Over Powering Speakers?

[BernardTamHK]

Hey folks ... heres an interesting question ...

i know its best to always match speakers that has an RMS rating that is similar to the RMS power of an amp. BUT, what if I put an amp that supplies more RMS power than the rating of the speaker?

if i keep the volume reasonable (i.e. dont push the volume past when the speakers start to reach max deflection), will it still be ok?

I going to use a clarion amp on my factory speakers (as an interim solution) ..... just wanted to throw this onto the table to see your thoughts on this!

From what I hear, the factory speakers can handle around 25W RMS .... but any decent amp can do 50W RMS no problem ....

[Diapason]

i know its best to always match speakers that has an RMS rating that is similar to the RMS power of an amp. BUT, what if I put an amp that supplies more RMS power than the rating of the speaker?

In the home hifi world, people do this all the time with no problems. In fact, there's a fairly commonly held view that you're far more likely to blow speakers using an under-powered amp than an over-powered one. The logic is that the under-powered amp is more likely to clip and fry your tweeters in the process.

I'd say you'll be fine. Just don 't ramp the volume up all the way!

Si

[rajhirani]

Hi Mate

overpowering your speakers to a certain extent, like say 25% more of thier rated power will be fine, distortation/clipping will kill your speakers before you can kill them by overpowering them. my front speaker set is rated @ 200rms each side, i am putting atleast 400rms each side :)

Raj.

[BernardTamHK]

Nice! thanks for the advice guys .... i feel way comforted now!