First And foremost, I really want to express my gratitude to you for postings these extremely informative and detailed videos. I applaud your ability to explain what can often be perceived as a very intimidating subject/topic to many in a simple, precise & concise manner ! Thank you ! 🙏😎
EXCELLENT. I spent my whole life not knowing all this. You have just put it all into INSTANT UNDERSTANDABLE CONTEXT IN JUST 20 MINUTES! Thank you so much!
Others tutorial explain like they thought everyone are already smarter enough to understand this topic. This tutorial explained very carefully for beginners like me, thank you for making my life easy.
I spent hours trying to find information for my audio set up and this covers it perfectly. All the information I need was presented clearly and answered all of my questions perfectly. Thank you so much!
This video makes more sense then any of the manufacturer’s own information. The manufacturer websites don’t even explain this topic to such a high degree. More amplifiers and speakers will be saved from an untimely death thanks to this video!
Sadly, they won't be saved, but if you follow it, this is the best info I have seen so far. CONSTANTLY monitor your levels!!! I have been in the industry for over 40 years..... the horror stories I could tell you..... P.S. dj's are the worst!!! 😆
So far I've seen people saying that amp power should be less than speaker power because speakers only "drain" as much power as amp can provide. So for example if speaker is rated at 150 watts I would need amp that can provide maximum of 150 watts to avoide damage so I don't know if that is true, and thanks for the video :)
+Filip It's important to understand that speakers do not 'drain' power in a proactive way - they are simply a magnet and a coil of wire that respond to whatever voltage is presented to them. You could use a 1 watt amp and still get a lot of sound out of modern speaker cabinets! The reason that we recommend an amplifier that is rated at more than the speaker's RMS rating is because music is not a steady state signal - it has peaks and dips and as such we need to make allowances for this dynamic range.
This man deserved the best award ever,God bless u ,at last i have come to understand what i have been searching for since i have been in this music industry without knowing how speakers connections works with power Amps, God bless you once again and lot of greetings from Germany to your lovely family .
@@GLBProductions Your welcome sir ,please sir i have one more question to ask, can i use 2400watt skytec amplifier with 4ohm and connect with speakers with 8ohm is it possible or does it has disadvantage ????
I build custom speaker enclosures with emphasis on performance so it's critical to me that my components will perform optimally in my enclosures, therefore I have a minimum requirement of 100db in my low and mid drivers. A lot of people don't realise what a difference that it can make if you don't maintain efficiency standards. Example: if I use a driver that has 97db efficiency, that doesn't seem like much difference than 100db; but in fact it will take a 1000 watt amp to achieve the same output level as a 500 watt amp if you use the more efficient (100db) component. The difference in price between a 1000 watt amp and a 500 watt amp is considerable so it is highly critical to use the most efficient speakers that you can get; you'll save money on amps later.
Also if you stack two bass cabinets you'll get a free 3db extra in efficiency. Low mass drivers and a big volume for the bass cabinets also with low mass long throw drivers and max vas (equivalent volume, low suspension). And offcourse ribbon tweeters for the tops, niceee. And a middriver in the tops for snappy percussion. A 12'' or 15'' driver is not necessarilly 'bad' in mids it's just that percussion doesn't pop out properly. You can talk about ohms and watts all day and it does matter but what you want is large bass cabinets and good sounding hi-eff tops. What you don't want is those high mass car type subwoofer speakers I've tried that. I also don't believe in 'tricks' to get more bass like bassreflex or bandpass they all have their problems the tradeoff is not worth it, sealed all the way.
@@TimpBizkit yeah but designing a bass reflexx cabinet you also have to get a speaker that more stiff and heavy so at the same time it works against efficiency. I guess you might view speakers as 'entertainment devices' so in that sense bass reflexx is not that bad. It all get's a bit 'difficult' or 'subjective' with this kind of thing. There's also the cooling thing so when the fs is around 50hz you might think that's the not efficient part of the spectrum but actually the speaker has to do very little work in that area and get's lots of cooling so.. It all get's quite complicated the mix between entertainment devices and all kind of technical considerations. I guess in general any use of 'tricks' like bass reflex or bandpass makes the system more compact so you have to lug less wood around and store it somewhere. I had an outdoor party lately and the 4 18'' bass cabinets really had trouble filling it with any kind of bass. At some point there was quite a bit of heat coming from the speakers and I had to tune the limiter down. I hope it didn't damage the magnets I guess that's a case of not enough rig for the gig. And that's another factor how hot does it get inside that box I assumed it was 'ambient' but there just might be a problem with heat buildup. One advantage of bassreflex is that it has that ventilation to the outside world.
I don't know if 'lower' is 'less efficient' so to speak there's a bit of a difference between the lower bass (below 40) and the upper bass, the upper base has to be loud 'preferably' whilst the lower base just has to be audible when the lower bass like 30hz is audible that's enough, at least that's my experience the lower bass just has to be 'there' it doesn't matter much how loud it is. So you can crank up 30 hz 10 decibels it doesn't make much difference when it's audible it's audible when it comes to higher bass it's different. So you have to design a speaker to match those requirements.
I really enjoyed your nuts and bolts approach to the subject. I always walk away knowing much more than when I started. i have a lot to learn so keep 'um comin'. JimE
Thanks for all this explanation, I still cannot get my head around why Hifi manufactures spec their power amps with so little power. I know now that D class amps are the answer to avoid clipping even for home use. Many thanks.
It's a totally different market :) Hifi amps typically power 2-4 loudspeakers for an audience of less than 10 people. Pro audio amps need to power large systems that may be used for audiences in excess of 100,000 people. So the requirements are very different. Having said that there's nothing stopping you from using a pro audio amp in your home hifi setup, just be sure to match the levels correctly ;)
Sure, I was referring to the extortionate prices people pay for a Hifi amp, let's say, £40000, with just 300 watts, just because they think hi end has a superior sound against PA amps; Crown, Behringer, they cannot get in their heads that D class amps do sound as good, specs don't tell you otherwise and price is a tenth. They just don't have the looks and the snake oil marketing foolery. Thanks so much for the reply, much appreciated.
