What happens if...?

Question

What happens if my stereo speakers require a higher wattage input than my stereo can supply?

What about if my stereo supplies more watts than my speakers need?

Answer 1

Wattage is a tricky thing.

Simple answer: If your speakers require higher wattage, the sound will "clip" and you will hear distinct breaks in the sound. This is actually more damaging to your speakers than over-powering them.

If your amp provides more watts than is needed - great. Just dont turn the volume up 100% and you will be fine.

In truth - for Home Theater your receiver is outputting 3-10 watts of power per speaker on average.

Thats it.

But here is where it gets weird: To increase the sound 1 db level, you must double the power.

Since most movies swing from ... 60 db 110 db, you need the extra watts to handle the bursts of sound.

The other funny part: low frequencies take more power than higher frequencies. This is why we have self-powered subwoofers and not self powered midrange or tweeters.