B&C 151NW100 real power

[StreamerJazzman]

Hi all,
I own a B&CNW100 15" bass speaker,
The speaker is rated at 1000 watts, freq. response 35hz-1500hz, Xmax of 9.0mm
What is the real power of this speaker?
If I put 500 watts of power into it will it be underpowered?
Does it need 1000 or more to run properly?
Would appreciate your input.
Thanks
StreamerJazzman

 

[B-string]

It's under-powered RIGHT NOW! QUICK get a 1000 watts through it ASAP before it catches fire!




There is no such thing as "under-powering".
Need more than just Xmax to even try a guess.

 

[iualum]

It's under-powered RIGHT NOW! QUICK get a 1000 watts through it ASAP before it catches fire!

There is no such thing as "under-powering".
Need more than just Xmax to even try a guess.

Can't "under-power." Any speaker.

500 watts should be plenty for that driver. Nice 4" voice coil. But with a top frequency of 1.5kHz, it's really designed as a LF (low frequency) driver & would work best with a dedicated midrange speaker (and a high frequency if you want a 3-way).

 

[rigtec]

Hi "StreamerJazzman,

There are many ways that a speaker's power handling capabilities can be measured. There's the EIA RS-426-A (Electronic Industries Association) where the driver is fed with a particular type of pink noise with a 6 db crest factor and a constant audio spectrum signal for 8 hours), a 'worst case scenario' or thermal test after which, the device being tested should not show any appreciable damage. Then there's the AES (Audio Engineering Society) which subjects the device being tested to a broadband pink noise signal w/equal energy in each frequency band over a specified range and a 6db crest factor.

There are others as well but it would take up a considerable amount of time to describe each test and it's purpose. In your case though you need more information... 1000 watts really doesn't mean anything 'in and of itself' (w/o context): 1000w continuous sinewave, or continuous program, 1000w peak... how much energy is in that 1000W signal, and across what frequency range? Any bursts of energy in the signal... A speaker can be rated at 500 watts RMS (thermal) but the mechanical limits of that driver may be destroyed long before it reaches that 500W mark if the voice-coil slams into the back plate. Hope this makes sense, Rgds!

 

[Arjank]

Hi all,
I own a B&CNW100 15" bass speaker,
The speaker is rated at 1000 watts,
If I put 500 watts of power into it will it be underpowered?

No
But there are woofers with high mechanical losses(low Qms / high Rms) that really start to "open up" when fed with enough power, they sound a bit lifeless with low power.

Does it need 1000 or more to run properly?

No, with 1000watts there'will already be a bit of heat building up in the voice-coil increasing the internal resistance which means there's a bit of powercompression going on.
B&C states continues power as a 2 hours test run made with continuous pink noise signal (6 dB crest factor) 33hz-330hz.

With 500watts you're driving it safe without really heating up the voice-coil and getting into powercompression territory. Peaks of 1000watts shouldn't be a problem though.

 

[CL400Peavey]

Not to mention the actual power handling will depend on the cab the driver is put in.