I forgot to explain that one amp in bridge mode we'll run the left Channel feeding 2 Tower speakers and then the same for the right side thanks again for your responses
I have a Powered Mixer capable of powering 2 Passive speakers with 100W RMS at 4 ohms per channel (each of its 2 outputs). What would be the highest rated speakers I should use?
Any speaker which has a power handling of more than 50 watts into 8 ohms (roughly) can be used. There is no upper limit really. The aim of the video is to show you what the best match would be.
Excellent explanation of amp vs speaker specs. Wish I would have found this before a recent power amp purchase as what I bought is slightly under powered but was twice as much wattage as we had before for our monitors so we are better off. I'll just have to watch the clipping light. Thanks for posting this. Really appreciate you taking the time to explain stuff like this to dolts like me :-).
+John Burgett You're welcome, thanks for watching! At the end of the day as long as an amp/speaker combination is loud enough for its intended use and there is no distortion or clipping the exact numbers do not really matter - you could use a 1 watt amplifier and still get decent level out of many modern loudspeakers! The key is having enough headroom to handle the peaks. Feel free to get in touch any time you have questions.
i have a pair of peavey 215s at 4ohm the spec sheet says they are 700w program not sure about the rms it doesnt specify and i also have a amp that pushes out 400w rms per channel at 4ohm my question is is this amp good enough for those speakers or do i need to upgrade?
Your existing amp is good enough - the ideal match would be an amp that delivers 700 watts into 4 ohms but the difference between that and your setup is less than 3dB.
Thanks for sharing it was very helpful. Now that I know, I feel like I should've figured this out on my own lol. All you gotta do is look it up in the owners manual
Great video for matching the pair for maximum performance. However in some applications, a much smaller amplifier is just fine. For example, a DJ doing club dance will want the thump. A smaller requirement would be a wedding ceremony. Take the same speakers for good coverage and fidelity, but an event such as a wedding is fine with a 50 to 100 Watts /ch. This is useful in older buildings with limited power, outdoor ceremonies with long extension cord use, or events using a small whisper quiet generator such as a beach ceremony. If you use a power meter at several events, you can get an idea of the venue power requirements. Excess SPL is to be avoided for sound reinforcement and reception events.
At the same time, remember that extra power is always useful to handle transients and give additional headroom to the system. This is necessary as live music is a very dynamic form of program material. Some manufacturers will even specify an amplifier that can provide 3dB of headroom over the speakers' PEAK power rating! Extra power does not have to translate into excessive volume :)
@@GLBProductions Absolutely true. Remember the gain structure of the mixer. The +4dbV is about 1.2Volts RMS or about 1.7V peak to peak. Due to the power supply on the mixers the mixer hard limits are between 10 to 12V peaks or a hard limit of about 12-14db above the +4dbV output. A ceremony running 1 watt RMS can only be driven about 12db higher before the board clips. Therefore peak is doubling the power 4 times. Board at +4dbV has up to 14 db headroom. The amp running 1 watt taking a +14db peak scales as follows up to board clipping. +3db 2 watts, +6db 4 watts, +9db 8 watts, +12db 16 watts, +15db is only 32 watts. Any amp more then 50 Watts/ch RMS will handle anything the sound board can throw at it. If your ceremony is running program at 10 Watts, then yes you want a 600 Watt/ch amp and I'm looking for hearing protection. Church I grew up in had an organ amp of 60 Watts. This was a traditional church with no band, a choir, piano, organ, and sound reinforcement for the preacher and elders. Main amp was 30 watts mono. It is plenty of power for a church wedding ceremony.
Advice please... What's better 2, 8 ohm speakers running in parallel output of 450watts or 1 8 ohm speaker on each stereo channel running at 300 Watts per side, the mixer is the Mackie ppm808s? Speakers are Yamaha s115v' s. The first way would free up a channel so I could run monitors instead of buying a separate amp.
Great question Elias! The key here is whether you need stereo in your main speakers - if you don't need stereo then by all means use the left amp to power both main speakers and the right amp to power your stage monitors. In live sound, especially for smaller systems, stereo is typically not needed.
Hello! i have these specifications for speakers: 1. 250 watts noise. This means that the speaker can handle 250 watts of power when producing a noise test signal over a long period of time. 2. 500 watts program. This tells you that the speaker can handle 500 watts when producing a “program” test signal, a signal which more closely resembles music. 3. 1000 watts maximum (peak). This is the maximum amount of power that the speaker can accept instantaneously (for a fraction of a second) without damage. 4. impedance 8 ohm when I choose the amplifier, what power should I look at, noise or program? is a 2x300W / 8 ohm amplifier enough? Thank you !
Hi Malinvis! I recommend that you use program. 300 watts into 8 ohms per channel should be plenty for this setup, although the ideal would be 500 watts into 8 ohms.
Hey I just saw some yamaha amplifiers to power my loudspeakers...on the specs sheet it says that it delivers 2×500 watts at 8 ohms in stereo does that mean that each channel delivers 500 watts or that both channels combined gives 500 watts?
Hi concerning the yamaha amp the output is different on 20hz-20khz and 1khz how do I set the amp then cause the wattage output power will be different..
so i just got a 1502 crown to drive 2x 15 audio pipe @ 2ohm 800rms, but 1502 can only do 775rms @2 thats 97% power max. so that good or do i need to go to 2002 crown? x-over @ 80hz. and how do i increase out put, gain is set at 3 o clock., and rx-v681 sub set @ 0db
my amp is a pro sound 1000, delivers 250 watts into 8 ohms per channel, and with two more speakers 500 watts into 4 ohms per channel total output of 1000 watts rms the output of the amp ranges 4 to 8 ohms
Great explanation of power ratings. I don't understand why the use peak all the time. Men's ego. Lol. I wished companies show the actual specs on speakers. What about using 4 ohm speakers. I use 2 15's in a cabinet with a horn. So if each speaker handles 500 W rms then I need a amp with at least 1000w rms at 4 ohm. How do I factor in the power for the compression driver horn? This is a pro driver and I think it handles either 250 or 350 at 8 ohms. Yes I rebuild my own. I have one tweeter that is rated at 500 rms. I think it's jbl. It's hard finding high rated power amps. Thank you. I like that you clearly explain everything and with diagrams.
