On HiFi's, what wattage is classed as decent?

Discussion in 'Bulletin Board ARCHIVE' started by Googs, Dec 5, 2005.

  1. Googs

    Googs Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2005
    Messages:
    8,475
    Likes Received:
    383
    Trophy Points:
    83
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Wilthorpe
    Home Page:
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    After a micro system, cheap, but best wattage seen in them so far is 30w.
     
    Googs, Dec 5, 2005
    #1
  2. EastStander

    EastStander Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2005
    Messages:
    29,883
    Likes Received:
    24
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Location:
    Upper tier, Gangway 11
    Home Page:
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Probably not bad
     
    EastStander, Dec 5, 2005
    #2
  3. Micky Finn

    Micky Finn Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 2, 2005
    Messages:
    16,538
    Likes Received:
    13,437
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Light bender
    Location:
    It depends who's asking...
    Style:
    Barnsley (full width)
    Nowt to do with wattage.

    All abart the efficiency of your speakers. A 20w amp driving an efficient pair of speakers will sound better than a 30w struggling to move the drivers in something less efficient. Measurements usually given in the hifi mags - anything above 87 is reasonably efficient, 86 and below and you'll need summat with a bit more grunt to make them sing. People constantly worry about "blowing" speakers by using too powerful an amp - the reality is that more damage is done using a low-powered amp with inefficient speakers
     
    Micky Finn, Dec 5, 2005
    #3
  4. Tek

    Tekkytyke Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2005
    Messages:
    7,376
    Likes Received:
    4,644
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Italy
    Style:
    Barnsley Dark
    Be careful with descriptions...look for watts in RMS (Root mean Square) rather than PMPO (peak music power output) The latter can make a system sound more powerful than it is as it measures those transient peaks you get in music whereas RMS is the 'average' sustained level and therefpore a better guide to the capability of your system.
    Mickey Finn has it spot on. A low powered amp driven hard 'clips' on the transient peaks which causes a 'voltage spike' usually at high frequencies. Think of it like suddenly putting 80 volts through a 10w bulb like those old camera flash bulbs... Now do the same to your H.F speaker coils. Get the picture??
     
    Tekkytyke, Dec 5, 2005
    #4

Share This Page