I have a question regarding the output from your amp. If I have an amp that runs 330 watts @ 4 ohms, and a speaker that is 700 watts, will my speaker only run at 330 watts since that is what my amp puts out? or is it different? I dont know too much about amps, so anything would help. thanks
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Amp output
- Thread starter ScottyG
- Start date
A speaker doesn't "run" anything.
The 700 watt rating on your speaker simply means that it can handle 700 watts for an amount of time.
The 700 watt rating on your speaker simply means that it can handle 700 watts for an amount of time.
Your amp will put out 330 watts, so that is the output of your rig.
Speakers are rated to handle 'x' amount of wattage being put out from an amp, amps put out 'y' amount of wattage.
Speakers are rated to handle 'x' amount of wattage being put out from an amp, amps put out 'y' amount of wattage.
ScottyG said:
Simply... The amp puts out power, the speaker takes it. If an amp puts out more power than a speaker can handle, it will fail.
BillisCool said:
Expanding on this:
A lot of people on TB will use, if you notice, an amp that provides more power than the cabinet can handle.
Example: I run a Gallien-Krueger 2001RB (1080w @ 4Ohms, 650w @ 8 Ohms), and I run an 8 Ohm cabinet that handles 400w. Sounds crazy, right? Sounds like I should be blowing out a speaker? It's not necessarily crazy, for three reasons:
1) Most wattage is provided in RMS, which is somewhat like an average measurement of power output (let's avoid the specifics for now). It doesn't automatically mean that you'll instantly blow a speaker that can't handle that amount. How and what you play produces a varying output, so it's never constant.
2) Power output increases as you crank up the volume. Now, if you push the amp to put out its maximum levels of power, and the cabinet speakers aren't rated high enough, chances are you might blow something with a power spike.
3) I'm not using ALL of the power of my amp, because my volume is not dramatically high, and I intend on adding a second cabinet in the future to reduce impedance (from 8 ohms to 4 ohms, by adding a second 8 ohm cabinet) make use of my amp's full 1080 watts.
Now, running an amp below a speaker's rated RMS is not harmful at all. That just means less volume.
In response to ScottyG's question... yeah, you'll be putting out 330w RMS, tops. Now, actual peak power will vary... and let's not venture into that...