Thanks for watching :) When you use an amplifier to power a multi-driver cabinet you need to calculate the impedance based on the crossover and not on the individual drivers, because that is what the amplifier 'sees'. The alternative is to biamp the cabinet (one amp channel for the woofers, one for the compression driver) and use an external, active crossover. High powered amps should not be that difficult to find if you go to a professional PA supplier - you probably won't find them at guitar centre though ;)
Hi @GLB Productions, great videos as usual. I need to determine what amp will be ideally suited for my six speaker setup at this particular church. The specs are as follows; 1. 150 Watts Continuous power 2. 8 ohms Impedance Your expert advise is much appreciated
sir! i have "ssa300" indain AMP..... my question is " which' inch or wt 'Loud Speakers is best.. for "SSA 300 amp... 500 wt 600.. dual speaker or 12ich .. 15inch speaker ... what type of dual speaker i can use for my "SSA300" amp.. plzzz clear my doubt . hoping for reply.
I have a question about an amplifier to drive Magnepan lrs 4 ohm speakers. The lrs speaker sensitivity is 86dB/500Hz/1m/2.83V I am using Behringer 500A amps one for each speaker in bridge mode for home stereo with benchmark dac1. Am I right about this setup? kmayne
These speakers apparently do not have an RMS power handling in the way that pro audio/sound reinforcement speakers do. If you read the FAQ section of their website they have some helpful advice on suitable amplifiers: magnepan.com/pages/faqs
YOUR DETAILS IS VERY INFORMATING INDEED. THE QUESTION STILL ARISES , HOW CAN I FIND OUT THE MAX POWER HANDLING CAPACITY OF A BOXED LOUDSPEAKERS, BOTH IN RMS AND PEAK. I HAVE A STEREO AMP OF 160 WATTS RMS INTO 8 OHMS LOAD.
That information is usually found on the manufacturer's label on the back of the loudspeaker. Otherwise it will be found in the loudspeaker's spec sheet/user manual.
If i have multiple speakers on one channel, should the amp be capable to deliver the power needed for all the speakers on that particular channel combined?
That is something that you will need to calculate for your specific amplifier/loudspeaker combination. You will also need to work out if the amp can handle the combined impedance of the speakers you intend to connect.
@@GLBProductions about the impedance, if i connect the speakers in series, it adds up, if I connect them in parallel, it's the impedance/nr of speakers. Like, 2 speakers of 8 ohms in parallel would be 8/2=4 ohms I can manage with the impedance. I was just curious if the watts for each channel are divided to all the speakers on the channel Or, fir example, if the amp gives 500 per channel, and I have 3 speakers, would each speaker get 500w, or a fraction of the total power?
Your impedance calculations are correct :) Just remember that in pro audio individual loudspeaker boxes are always connected in parallel - that way if one blows or suffers some kind of open-circuit failure the others boxes on that amp channel will continue to operate. The wattage is divided equally between the loudspeakers *IF* their impedances are identical, so to use your example: three identical loudspeakers connected in parallel to an amplifier channel delivering 500 watts, each loudspeaker will receive 166.66 watts. If the impedances are different your calculations are more complex.
GLB Productions some of speaker products here is not indicate the RMS rating. only the peak wattage, ,example 1000watts peak, How do i determine the Rms of this 1000watts peak?
micha sy RMS power is generally one quarter of peak power, but be very careful with products that do not state RMS power handling - they could just be pulling any number out of the air and slapping it on the product. Look for a proper data sheet that also lists things like sensitivity and recommended amplifier power. This is why it's so important to use name-brand loudspeakers that are recognised and sold internationally.
what if it has not have any datasheet? example crown speakers only the peak wattage is given ..i have read a article, while rating is 400wRMS, Program Rating is 800w and Peak Rating is 1600w. ,, can we apply this to the other brand of speakers?
hmm..what if I connect a 8 Ohm Passive Speaker to a Power Amp and then connect the Passive Speaker parallel/out Jack to the Speaker Level In of my active Subwoofer? Does the Impedance of the Subwoofer(4 Ohms) change the Impedance on which the Power Amp runs?
If the subwoofer is active, this connection should not impose significant load on the power amp - check the input impedance of the sub's power amp module to be sure. "Speaker level in" can mean different things depending on the manufacturer...
Thank you. But at minute 19:00you said if you clip a properly rated amp could damage the speaker, how can a PROPERLY RATED amp get clipped? Im just learning.. thank yu for answering this question :)
You're welcome Terry. An amplifier can clip at several points along its signal path - in particular, too high of an input signal can clip the input stage of the amplifier, resulting a distorted signal being sent to the rest of the circuit. This will happen regardless of the speaker that the amplifier is matched to. This is why it's so important to listen for distortion in your system, as well as to monitor the input indicators on the front panel.
The absolute safest way to work out how much power your speaker needs is to consult the manufacturer - all good speaker manufacturers will list a recommended amplifier power for each model they make. You can't go wrong that way.
Can you help me with my home theater system I have boca audio p9 .. I don't know how to connect my speakers and what kind amplifier I should buy .. I bought Sony sdr 750 ....
+Waheed Waheed The video should answer your questions in terms of which amplifier to buy. The person who sells you the amp will be able to tell you how to connect your speakers.
Hi sir! I have Emotiva XPA-2 Gen3 power amplifier into 8 ohms 2 channel 300watts per channel and Goldenear Speaker triton 5 compatible into 8 ohms with recommended amplifier 15 - 400 watts/channel. Is this compatible or i need to have more power amplifier?
If you use a splitter 1/4” after the speakon behind the amp, will I be destroying my speakers or amp? I want to use all 4 8ohms Peavey PVX 12 passive speakers, 2 as monitors and 2 as main loud speakers. No budget for anymore power. Using a 1500w peavey power amp, and a peavey 20 mixer. With a Peavey equalizer 2channel. I need help, I’m a lead vocalist/manager/financier/leader of my Christian band with most experience, but never used this equipment before.
