dominic91shaw's Blog

Power specifications in car audio systems are not readily understood by quite a few car audio novices. It can almost seem at times that manufacturers make it deliberately confusing! Yet, with a few simple bits of information, it can all seem relatively easy to understand.

Specifications for Amplifiers

Amplifiers are vital to giving your car audio system that much needed power. They boost a signal electronically by taking energy from the power supply and modulating the output in accordance with the power supplied. The power they deliver to a system is measured in Watts RMS alone, any other measurement is incorrect or misleading. A quick look at the manual should tell you the maximum measurement of power supplied in watts, which should not be exceeded.

Specifications for Speakers

Unlike amplifiers, the power specification demonstrates how much power they can actually handle. Like the amplifier, this is measured in Watts RMS. Although, you may be thinking a higher power specification is better, in this case it may not be. With speakers, it only matters that they are quality made.

Reasons why a speaker may need a higher power specification include, it has a significantly low sensitivity and needs more power to heighten its sensitivity - as well as it can simply play louder with an increased power supply.

It is usually best to match up the power supply of the amplifier and speaker, so that there specifications match. For example if your speakers require a maximum of 200watts, your amplifier should deliver a maximum of 200 watts. However, you do not have to necessarily match up these specifications exactly as a speaker whose maximum power requirement is 400 watts can handle 100 watts from an amplifier and still play perfectly fine. Bear in mind that the amplifier's maximum power specification cannot exceed the speaker's projector specifications.