Simple question...?

[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

I'm looking to get new speakers(6.5" components) but I have no idea what the ratings on them mean. I'm going to have 150w RMS to them from an Alpine amp. Should I get speakers that are rated more than that 150w max? Higher the rating the louder they can get? What are the important specs I should be looking into to research which set to buy? Thanks for the education.

Dave

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[prodgod 10+ year member]

If you're looking to run 150 rms to them, you should look for a set that are rated around 150 rms. Although, if they are a quality set of components, you should be able to run quite a bit more power to them than what they are rated at.

 

[kr580]

Don't focus so much on the MAX rating, but rather the RMS rating. As prodgod said, look for speakers with ~150 RMS ratings.

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

Sensitivity will give you a better idea of how loud they will get for the amount of power apllied than what the power handling will.

90dB sensitivity will get twice as loud as 87db with the same amount of power applied. Just be sure that both manufacturers measure at 1w/1m for a fair comparison. Some measure at 2.83v/1m, so read carefully.

 

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

Sensitivity will give you a better idea of how loud they will get for the amount of power apllied than what the power handling will.
90dB sensitivity will get twice as loud as 87db with the same amount of power applied. Just be sure that both manufacturers measure at 1w/1m for a fair comparison. Some measure at 2.83v/1m, so read carefully.

I would only consider sensitivity an important rating if I were running of

Headunit power. What different sets of speakers do at 1 watt may not be

what they do at 25 or 50 or 100. Do a lot of searching in this speaker

area, narrow it down to a few options and sneak in a versus thread.

 

[soloXgt 10+ year member]

most important, how do they sound on the power they are getting. some speakers I have heard sound REALLY good with a lot of power, other don't. some soung good when they are loud, others, not so good. bottom line, buy what sounds good to you.

 

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

Your budget and sound preferences would help us make specific recommendations.

 

[GTO Dave 10+ year member]

Sensitivity will give you a better idea of how loud they will get for the amount of power apllied than what the power handling will.
90dB sensitivity will get twice as loud as 87db with the same amount of power applied. Just be sure that both manufacturers measure at 1w/1m for a fair comparison. Some measure at 2.83v/1m, so read carefully.

Thanks for helping me again Beav , although I'm baffled by this. How is 90db twice as loud as 87db? What does 1w/1m mean? Sorry but I'm REALLY stupid when it comes to this stuff.

People tell me to go listen to different speakers at a store, but wouldn't they sound different in different vehicles? Maybe at the store and in a Honda they are great but in my truck they don't? I'm just trying to make a good decision here and buy some good ones so I'm trying to learn this stuff.

Budget for 6.5" comps would be around $500 give or take. I like all kinds of music if that's what your asking. Suggest away.

Dave

 

[yunvme666 10+ year member]

actually if ya want some 3 way components theres boston acoustic pro 6.53 on our local craigslist... i was gonna get them but i dunno what i want.....lol....

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

I would only consider sensitivity an important rating if I were running of Headunit power. What different sets of speakers do at 1 watt may not be

what they do at 25 or 50 or 100. Do a lot of searching in this speaker

area, narrow it down to a few options and sneak in a versus thread.

Sensitivity is the rating to consider when trying to decide which is going to be louder in a given application, which is what the OP was asking... However, this has nothing to do with how the speaker will sound.

The best way to determine what you like the sound of is to audition several sets. I still say to look into the following sets...

Pioneer 720PRS

Alpine SPX17-Pro

Polk SR6500

There are many others that will perform great, also, but I think all of these are solid choices and hard to go wrong with.

 

[mcsoul 10+ year member]

Sensitivity is the rating to consider when trying to decide which is going to be louder in a given application, which is what the OP was asking... However, this has nothing to do with how the speaker will sound.
The best way to determine what you like the sound of is to audition several sets. I still say to look into the following sets...

Pioneer 720PRS

Alpine SPX17-Pro

Polk SR6500

There are many others that will perform great, also, but I think all of these are solid choices and hard to go wrong with.

Agreed. However the "application" for a sensitivity rating is built-in; it is 1 watt.

I do not think you are trying to say that a 90db speaker will always be louder than an 87db efficient speaker when both speakers are receiving 100 watts, are you? If so, maybe I need to learn something.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[BEAVER.989 10+ year member]

Agreed. However the "application" for a sensitivity rating is built-in; it is 1 watt.I do not think you are trying to say that a 90db speaker will always be louder than an 87db efficient speaker when both speakers are receiving 100 watts, are you? If so, maybe I need to learn something.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Yes, I am. This is assuming that both speakers are capable of taking 100w.