Very very enlightening. This is the second time you resolve all of my doubts. If you ever need a kidney, I'll gladly give you one of mine as a token of appreciation.
Hi, thanks for your usefull videos. But as a guitarist, I am now quite confused. I was always told that I should use cabinet/speaker with at least matching or better twice as much wattage than my guitar amplifier. With PA system the math is reversed. Why is that so? Am I missing something? Also, impedance can be higher on speaker with solid state amp (matching with tube amp), which I successfully tried on several occasions.
very educational, but im stuck on one senario maybe you can help me with. power mixer is 2 x 250W / 4 ohm dual power amplifiers for Main or Main/Monitor Paired with: 2 Two-way passive PA loudspeaker that each Handles 400 watts program, 800 watts peak power _Impedance 8 ohms). I am confused on the "DUAL" description meaning and will i be running at half the power...
Which speakers are more suitable for an Bluesound POWERNODE 2i amplifier (60 Watts x 2 into 8 ohms of HybridDigital™ power). 1 - Q ACOUSTICS Q 3020i (Average Impedance 6 Ohm, Sensitivity (2.83 Vrms@1 m) - 88 db, Stereo Amplifier Power 25-75W) or KEF Q150 (Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms (min.3.7 Ohms), Sensitivity: 86dB (2.83V/1m), Amplifier RequirementS: 10-100W). Thank you
Love your work, can you do a video in regards to setting the gain level to match the power input of your speakers so to minimize the risk of blowing them up
Sir... if 2 way speakers, say 15 inch 300 watts ( rms ) @ 8 ohm , and the 1 inch HF driver 20 watts ( rms ) @ 8 ohm, is it affect to their wattage and the ohm... which become 320 watts and the ohm can be decrease to 4 ohm, on the speakers spec sheet shown 300 watts ( rms ) @ 8 ohm...
+BACON IZ GUD4ME In general you should use the heaviest gauge speaker cable that will fit in the connector and the shortest cable run practical. For live sound I recommend 14-16 gauge loudspeaker cable.
Each speaker will receive half of the power that the amplifier delivers into 4 ohms. This means that one will usually be louder than the other, depending on their sensitivities.
good day sir i have behringer ep 2000 power output [rms per channel 8 ohms] 350 watts... i have speaker 15inch 600 watts 4-8 ohms.. passive speaker its ok sir? or not? thank you sir.. god bless
It depends on the impedance of your loudspeakers and the power delivery of your amplifier into that impedance, especially if you are planning to run more than one speaker on each amp channel.
so are my calculations correct at 1600 watts per speaker? and will I have enough Headroom with my setup?, I haven't put the system together yet but I'm in the middle of building it there's plenty of used Crown xti 4000 amps available to purchase, do you think I should put each tower speaker on one amp? that would give me 2400 Watts per speaker at 8 ohms, my main concern is I don't want to clip the amps thanks again
Yes your calculations are correct but remember that with bridge mono there are no longer separate channels - the amp acts as a monobloc ie ONE big channel. Based on the numbers you supplied the match is just about perfect, assuming you only connect the two speakers and nothing else to the amp.
First And foremost, I really want to express my gratitude to you for postings these extremely informative and detailed videos. I applaud your ability to explain what can often be perceived as a very intimidating subject/topic to many in a simple, precise & concise manner ! Thank you ! 🙏😎
You're most welcome, and thank you for watching :)
EXCELLENT. I spent my whole life not knowing all this. You have just put it all into INSTANT UNDERSTANDABLE CONTEXT IN JUST 20 MINUTES! Thank you so much!
That's great Paul, very glad the video was helpful!
the way you speak is owesome. thats very clear explanation. thanks again.
Honestly, you are a sound tutor. I have been having a problem with connection and not understanding settings. Thanks a lot sir
You're most welcome!
Others tutorial explain like they thought everyone are already smarter enough to understand this topic. This tutorial explained very carefully for beginners like me, thank you for making my life easy.
You're welcome Adi.
I have to say you speak, explain, and display everything very clear and well. Two thumbs up from me, thanks for the informative video.
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
The best tutorials for everything related to audio engineering. Everything crisp and clear. Thank you.
You're welcome!
I spent hours trying to find information for my audio set up and this covers it perfectly. All the information I need was presented clearly and answered all of my questions perfectly. Thank you so much!
You're welcome Nathaniel. Hope your system sounds good!
This video makes more sense then any of the manufacturer’s own information. The manufacturer websites don’t even explain this topic to such a high degree. More amplifiers and speakers will be saved from an untimely death thanks to this video!
Thanks my friend, glad the video was helpful. May your speakers have a long and productive life 😄
Sadly, they won't be saved, but if you follow it, this is the best info I have seen so far. CONSTANTLY monitor your levels!!! I have been in the industry for over 40 years..... the horror stories I could tell you..... P.S. dj's are the worst!!! 😆
So far I've seen people saying that amp power should be less than speaker power because speakers only "drain" as much power as amp can provide. So for example if speaker is rated at 150 watts I would need amp that can provide maximum of 150 watts to avoide damage so I don't know if that is true, and thanks for the video :)
+Filip It's important to understand that speakers do not 'drain' power in a proactive way - they are simply a magnet and a coil of wire that respond to whatever voltage is presented to them. You could use a 1 watt amp and still get a lot of sound out of modern speaker cabinets! The reason that we recommend an amplifier that is rated at more than the speaker's RMS rating is because music is not a steady state signal - it has peaks and dips and as such we need to make allowances for this dynamic range.
+GLB Productions Thank you for explanation. Cheers
Filip You're welcome :)
I cannot even begin to describe, how useful your videos are, thank you so very much, good sir!
You're most welcome, thanks for watching!
This man deserved the best award ever,God bless u ,at last i have come to understand what i have been searching for since i have been in this music industry without knowing how speakers connections works with power Amps, God bless you once again and lot of greetings from Germany to your lovely family .
That's great Rich, all the best with your music!
