Originally posted by m83x both sides have made their point clearly...and now im a bit confused.. hehe
but zane, i just want to clarify what he said, this -->
"If driving a speaker with low power would cause them to fail, speakers would fail every time you lower the volume on the head unit"
you see, when you play a music on low volume on a stock car audio system, there's no "stress" on the HU coz its not delivering everything its got, even if its on full blast, still there will be no much stress coz they are matched properly by car manufacturers... (but still there is distortion on the speakers)
I can see how this would be a little confusing. Basically what he is saying here is that- when used properly (within the HU's safe operating capability) the volume control will not cause any problems. It is when the volume control of the HU is turned past this point, clipping/ distortion appear. This is contingent upon the HU's Bass and Treble settings. Thus the example used as hearing people drive arround with thier systems cranked- with obvious distortion and interference in the music.
When the volume on a HU is reduced- its output power is also reduced as the voltage drops. - What he means here is that- effectively, every time the volume control is lowered- you are basically decreasing or underpowering your speakers.
unlike a low power amp and a high power sub, when u play it low.. its in the wont do damage, i know that.... but when the time comes you crank it, there will be no stress on the HU but there is on the amps... as well as the subs, and i think there's a big difference in stock car audio and a car audio system upgrade...
A little contradictive from your previous statement, but here goes:
"Cranking the HU volume above the safe operating zone (usually at 75% of its total ouput causes the signal to your amplifiers to begin to clip. This will produce distortion, and cause speaker damage. Cranking the gain at the amplifier also can do this- as the signal from the HU to the amp becomes unbalanced, thus a higher gain setting will cause the amplifier to get louder faster when the HU's volume is increased-(which may be louder than the amplifiers capable clean output) which also causes clipping and speaker damage.
Basically in laymans terms- Overdriving an amp- weather it be lower or higher in output wattage causes speaker damage. This is what commonly happens to amplifiers with lower output power- people often try to over work these amps and compensate for power by increasing either the HU's volume or the amplifiers gain- or both. That is what causes speaker damage- the user- not the equipment.
above the stock RMS wattage (which i think is 45x4 or at least 60w) or full blasting the volume for stereos is a whole new story coz more wattage means more heat, more complicated and needs to be really accurate than the stock ones regarding watts and power handlings.
zane, can u give your comment bout what HE (i dunno the name, hehe) said regarding that matter about "low volume head unit?"
thanks..//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif
The useable RMS wattage on most HU's is actually between 12.5 and 18.5 watts. Peak power can be anywhere between 35-60 watts. This would mean that ultimately the speakers will be under powered to start with. So long as the volume treble, and bass controls are not abused beyond intended operation purpose, the speakers will be ok.
Perry Babin is the sites Author/Administrator, he has been in this industry quite a few years and is considered by many serious audiophiles, an expert on car audio measurements, calculations, and parameters.
His statement about lower volume HU's basically is correct- as long as the volume is not abused and set over 75% (typical level where clipping/distortion begins) of the HU's total output.
The user damages speakers by overdriving amplifiers, the equipment is not the problem.
take it easy,
-zane
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