How to calculate total Wattage of the speaker and Ohm's?

[mantas]

Hey guys! I'm kinda new to this forum, but I see everyone is friendly and helpful. Sorry for mistakes, it's not my first language, hehe. OK I'll try keep it quick and simple, maybe some one can help me!

I'm building my very first DIY 3-way speakers and i need some help.
1x tweeter rated at 40w, 8ohm
1x mid range rated at 70w, 8ohm
1x woofer rated at 120w, 8ohm

Total: 230watts ???

The important question is: How do I calculate total wattage of this speaker?
My tweeter is 3x less powerful then my woofer. Will it burn my tweeter if I turn up the volume over 40w? Or it just balances between each driver and works as one? What do I do?

THANK YOU!!
Mantas

 

[markw]

Don't know the exact answer but itcertainly isn't the overall sum of all the drivers.

Two things to keep in mind.

1) The crossover will absorb some wattage although the woofer will need, and absorb, the most power.

2) The tweeter you have in mind is rated to absorb 40 watts. If more wattage than that hits it, well...

 

[mantas]

I found a few threads yesterday:
You must take the smallest driver, which is my tweeter rated at 40w and multiply by the total drivers in cabinet, so it's 120w total. I guess it's the safest way to calculate total wattage and not to overpower my tweeters or mids. Just the woofer will be 3x under power, when tweeter pushed to his limits. A little confused here..
I also find out that Parallel and Series circuits have different loads. In Parallel circuit the power equalizes between each driver and Series it caries the same load across every speaker, but not sure about this.. Any one know more?

Can any one give me advice which program should I use for calculating speaker cabinet and crossover network? I was thinking, LSPCad..?

Thanks !

 

[markw]

If you're serious about wanting to build speakers, don't depend on snippets you might dig up on the internet.

Try reading some real books, like some of those recommended HERE