@@GLBProductions Your welcome sir ,please sir i have one more question to ask, can i use 2400watt skytec amplifier with 4ohm and connect with speakers with 8ohm is it possible or does it has disadvantage ????
all of Bruno's videos are GOLD! ... thanks Bruno for sharing your knowledge
I build custom speaker enclosures with emphasis on performance so it's critical to me that my components will perform optimally in my enclosures, therefore I have a minimum requirement of 100db in my low and mid drivers. A lot of people don't realise what a difference that it can make if you don't maintain efficiency standards. Example: if I use a driver that has 97db efficiency, that doesn't seem like much difference than 100db; but in fact it will take a 1000 watt amp to achieve the same output level as a 500 watt amp if you use the more efficient (100db) component. The difference in price between a 1000 watt amp and a 500 watt amp is considerable so it is highly critical to use the most efficient speakers that you can get; you'll save money on amps later.
Also if you stack two bass cabinets you'll get a free 3db extra in efficiency. Low mass drivers and a big volume for the bass cabinets also with low mass long throw drivers and max vas (equivalent volume, low suspension). And offcourse ribbon tweeters for the tops, niceee. And a middriver in the tops for snappy percussion. A 12'' or 15'' driver is not necessarilly 'bad' in mids it's just that percussion doesn't pop out properly. You can talk about ohms and watts all day and it does matter but what you want is large bass cabinets and good sounding hi-eff tops. What you don't want is those high mass car type subwoofer speakers I've tried that. I also don't believe in 'tricks' to get more bass like bassreflex or bandpass they all have their problems the tradeoff is not worth it, sealed all the way.
@@TimpBizkit yeah but designing a bass reflexx cabinet you also have to get a speaker that more stiff and heavy so at the same time it works against efficiency. I guess you might view speakers as 'entertainment devices' so in that sense bass reflexx is not that bad. It all get's a bit 'difficult' or 'subjective' with this kind of thing. There's also the cooling thing so when the fs is around 50hz you might think that's the not efficient part of the spectrum but actually the speaker has to do very little work in that area and get's lots of cooling so.. It all get's quite complicated the mix between entertainment devices and all kind of technical considerations. I guess in general any use of 'tricks' like bass reflex or bandpass makes the system more compact so you have to lug less wood around and store it somewhere. I had an outdoor party lately and the 4 18'' bass cabinets really had trouble filling it with any kind of bass. At some point there was quite a bit of heat coming from the speakers and I had to tune the limiter down. I hope it didn't damage the magnets I guess that's a case of not enough rig for the gig. And that's another factor how hot does it get inside that box I assumed it was 'ambient' but there just might be a problem with heat buildup. One advantage of bassreflex is that it has that ventilation to the outside world.
I don't know if 'lower' is 'less efficient' so to speak there's a bit of a difference between the lower bass (below 40) and the upper bass, the upper base has to be loud 'preferably' whilst the lower base just has to be audible when the lower bass like 30hz is audible that's enough, at least that's my experience the lower bass just has to be 'there' it doesn't matter much how loud it is. So you can crank up 30 hz 10 decibels it doesn't make much difference when it's audible it's audible when it comes to higher bass it's different. So you have to design a speaker to match those requirements.
I am replacing and amp later this year so this video was useful.
Very simple and easy to understand explanation and with good examples. Amazing job GLB Productions. Thank You
+Binny NT You're welcome, thanks for watching!
Such a helpful video!!! Well scripted. Clear delivery. Bravo.
Thanks for watching Ryan!
Finally..I found the most clear explanation. Thank You..God Bless You....SALAMAT
+Ray Sarael You're most welcome, thanks for watching!
Totally top notch explanation... such a good, informative video... searched lots for this information... brilliant, thanks
You're welcome, thanks for watching and commenting :)
Awesome video very informative and very detailed thank you so much truck driver from Southern California🚛
You're most welcome Stephen, drive safe 😄
Wow. Thank you for the wonderful explanation. This is an amazing tutorial! :). helpful for my Salsa dj gig setup :)
You are most welcome.
Thank you very much GLB Productions, you clearly pointed out to me why my carvin speaker is out of commission. I will not make the same mistake again.
Yes mistakes in this area can get expensive really quickly ;)
God bless you too! Thank you very much for all your videos Bruno. Greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷
I have a good sense of how to do this now. You've answered many questions I had. thanks alot.
You're welcome, glad the video was helpful.
I really enjoyed your nuts and bolts approach to the subject. I always walk away knowing much more than when I started. i have a lot to learn so keep 'um comin'. JimE
+Jim E Thanks Jim, always appreciate your support!
Are you a magician on the side?
Not that I know of ;)
Amazingly clear, concise, and helpful
Thanks for watching Darla!
Best guide, period! Thumbs up!
This is brilliant and i shared it as someone was commenting with wrong info so I shared to back up what I was saying.
Oh yes there is all sorts of strange information out there on this topic...
Thanks for all this explanation, I still cannot get my head around why Hifi manufactures spec their power amps with so little power. I know now that D class amps are the answer to avoid clipping even for home use. Many thanks.
It's a totally different market :) Hifi amps typically power 2-4 loudspeakers for an audience of less than 10 people. Pro audio amps need to power large systems that may be used for audiences in excess of 100,000 people. So the requirements are very different. Having said that there's nothing stopping you from using a pro audio amp in your home hifi setup, just be sure to match the levels correctly ;)
Sure, I was referring to the extortionate prices people pay for a Hifi amp, let's say, £40000, with just 300 watts, just because they think hi end has a superior sound against PA amps; Crown, Behringer, they cannot get in their heads that D class amps do sound as good, specs don't tell you otherwise and price is a tenth. They just don't have the looks and the snake oil marketing foolery. Thanks so much for the reply, much appreciated.
Oh yeah that's ridiculous... what did they say about a fool and his money? ;)
I forgot to explain that one amp in bridge mode we'll run the left Channel feeding 2 Tower speakers and then the same for the right side thanks again for your responses
I have a Powered Mixer capable of powering 2 Passive speakers with 100W RMS at 4 ohms per channel (each of its 2 outputs). What would be the highest rated speakers I should use?
