outcome. People above have touched on good points. I'll sum some things up for you. More power is generally good. Well, within reason. I generally buy amps that are rated (RMS power) higher than my drivers. For example, my I have 150w midrange speakers and my amp is capable of delivering over 200w at that impedance. My subs are 1200w total and the amp driving them is 2000w. As mentioned earlier, this yields healthy headroom for your drivers. As you double the power, you get +3db or so in volume increase. I've always said that providing more power does much more for sound quality than it does for loudness. For example, if you have a 1000W woofer and give it 500W, it will definitely move. If you give it 1000W, it will still move and you won't notice a significant increase in loudness, but you will notice the difference in its performance. It will play with more authority, especially in the low end. The lower the frequency, the more power it takes to reproduce it at the same output level. Also, you can't really compare subwoofers with different power ratings. Simply put, a 1000W sub will generally have more "stuff" in it than a 500W sub, so chances are it will take a bit more power to get it to move the same amount as a lower rated sub. You can read up about speaker dynamics on your own to find out exactly what all these components are. Sensitivity can be looked at this way: if 2 subs have the same sensitivity, given the same power, box, etc - ideally, you can expect them to produce the same SPL. Again, this is not always true as they will also have different Fs (resonant frequency) and even with the same power, one may be slightly louder than the other at certain frequencies.

Enclosure you stick the woofer in as at least as important as the driver itself. The larger the box, the more efficient the system is and the less power it can handle. That's why box design is paramount.

As far as power ratings go, and this was mentioned earlier, there is not a central authority governing these. There is such thing as being CEA-2006 compliant to assure the purchaser of an amp that the advertised parameters are indeed true, but not all companies subscribe to that. That's why Boss audio can claim to have a 5000W amp for $150. They know guys in the community test their crap, but they don't care - there are enough Joes out there to justify them not caring. Generally, smaller companies that you often see mentioned on this and other forums, are more trustworthy. They rely on us and word of mouth. They know equipment gets tested and they care.