amp power vs speaker rated power

[BrianVickers]

I've been reading and trying to educate myself about live sound by reading articles, reviews etc.

 

I came across this :

 

"In general, the amplifier power needs to be larger than the speaker's rated power. This is because an amplifier only delivers its rated output power with sinewave signal, and delivers much less with a real signal with dynamics. As ageneral guideline, it is recommended to use an amplifier delivering 50% more power than the speaker's average ("RMS") power. For example, for a speaker with 450W average power, an amplifier with an output of 700W may be used. If a small amplifier is used, sufficient level will not be reached, nor the perception that it is attained, so the signal will tend to be clipped to compensate, thus endangering the integrity of the speaker."

 

Now my PA is 210 watts/chanel using 8oms speakers

 

The way I hook it up is:

 

channel 1 goes into two 150 watts speakers

 

channel 2 goes into one 300 watt floor monitor

 

 

Am I using my gear in a safe/effective way?

[GCDEF]

Personally, I put no stock in that 50% more power amp rubbish. As long as you use your amp and speakers within their limits, it really doesn't matter. For example, my main speakers are rated at 800 watts. In smaller clubs I power them with 300. In bigger clubs 780. Haven't blown anything up yet and I don't expect to.

 

What you're doing is fine. If you hear things starting to distort, turn it down. Watch for clip lights if your mixer has them.

[Craig Vecchione]

You'll see plenty of advice to overpower your speakers. The fact will always remain that too much, not too little power is what ultimately damages a speaker. If the power is close to the speaker's rated max, and you push an amp really hard, it will then clip as well as produce more than it's rated maximum power. It's the added power and the clipped signal that can cause damage.

 

If you look around a bit you'll notice in every case that a manaufacturer that produces powered versions of their passive speakers will always power them close to the speaker's continuous rating, not 1.5x, 2x or more. I say do as they do, not as they say. They have to warranty the speakers, and it's a lot easier to deny a claim if they didn't also include the amp......

 

The bottom line is that there is no hard and fast rule of thumb. Except for really underpowered amps, you can always find a way to damage a speaker if you try (or screw up) hard enough.

 

Buy the best speakers you can, power them conservatively, and if you need more volume, get more efficient speakers, or get more speakers and amps, but don't just get more amps.

[OMNIFEX]

Guys that overpower their speakers usually know when to stop, and use it more for momentary peaks, than continuous.

 

It's always safer for the non-experienced user to under power or meet the minimum ratings of their speakers and hopefully back off when they hear distortion or see the clip light.

 

When you overpower your speakers and don't know when to back off, you'll usually see smoke, or fire before hearing a siginificant amount of distortion and/or see the clip light.

[dboomer]

Seem like one of the most frequent questions asked in Pro Audio forums and in Music stores is