Too Much Power?

[timoteo]

Im trying to figure out how to tell if i am either turning my speakers up too high or giving them too much power.
What would the first sign of having them up too loud be?
I have B&W 683's as my front L&R. They are rated at 200w. I currently have them bi-amped with each amp running 100w. I mainly watch movies & have them crossed at 60hz. They sound amazing to me but am just worried that I'm gonna blow them. I just get nervous when I see the 2 subs on each really moving. Any info would really be appreciateed!!

 

[Davemcc]

Your speakers have a sensitivity of 90 db @ 2.83v/1m, call it roughly 90 db at one watt. You are only drawing about 8 to 16 watts by the time you get over 100db and that's pretty darned loud. B&W thinks they can take 200w of unclipped program material. Your ears will bleed before you get to the point of destroying those speakers unless you feed them clipped or distorted signal.

 

[Haoleb]

Some of the most common things a speaker will do when overdriven are this, In the bass drivers you will hear a sharp knocking/clapping type sound. This is the cone of the speaker colliding with the motor structure and can easily do damage to the drivers. Sometimes you can also hear them making sort of a farting sound (very hard to describe) and this is the suspension of the speaker extending beyond its limits. Also when a speaker is overdriven the sound can become very harsh and confused sounding, or start to break up. In any case, its an unpleasant experience so i would say as long as it still sounds good to you.. Turn it up!

 

[oppman99]

From what I understand, you are more likely to damage your speakers by driving them with too little power. I'm not saying you can't turn them up loud, but most likely it will hurt your ears before you blow the speakers, as long as they are getting quality power (aka a good amp).

 

[jamie2112]

You are not going to blow up the B&W's with 100 watts thats for sure.....

 

[tcarcio]

As mentioned it is distortion that blows speakers not power. I have surrounds that are rated at 100w and I run them with a Crown amp that puts out 300w per channel and they have been together and very happy for over a year. Use common sense and don't overdrive them. Have fun and CRANK IT UP...

 

[lsiberian]

Tim- just because you're not blowing your speakers doesn't mean your not overdriving them. Most speakers aren't very good sounding when they get close to their max excursion limits. Sound Quality normally drops and as with anything the harder you drive if the shorter it's lifespan.

However we are talking about B&W's not beta 20s. You will have to push them very hard to blow them. Your questions give me concern for your hearing. I must suggest you get an SPL meter and monitor your listening levels. I don't want you to damage your hearing and lose enjoyment of this hobby.


Most speakers can be as loud as a jackhammer. Some can be as loud as a plane taking off or a rock concert.

No sane person would ever play things that loud in their house.

So unless jackhammers are too quiet for you then you are going to be fine.

Remember that's a jackhammer per speaker not just one jackhammer.

 

[annunaki]

As mentioned it is distortion that blows speakers not power. I have surrounds that are rated at 100w and I run them with a Crown amp that puts out 300w per channel and they have been together and very happy for over a year. Use common sense and don't overdrive them. Have fun and CRANK IT UP...

Wrong, wrong, wrong, and, oh, wrong.

Please do a search as there are multiple posts on this subject. I have responded to many of them. There is also a very nice article that was done on the site, I believe it was 3-4 parts long.





Too much power over time will cause voice coil failure. (heat induced failure)

Too much power can cause mechanical failure.

When an amplifier clips fully it will double it's output power from the rating at around.1% thd. A 100 watt amplifier fully clipped will output nearly 200 watts.

When an amplifier fully clips, it also outputs additional harmonics besides the fundamental. Combined with the increased output power from clipping it can cause over excursion.

Too little power cannot blow speakers as they would blow every time one turned down the volume control.

Manufacturer power ratings can be inflated or far from accurate depending upon who determined the rating (engineering vs. marketing).

 

[walter duque]

I don't think you have to worry. I run my center bi-amped 350 wattsX2 and it is rated at 220 watts. I do crank my system so far so good nothing happened.

 

[speakerman39]

I don't think you have to worry. I run my center bi-amped 350 wattsX2 and it is rated at 220 watts. I do crank my system so far so good nothing happened.

Very good point here. The reason you can do that, it is because you have the center speaker X-overed at a specific frequency. Try doing that running it full range and see what happens. Hence, distortion will set in quite rapidly. I am sure you are aware of that. Just wanted to point that out for other folks out there that may not understand why you can do that.



Cheers,

Phil

 

[mtrycrafts]

I don't think you have to worry. I run my center bi-amped 350 wattsX2 and it is rated at 220 watts. I do crank my system so far so good nothing happened.

Too bad you don't have a power meter telling you how many watts you are really using in that center speaker

 

[j_garcia]

Wrong, wrong, wrong, and, oh, wrong.

Please do a search as there are multiple posts on this subject. I have responded to many of them. There is also a very nice article that was done on the site, I believe it was 3-4 parts long.





Too much power over time will cause voice coil failure. (heat induced failure)

Too much power can cause mechanical failure.

When an amplifier clips fully it will double it's output power from the rating at around.1% thd. A 100 watt amplifier fully clipped will output nearly 200 watts.

When an amplifier fully clips, it also outputs additional harmonics besides the fundamental. Combined with the increased output power from clipping it can cause over excursion.

Too little power cannot blow speakers as they would blow every time one turned down the volume control.

Manufacturer power ratings can be inflated or far from accurate depending upon who determined the rating (engineering vs. marketing).

I think what is meant by "too little power" is that the amount of power is insufficient to prevent clipping for the SPL that the speakers are being driven to and creating the situation listed above.