Newbie Advice

[mrnbooc]

Hi All, I am not new to car stereos but I am new to doing it myself. In the past I would just hand the money o the technician and tell him what I wanted. But now in the DIY age I am tempted to try to design, setup and install a system myself.

I am starting to understand the basics of the stereo systems but there is one thing that is still confusing me.

When selecting speakers and amps what numbers are more important RMS or the max the speaker can handle?

Do I buy an amp based on the RMS or max wattage the speaker can handle?

Why do speakers that have 80watt RMS,120watt max sell for the same price as a speaker with 150watt RMS,300watt max? Am I missing something?

Thanks

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[passthegreen 10+ year member]

rms is more important

 

[Enellz 10+ year member]

Go to the wiring/ boards and read up on there, and just read posts in general. Questions get answered all the time. And yes go by rms, and learn how to wire subs correctly. Ohms play a big part in picking a sub and amplifer

edit: And what speakers do you speak of?

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

wattage ratings are not standardized. Each company can use their own 'formula' for their RMS rating. This is why you'll have some higher RMS speakers that are cheaper. Same goes for amps.

And lower RMS doesn't mean a speaker/amp won't sound/work better than one at a higher rating.

 

[mapolley07 10+ year member]

max wattage means nothing, look at RMS.....

 

[Kai Winters 10+ year member]

You're also dealing with quality of materials as well when asking about power handling characteristics.

You need to deal with the total package not one aspect especially when dealing with speakers...especially when considering subs...whew they can be much more complex than they seem to be.

Plan your system around the types of music you listen to, the "loudness" levels you may want to listen to...most don't have their systems at max volume at all times...and your budget.

Max power output of an amp and max wattage of a speaker deals with how much power the amp will put out or the speaker will take under maximum load...this is certainly not much of a technical definition but should work for the basics.

Most do not push their systems near their max outputs...generally because while hard on the hardware it also starts suffering from "noise" other than music which is the killer of speakers.

While more is generally always better that is not necessarily true in all cases.