Subwoofer question?

Question

I have an RCA surround sound system that is rated 100 watts for the subwoofer. It came with an IN-LINE subwoofer that is rated 100 watts maximum power. I also have a 60 watt POWERED subwoofer. Which is more powerful?

Answer 1

The ratings of unpowered speakers just refer to the maximum power handling capacity and mean nothing as far as loudness or sound quality is concerned. A more meaningful spec is sensitivity (efficiency) but that is not usually given. The most important spec is distortion, also rarely given for low-end consumer speakers. A powered speaker will give more power output the higher the power spec, but again it is really meaningless because actual loudness depends on speaker sensitivity, and sound quality depends on distortion. There is no way to tell from the power spec which speaker is more powerful or which will sound better. Think of speaker power spec as a marketing gimmick only.

Answer 2

Good question. Power isn't everything with subs. By having a 60 watt sub amped on it's own, you can actually draw less power from the other speakers and avoid them dropping out when their is a need for the sub to play louder. (Example, loud explosion in the movie causes the sub to pull power from the other speakers)

The 100 watt is of course more power then the 60 watt, but the 60 may sound better because of the aboce stated issue, it will also have more control over the sub then a passive one.

Good luck!

Answer 3

the ratings on the subs tell you how much power the sub will handle but from the ratings you gave the 100 watt will handle more power so is more then likely of better quality

Answer 4

100w

Answer 5

I say use both.

Answer 6

RCA? ha