Any speaker which has a power handling of more than 50 watts into 8 ohms (roughly) can be used. There is no upper limit really. The aim of the video is to show you what the best match would be.
Thank you very much you are a good teacher
You're most welcome :)
Thank you for this excellent easy to understand video
You're welcome Dan!
God really bless you greetings from West Africa
You're welcome Richard.
@@GLBProductions thank you Bruno
Excellent explanation of amp vs speaker specs. Wish I would have found this before a recent power amp purchase as what I bought is slightly under powered but was twice as much wattage as we had before for our monitors so we are better off. I'll just have to watch the clipping light. Thanks for posting this. Really appreciate you taking the time to explain stuff like this to dolts like me :-).
+John Burgett You're welcome, thanks for watching! At the end of the day as long as an amp/speaker combination is loud enough for its intended use and there is no distortion or clipping the exact numbers do not really matter - you could use a 1 watt amplifier and still get decent level out of many modern loudspeakers! The key is having enough headroom to handle the peaks. Feel free to get in touch any time you have questions.
i have a pair of peavey 215s at 4ohm the spec sheet says they are 700w program not sure about the rms it doesnt specify and i also have a amp that pushes out 400w rms per channel at 4ohm my question is
is this amp good enough for those speakers or do i need to upgrade?
Your existing amp is good enough - the ideal match would be an amp that delivers 700 watts into 4 ohms but the difference between that and your setup is less than 3dB.
Thank you for posting.
Very well informed explanation
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing it was very helpful. Now that I know, I feel like I should've figured this out on my own lol. All you gotta do is look it up in the owners manual
That's great, means you've learned something!
Very clear and valid inputs. Nicely explained. Well done.. Thanks
You're welcome Habibulla.
love this video you make it very simple however you left out adding multiple speakers to the amp
Thanks for watching! Once you know how to do impedance calculations it's easy to work out how many speakers can be added.
Wow, excelent, clean and a very clear explanation. Thank you for posting this information.
You're welcome Erick!
Just what I needed
Thanks for watching!
I love your accent. Sounds Ghanaian.
Great video for matching the pair for maximum performance. However in some applications, a much smaller amplifier is just fine. For example, a DJ doing club dance will want the thump. A smaller requirement would be a wedding ceremony. Take the same speakers for good coverage and fidelity, but an event such as a wedding is fine with a 50 to 100 Watts /ch. This is useful in older buildings with limited power, outdoor ceremonies with long extension cord use, or events using a small whisper quiet generator such as a beach ceremony.
If you use a power meter at several events, you can get an idea of the venue power requirements. Excess SPL is to be avoided for sound reinforcement and reception events.
At the same time, remember that extra power is always useful to handle transients and give additional headroom to the system. This is necessary as live music is a very dynamic form of program material. Some manufacturers will even specify an amplifier that can provide 3dB of headroom over the speakers' PEAK power rating! Extra power does not have to translate into excessive volume :)
@@GLBProductions Absolutely true. Remember the gain structure of the mixer. The +4dbV is about 1.2Volts RMS or about 1.7V peak to peak. Due to the power supply on the mixers the mixer hard limits are between 10 to 12V peaks or a hard limit of about 12-14db above the +4dbV output. A ceremony running 1 watt RMS can only be driven about 12db higher before the board clips. Therefore peak is doubling the power 4 times. Board at +4dbV has up to 14 db headroom. The amp running 1 watt taking a +14db peak scales as follows up to board clipping. +3db 2 watts, +6db 4 watts, +9db 8 watts, +12db 16 watts, +15db is only 32 watts. Any amp more then 50 Watts/ch RMS will handle anything the sound board can throw at it. If your ceremony is running program at 10 Watts, then yes you want a 600 Watt/ch amp and I'm looking for hearing protection. Church I grew up in had an organ amp of 60 Watts. This was a traditional church with no band, a choir, piano, organ, and sound reinforcement for the preacher and elders. Main amp was 30 watts mono. It is plenty of power for a church wedding ceremony.
Thanks Bruno, another great tutorial.
Advice please... What's better 2, 8 ohm speakers running in parallel output of 450watts or 1 8 ohm speaker on each stereo channel running at 300 Watts per side, the mixer is the Mackie ppm808s? Speakers are Yamaha s115v' s. The first way would free up a channel so I could run monitors instead of buying a separate amp.
Great question Elias! The key here is whether you need stereo in your main speakers - if you don't need stereo then by all means use the left amp to power both main speakers and the right amp to power your stage monitors. In live sound, especially for smaller systems, stereo is typically not needed.
One of the Best and clear explanation in RUclips,, great work 👏
Thanks for watching!
thank you for the reply. they are 8 ohms and 250w rms 1000w peak
Good - now what is your amplifier's output per channel into 8 ohms?
Output Power
20Hz“20kHz @ 0.1% THD, both channels driven:
8Î per channel-550W
4Î per channel-950W
2Î per channel-1250W
RMS @ 1% THD (sine wave), bridged mode:
8Î-1750W
4Î-2400W
Peak Power, both channels driven:
8Î per channel-750W
4Î per channel-1400W
2Î per channel-2000W
Peak Power, bridged mode:
8Î-2800W
4Î-4000W
Should be ok - amp is 550 watts into 8 ohms, speakers are 500 watts programme. Good match.
Hello!
i have these specifications for speakers:
1. 250 watts noise. This means that the speaker can handle 250 watts of power when producing a noise test signal over a long period of time.
2. 500 watts program. This tells you that the speaker can handle 500 watts when producing a “program” test signal, a signal which more closely resembles music.
3. 1000 watts maximum (peak). This is the maximum amount of power that the speaker can accept instantaneously (for a fraction of a second) without damage.
4. impedance 8 ohm
when I choose the amplifier, what power should I look at, noise or program?
is a 2x300W / 8 ohm amplifier enough?
Thank you !
Hi Malinvis! I recommend that you use program. 300 watts into 8 ohms per channel should be plenty for this setup, although the ideal would be 500 watts into 8 ohms.
