100W @ 8 ohms ??

[belayslave]

Hi guys,

 

This is probably (well definitely) a very simple question but i get confused easily

 

I have an amp with 100W per side @ 8ohms. I want to know what kind power i should be looking for in speakers?

 

and also, could i parallel smaller speakers off each side instead of two bigger cabs. i.e. tap 3 speakers in at 30W on each side of the amp?

 

Thanks all

CH.

[belayslave]

sorry for the double thread post, weird things happening atm.

[boseengineer]

Well, that's not a that simple a question. If you get amp and speaker from the same brand and the company uses reasonably consistent rating methods then the answer would be a "100W/8 Ohms amp plays nice with a 100W/8Ohm speaker". That doesn't mean it's completely fool proof but for most brands that should work okay.

 

If you mix and match you need to understand the power rating methods of each company (peak, program, RMS, duration, duty cycle, crest factor, etc.) to make a good choice. If you don't know what these terms mean, you may be better off using either very reputable brands or go with a powered speaker.

 

Splitting power among multiple speakers is fairly straight forward if you

 

a) use identical cabs,

 

b) make sure that total speaker impedance is not below the minimum rating of the amp, and

 

c) make sure the speakers can handle their share of the total amp power.

 

In your example, you can use

1 speaker at 8 Ohms with at least 100 Watt power

2 speakers with 16 Ohms each and at least 50 Watts power each

4 speakers with 32 Ohms each and at least 25 Watts power each