I have a 30watt amp..?

Question

can i play 150watt speakers on my 30watt amp? will the speakers produce good sound?

Answer 1

Simple answer: Yes.

But a bit more detail may help.

First, I am going to assume your amp is rated in rms or continuous watts -- not dynamic, or music power. If not the following applies but your 30 watt amp should be considered a 15 watt amp and numbers adjusted accordingly.

Speakers have a maximum power handling rating, and sometimes have a recommended power. All power is normally continuous or rms rating. The rated power is the maximum sustained power the speaker should be subjected to (other than transient power). Recommended power is the amplifier power the manufacturer considers appropriate for the speakers, and is simply a guide.

So, less power than the speaker rating won't hurt, it just won't give as loud a sound as the speakers are capable of.

BUT, consider how this relates to the real world.

Somewhat simplistically, but accurate enough for this explanation, a 3dB increase in loudness (barely noticeable to the human ear) requires a 100% increase (double) in power, so loudness of a 150 watt rated speaker will only be 7-8 dB less driven by full out by a 30 watt amp than with a similarly driven 150 watt amp (Not that you would want to drive either full out for any period of time).

Depending on the sensitivity of the speaker (How loud the speaker gets for a specified input), this probably means the maximum loudness will be 90 dB or so rather than 100 dB ... both are plenty loud enough for most uses!

Note that I have focussed on loudness, since the power input has (almost) nothing to do with frequency response and overall sound of the speaker.

Bottom line, your 30 watt amp should work fine -- at least for normal listening.

Answer 2

Yes, the problem is the other way around, if you put an amp that's to powerful on a set of speakers that can't handle it they'll be damaged if you turn them up to much.

Answer 3

You can

Answer 4

You can but you won't get all the potential out of the speakers