can someone tell me a little about speakers and stereos?

Question

say i got a pair of stereo speakers with 200w each and i had a stereo reciever that was only 100w per channel, would i be able to wire the speakers up to it or would i need more power in the receiver like an amplifier or something?

Answer 1

I think your amp is fine is is that your speakers are saying "I am 200 watt speakers and I can hang with a 100 watt amp because the Amp is still in my ratio and us speakers will be safe for as long as the Amp, don't become more that 200 watts also we are matching the same ohms....? Right" Check your ohms and the Amp is fine because the speakers are design to handle up to a maximum of 200 watts with a minimum of what 20? So I think you are okay just keep [all] amps well ventilated.

Answer 2

Hi.Forget about power ratings for the moment and lets look at the relationship between Amplifiers and loudspeakers.The two most important requirements in a loudspeaker are sensitivity and impedance.Impedance is resistamce that varies with frequency. The fact that the speakers impedance varies with the frequency it is reproducing is one reason why the amplifier has such a hard job.Most modern speakers have a nominal rating of between 4 and 8 ohms. Nominal means "average"The Amplifier should have a similar output impedance between 4 to 8 ohms.Syou would connect a 4 ohm amplifier to a 4 ohm speaker,and a 8ohm amplifier to an 8 ohm speaker.

Speaker sensitivity is how loud a speaker can produce sound after converting electrical energy into acoustical energy which is expressed in DB. A speaker with higher sensitivity will play louder for a given amount of amplifier power input.Some speakers sacrifice some sensitivity for greater clarity,.bass response etc.Most of the good sounding speakers will have sensitivity measurements between 87db and 93db

It is often agreed among audiophiles that it is better to have more amplifier power than speaker input,power. A speaker is almost never damaged by a large amplifier.It is almost always a small amplifier that is turned up too far that damages the speakers.

Therefore if you want 200 watt speakers you should get 300 watt amplifiers,and follow the rules for speaker impedance and sensitivity.You would be ok with a lower powered amp as long as you dont overdrive it.I am using 300 watt speakers with a 50 watt Power Amplifier and have never had to turn it up to distortion level.

Don't buy a Receiver for stereo.The sound is inferior to a two channel amplifier.

Answer 3

Should be fine, the speakers are 200w max so you will only be utilizing half of the speaker you bought unless you got an amp.