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Can low wattage ruin speakers? 

 

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 Post subject: Can low wattage ruin speakers?
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:15 pm 
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I was talking to a huy at JB HiFi and he said most head units are 4*50watt.

The speakers I'm looking at run at 180-220watts.

I know for full potential I need an amp and I plan to get one in a few months.

Here's the dilema.

The guy said that running a high watt speaker off the head unit at 50watts damages the speaker.

Is this true?
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:21 pm 
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s**t.

Just means the speakers wont go as loud as they are capable of and will distort at a lower volume. Easy, just dont turn it up enough to distort the speakers and they will be fine :)
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Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 8:29 pm 
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well not entirely!

If you overdrive the amp, you can damage any speakers!

pleb to JbHi slap the speakers you want in and dont miss treat your head unit.

 

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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:00 am 
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have HEARD of it happening. more with 500w subs and 300w amps.

the sub can handle more input than the amp can really supply. the sinodal wave gets distorted and insted of a nice curvey wave it hits peak output for a period of time at every peak and can fry the internals or do other damage.

just what ive heard

the speakers really arn;t suited to the unit. if you want to get the potential out of the speakers buy an amp

 

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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:43 am 
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You want to overpower your speakers, not underpower them(I don't mean crank it to full :P)

 

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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 3:31 am 
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i wouldn't want to overpower them. but a wound back overpowered amp yes

 

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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:59 am 
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No damage can occur if the speakers are run at less than rated power, that is the nature of music it is not all the same level, that's where greater dynamic range is a benefit in audio quality.

The academic only argument should be that higher power speakers are generally but not always less efficient thus needing more power for the cone to sweep the same area. Thus the higher power speakers potentially are a waste as they will output less volume for a given input power. So you get more volume out of the more efficient but less capable speaker.

What you need to be aware is the different methods of stating power ratings, they are generally one of the following.

RMS, Peek, Peek to Peek and Peek Music.

But you can't compare one with the other.

 

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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:54 am 
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The damage is mainly done by square wave and negligence!

I doubt a 50 watt head unit is going to really produce that true figure at 4 ohms.

50 watts is huge! but shouldn't kill any speakers rated over 100!

 

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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:36 pm 
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Krytox wrote:
The damage is mainly done by square wave and negligence!


thats what i was looking for

 

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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 9:50 pm 
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fiftyone wrote:
i wouldn't want to overpower them. but a wound back overpowered amp yes


if you have a 500wrms sub you are better off putting slightly more than rated, winding back the gain so to speak doesnt make a 500wrms amp give out 250wrms just because you have the gain at half. go to www.caraudioaustralia.com.au for more info.

distortion is the killer of speakers, so in a way yes you can wreck the speakers by underpowering them but thats only if you play it distorting
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Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:51 pm 
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Well i've got a mate that works at JB and he's told me you shouldn't run splits on a head unit cos you can stuff them. And a friend has the same 6x9s i've got, she runs them off the head unit and i run them off an amp, she's already blown 1 speaker so whether or not thats due to not having an amp i don't know :? I've had no problems with mine so far

 

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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 12:17 am 
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if your amp(or HU) isn't powerful enough you will probably turn the deck up until it distorts. this will fry speakers. I had some subs a few years ago that were under powered and i fried them that bad that they wouldn't move, as i had stuffed the coils through (electrical)distortion

 

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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 12:02 pm 
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punktured wrote:
Well i've got a mate that works at JB and he's told me you shouldn't run splits on a head unit cos you can stuff them. And a friend has the same 6x9s i've got, she runs them off the head unit and i run them off an amp, she's already blown 1 speaker so whether or not thats due to not having an amp i don't know :? I've had no problems with mine so far


Thats rubbish

Ive run splits off head units fine.

As said before, as long as you run them under the distortion level it will be fine. Subs dont like being underpowered cos of all the reasons others have said. But splits will be fine

 

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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:29 pm 
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Im afraid to ask what that sig. pic is SpuDTE!

 

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Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 5:34 pm 
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pugsley wrote:
if your amp(or HU) isn't powerful enough you will probably turn the deck up until it distorts. this will fry speakers. I had some subs a few years ago that were under powered and i fried them that bad that they wouldn't move, as i had stuffed the coils through (electrical)distortion


exactly, you may not even realise that your are distorting the speakers if they are underpowered, i have been putting double the rated power into my sub for the last year and a half i play it at very loud levels, but not distorting levels. and close to double the power into my speakers, have had no troubles at all.
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