Hey I just saw some yamaha amplifiers to power my loudspeakers...on the specs sheet it says that it delivers 2×500 watts at 8 ohms in stereo does that mean that each channel delivers 500 watts or that both channels combined gives 500 watts?
Each channel delivers 500 watts into a load of 8 ohms.
Hi concerning the yamaha amp the output is different on 20hz-20khz and 1khz how do I set the amp then cause the wattage output power will be different..
Good morning how do I setup a full sound system with mixer and controller please let me know thanks
so i just got a 1502 crown to drive 2x 15 audio pipe @ 2ohm 800rms, but 1502 can only do 775rms @2 thats 97% power max. so that good or do i need to go to 2002 crown? x-over @ 80hz. and how do i increase out put, gain is set at 3 o clock., and rx-v681 sub set @ 0db
my amp is a pro sound 1000, delivers 250 watts into 8 ohms per channel, and with two more speakers 500 watts into 4 ohms per channel total output of 1000 watts rms the output of the amp ranges 4 to 8 ohms
Great explanation of power ratings. I don't understand why the use peak all the time. Men's ego. Lol. I wished companies show the actual specs on speakers. What about using 4 ohm speakers. I use 2 15's in a cabinet with a horn. So if each speaker handles 500 W rms then I need a amp with at least 1000w rms at 4 ohm. How do I factor in the power for the compression driver horn? This is a pro driver and I think it handles either 250 or 350 at 8 ohms.
Yes I rebuild my own. I have one tweeter that is rated at 500 rms. I think it's jbl.
It's hard finding high rated power amps.
Thank you. I like that you clearly explain everything and with diagrams.
Thanks for watching :)
When you use an amplifier to power a multi-driver cabinet you need to calculate the impedance based on the crossover and not on the individual drivers, because that is what the amplifier 'sees'. The alternative is to biamp the cabinet (one amp channel for the woofers, one for the compression driver) and use an external, active crossover.
High powered amps should not be that difficult to find if you go to a professional PA supplier - you probably won't find them at guitar centre though ;)
Thank you very very veeeeery much!! God bless you!
Please can you do a video on how to connect one compressor to the front of house mix and subgroup insert
Have a look at this video: ruclips.net/video/RLf8jXGtF8w/видео.html
hi. thank you for your very step by step videos. they are very clear.
You're welcome Paul, thanks for watching.
Very insightful
Thanks Barbara.
very clear explanation.. many thanks god bless.
You're welcome, God Bless you too!
Hi @GLB Productions, great videos as usual.
I need to determine what amp will be ideally suited for my six speaker setup at this particular church.
The specs are as follows;
1. 150 Watts Continuous power
2. 8 ohms Impedance
Your expert advise is much appreciated
sir! i have "ssa300" indain AMP..... my question is " which' inch or wt 'Loud Speakers is best.. for "SSA 300 amp... 500 wt 600.. dual speaker or 12ich .. 15inch speaker ... what type of dual speaker i can use for my "SSA300" amp.. plzzz clear my doubt . hoping for reply.
I have a question about an amplifier to drive Magnepan lrs 4 ohm speakers. The lrs speaker sensitivity is 86dB/500Hz/1m/2.83V I am using Behringer 500A amps one for each speaker in bridge mode for home stereo with benchmark dac1. Am I right about this setup?
kmayne
These speakers apparently do not have an RMS power handling in the way that pro audio/sound reinforcement speakers do. If you read the FAQ section of their website they have some helpful advice on suitable amplifiers: magnepan.com/pages/faqs
God bless sir 🙏
Tnx for sharing learning
You're welcome Angelito, God Bless you too!
YOUR DETAILS IS VERY INFORMATING INDEED. THE QUESTION STILL ARISES , HOW CAN I FIND OUT THE MAX POWER HANDLING CAPACITY OF A BOXED LOUDSPEAKERS, BOTH IN RMS AND PEAK. I HAVE A STEREO AMP OF 160 WATTS RMS INTO 8 OHMS LOAD.
That information is usually found on the manufacturer's label on the back of the loudspeaker. Otherwise it will be found in the loudspeaker's spec sheet/user manual.
If i have multiple speakers on one channel, should the amp be capable to deliver the power needed for all the speakers on that particular channel combined?
That is something that you will need to calculate for your specific amplifier/loudspeaker combination. You will also need to work out if the amp can handle the combined impedance of the speakers you intend to connect.
@@GLBProductions about the impedance, if i connect the speakers in series, it adds up, if I connect them in parallel, it's the impedance/nr of speakers.
Like, 2 speakers of 8 ohms in parallel would be 8/2=4 ohms
I can manage with the impedance.
I was just curious if the watts for each channel are divided to all the speakers on the channel
Or, fir example, if the amp gives 500 per channel, and I have 3 speakers, would each speaker get 500w, or a fraction of the total power?
Your impedance calculations are correct :) Just remember that in pro audio individual loudspeaker boxes are always connected in parallel - that way if one blows or suffers some kind of open-circuit failure the others boxes on that amp channel will continue to operate.
The wattage is divided equally between the loudspeakers *IF* their impedances are identical, so to use your example: three identical loudspeakers connected in parallel to an amplifier channel delivering 500 watts, each loudspeaker will receive 166.66 watts. If the impedances are different your calculations are more complex.
Good explanation & help me to decide.
Thanks George.
thank you sir it help me a lot ! from Philippines. here
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
GLB Productions some of speaker products here is not indicate the RMS rating.
only the peak wattage, ,example 1000watts peak, How do i determine the Rms of this 1000watts peak?
micha sy RMS power is generally one quarter of peak power, but be very careful with products that do not state RMS power handling - they could just be pulling any number out of the air and slapping it on the product. Look for a proper data sheet that also lists things like sensitivity and recommended amplifier power. This is why it's so important to use name-brand loudspeakers that are recognised and sold internationally.
what if it has not have any datasheet? example crown speakers only the peak wattage is given ..i have read a article, while rating is 400wRMS, Program Rating is 800w and Peak Rating is 1600w. ,, can we apply this to the other brand of speakers?
micha sy Yup, see my answer above.
hmm..what if I connect a 8 Ohm Passive Speaker to a Power Amp and then connect the Passive Speaker parallel/out Jack to the Speaker Level In of my active Subwoofer? Does the Impedance of the Subwoofer(4 Ohms) change the Impedance on which the Power Amp runs?
