Reciever-speaker compatibility?

Question

I have a 100 watts(per channel) HT Receiver, I haven't decided yet what kind of speakers to buy. Is it much better to buy a speaker whose rms is greater than 100 watts(per speaker) or less than? Some of my friends told me to buy a speaker less than the power of my receiver, to be exact, 3/4 of the power of the receiver. (>75 watts) Is it true? can you give me some advice.

Answer 1

It's better to buy speakers that require less power (watts) to drive them.

If the amplifier/receiver has inadequate power for the speakers (read as 100 watts for your 100 watt receiver), it can lead to clipping and you'll end with a burnt out tweeter (high frequency driver of your speaker) or a blown amp/receiver.

Answer 2

It's better to have speakers with a maximum power rating that matches or exceed the power rating of your amp.

But you shouldn't consider maximim power rating in isolation since, by itself, it isn't that meaningful. What matter more is minimum recommended power, or the preferred spec, the rated speaker efficiency.

This is a number, usually between a low of about 86 dB, to a high of about 96 dB, measured at 1 meter for 1 watt input. The higher the number the more efficiently the speaker converts input into sound output. The spec should also include the impedence of the speaker (e.g. 8 ohms).  See the link for a discussion.

Efficiency is primarily related to speaker cabinet design ... for instance a ported design will typically be several dB more efficient than an acoustic suspension (sealed) design. The maximum power handling capability of a speaker is not directly related to efficiency (since a more "heavily" built speaker could take more power whether high or low efficiency. Ideally you want both high efficiency and high power handling capability.

Given equal performance otherwise, choosing higher efficiency speakers reduces amplifier power requirements ... and when you consider that the efficiency range mentioned above (86 to 96 dB) equates to a 10 fold difference in power requirement to achieve the same loudness (e.g. a 30 watt vs a 300 watt amplifier) this can be no small thing.

Answer 3

my denon (110 watts per channel) is hooked up to tangent aventegarde 200's (power handling 120 watts continuous) and they sound fine-the secret is to eliminate all the lower frequency notes (bass) from the satellite speakers and leave this to the subwoofer thus allowing the main speakers to handle discreet channelling (most good quality receivers will allow you to do this). in choosing the speakers it is possible (in theory) to incorporate drivers that can run on 50 watts provided they have a low sensitivity value (meaning it takes more energy to drive them). if the speakers have a high sensitivity value then a higher wattage rating is required-i would err on the side of caution and buy speakers with a 100 watts continuous rating (allowing for 150 watts peak music power input).

Answer 4

Power handling is unimportant unless you intend to play your speakers really loud over a long period of time.

Continuous power handling is only limited by how hot the voice coil can get before the glue that holds the wire begins to melt. Peak power handling refers to how big of a momentary burst (at the most troublesome bass frequency) a speaker can take. Because power handling is the one spec that most people think they understand, it’s often used to judge a speaker’s overall quality. Bad idea.

If a speaker claims to handle 100 watts, is that for a second, a few minutes, or an hour? Is it program material, or some designed test noise? The same speaker could have been rated by another manufacturer at 20 watts.

This rating does not have to be higher than your receiver’s power rating.

Speaker specifications try to tell you things like how well a speaker will match up with your reveiver, how loud they can play, and some other things that for lack of a better word are just plain silly. Some specs also try to convey something about how they will sound. But to really determine how good a speaker sounds, you will need to put aside the specifications and just listen.

Answer 5

Hi. Is your Receiver rated at 100 watts continuous per channel ,all channels driven ,throughout it's full frequency range ? If the impedance of your Amplifier is 8 ohms,try to buy speakers with the same nominal impedance,not lower.The term "nominal" means average because it is very likely that a significant impedance variation will occur throughout the speaker's frequency range.A variation as wide as 3 to 40 ohms is possible. the amount of variation,in addition to how low or high the range ,determines how difficult the speaker is to drive. The Amplifier must be able to deal with these impedance variations,producing the amount of power necessary to drive the speaker at any frequency.If the Amplifier is not capable of dealing with the impedance swings,audible distortion occurs.It is better to have an Amplifier with power in reserve than one which is lower than what the speaker is capable of receiving. A lower powered Amplifier might run out of steam at high volume levels causing gross distortion and possible damage to speaker and amp.Most good speakers can accept more power from the Amplifier before they protest.