Will too much power to speakers actually damage them?

Question

I was wondering if supplying subwoofers with not enough power will actually damage the subwoofer or if it will just not sound good or hit very hard.

I heard supplying subs with too much power is better than not enough, but will it actually hurt the subs to supply them with too little power?

OOOPS! I meant for the question to be: will not enought power to speakers actually damage them.

I accidentally said too much hopefully this doesn't confuse anyone

Answer 1

Not enough power to speakers will only cause deminished sound quality. overloading on the other hand can blow the speakers and give them a cracking sound on each bass beat.

Answer 2

You need to match yours subs RMS and the amps RMS as closely as possible. This means the you want to match the speakers Rated power, not is Peak power. If the amp you use does not have enough power(does not meet the rated nominal power requirements listed for the sub)it will either sound very distorted when you turn up the volume or it may not work at all. So if you have a sub that is 300 rms rated, 500 rms peak, and 150 rms nominal, you need an amp that pushes at least 150 rms continuous power if want it to work, your sub won't be damaged from being underpowered it will just sound terrible.

Answer 3

You cannot damage subs with too little power.

Keep in mind that if you have an amplifier that is rated for 200 watts, and you drive it into distortion, it might be putting out much more than its rated power. If you have it matched to a 200-watt subwoofer, and you're distorting the amp, then you may also be overdriving the subwoofer. This is why many people believe that distortion is bad for subs; however, it's overpowering that does the damage, not the distortion itself.

Rockford-Fosgate has a very good explanation:http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/scripts/rightnow.cfg/php.exe/enduser/std_adp.php?p_sid=F8yJpsxi&p_lva=&p_faqid=63&p_created=965346111&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9ncmlkc29ydD0mcF9yb3dfY250PTE2JnBfc2VhcmNoX3RleHQ9ZGFtYWdlJnBfc2VhcmNoX3R5cGU9MyZwX3Byb2RfbHZsMT1_YW55fiZwX3Byb2RfbHZsMj1_YW55fiZwX2NhdF9sdmwxPX5hbnl_JnBfY2F0X2x2bDI9fmFueX4mcF9zb3J0X2J5PWRmbHQmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=

Answer 4

(sigh)

Yes, too much power can hurt a sub as the RMS rating IS actually the thermal rating of the speaker. Exceeding the thermal rating will cause damage.

Too little power will only cause the output to be low unless the gain is cranked to compensate fot the less power, then the sub can well be damaged.

See my site for more info http://spkrbox1.spaces.live.com

Answer 5

Its will not hurt the subs...but if trying to give to much power to the subs with an amp that can't handle it will blow the amp..So instead of the subs whats the really threat is the possiblilty of lossing the amp.

Answer 6

RMS is in simple terms a score for the max output your audio device can handle. that's often superb to get audio device that are rated over what your Reciever or amp is cabable of. In some uncommon activities there are audio device that require a minimum power score to function properly.

Answer 7

It's not as likely to damage them as too much power but it is possible. If you hook up an amplifier that is not sufficient for your speakers and turn it up very loud it can send distorted signals to your speakers which can blow the speakers more easily than "clean" power.

Answer 8

Not enough power won't damage the speakers but it will push your amplifier to it's limit, possibly causing it to run hotter than usual and causing damage over time to the amp.

Answer 9

absolutely not - assuming you have set the gains properly. Too little power, however, might not let you experience a speaker to its full potential.

Answer 10

no you just wont get the best out of your speakers. make sure u match the impedence(ohms) from the speaker with the amp though