If the subwoofer is active, this connection should not impose significant load on the power amp - check the input impedance of the sub's power amp module to be sure. "Speaker level in" can mean different things depending on the manufacturer...
Thank you. But at minute 19:00you said if you clip a properly rated amp could damage the speaker, how can a PROPERLY RATED amp get clipped? Im just learning.. thank yu for answering this question :)
You're welcome Terry. An amplifier can clip at several points along its signal path - in particular, too high of an input signal can clip the input stage of the amplifier, resulting a distorted signal being sent to the rest of the circuit. This will happen regardless of the speaker that the amplifier is matched to. This is why it's so important to listen for distortion in your system, as well as to monitor the input indicators on the front panel.
@@GLBProductions I got you :) Thank you for clarifying that! I just subs to your channel and I love your videos....!
i saw or reader somewhere that you wanna feed 80%-120% power to any passive speaker of its rated power is that true? or am i miss guided ?
The absolute safest way to work out how much power your speaker needs is to consult the manufacturer - all good speaker manufacturers will list a recommended amplifier power for each model they make. You can't go wrong that way.
Can you help me with my home theater system I have boca audio p9 .. I don't know how to connect my speakers and what kind amplifier I should buy .. I bought Sony sdr 750 ....
+Waheed Waheed The video should answer your questions in terms of which amplifier to buy. The person who sells you the amp will be able to tell you how to connect your speakers.
Hi sir! I have Emotiva XPA-2 Gen3 power amplifier into 8 ohms 2 channel 300watts per channel and Goldenear Speaker triton 5 compatible into 8 ohms with recommended amplifier 15 - 400 watts/channel. Is this compatible or i need to have more power amplifier?
Based on these figures you should be ok.
Nice and clear ... thx for the information!!!
impressive, Loud and clear!!
Thanks for watching Mark!
Very helpful, thank you for your valuable work
You're welcome Chhangte :)
thank you for the video, really informative
You're welcome :)
Very explanatory and easy to follow! Thank you very much!!! :)
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
GLB Productions j
thank you for the information and tips thanks sir Bruno
If you use a splitter 1/4” after the speakon behind the amp, will I be destroying my speakers or amp? I want to use all 4 8ohms Peavey PVX 12 passive speakers, 2 as monitors and 2 as main loud speakers. No budget for anymore power. Using a 1500w peavey power amp, and a peavey 20 mixer. With a Peavey equalizer 2channel. I need help, I’m a lead vocalist/manager/financier/leader of my Christian band with most experience, but never used this equipment before.
That usually works, but it's best to daisy-chain the connection at the speakers.
Very very enlightening. This is the second time you resolve all of my doubts.
If you ever need a kidney, I'll gladly give you one of mine as a token of appreciation.
Thank you for your offer! Let's hope it doesn't come to that...
Hi, thanks for your usefull videos. But as a guitarist, I am now quite confused. I was always told that I should use cabinet/speaker with at least matching or better twice as much wattage than my guitar amplifier. With PA system the math is reversed. Why is that so? Am I missing something? Also, impedance can be higher on speaker with solid state amp (matching with tube amp), which I successfully tried on several occasions.
great video GLB Production thank you for sharing. Made me understand my gears a bit better.
+neil lee You're welcome, glad to hear the video was helpful!
very educational, but im stuck on one senario maybe you can help me with. power mixer is 2 x 250W / 4 ohm dual power amplifiers for Main or Main/Monitor Paired with: 2 Two-way passive PA loudspeaker that each Handles 400 watts program, 800 watts peak power _Impedance 8 ohms). I am confused on the "DUAL" description meaning and will i be running at half the power...
I suggest looking in the user manual to see what exactly the company means by 'dual power'.
Nicely explained. Thank you! keep them coming. God bless
+Philip Koshi thanks for the feedback, God Bless you too my brother!
Brilliant man,God bless you, u are amazing
Thanks for watching!
thanks very much for these videos.
You're welcome Milinda :)
Which speakers are more suitable for an Bluesound POWERNODE 2i amplifier (60 Watts x 2 into 8 ohms of HybridDigital™ power). 1 - Q ACOUSTICS Q 3020i (Average Impedance 6 Ohm, Sensitivity (2.83 Vrms@1 m) - 88 db, Stereo Amplifier Power 25-75W) or KEF Q150 (Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohms (min.3.7 Ohms), Sensitivity: 86dB (2.83V/1m), Amplifier RequirementS: 10-100W). Thank you
Hi there Dole, I'm not an expert on hifi speakers, but based on the specs that you sent either of these would be a good match for that amp.
Love your work, can you do a video in regards to setting the gain level to match the power input of your speakers so to minimize the risk of blowing them up
+koolkiwikat When you say 'gain level' do you mean gain on the mixer? I already have a video on that: ruclips.net/video/KcUgggdxLPM/видео.html
Sir... if 2 way speakers, say 15 inch 300 watts ( rms ) @ 8 ohm , and the 1 inch HF driver 20 watts ( rms ) @ 8 ohm, is it affect to their wattage and the ohm... which become 320 watts and the ohm can be decrease to 4 ohm, on the speakers spec sheet shown 300 watts ( rms ) @ 8 ohm...
Very very clear explanation. Thank you very much sir. Aureylio
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
sir you videos are truly amazing.i loved to watch them.you are doing a great job and keep going
Thanks for your support Rohit!
What sort of cable should I use? I noticed there was a calculation on the data sheet dependant on the amplifier and the impedance of the loudspeakers
+BACON IZ GUD4ME In general you should use the heaviest gauge speaker cable that will fit in the connector and the shortest cable run practical. For live sound I recommend 14-16 gauge loudspeaker cable.
Can I connect 2 different speaker's with different power in parallel...(eg.500w/8ohm with 200w/8ohm)... What is the result?
Each speaker will receive half of the power that the amplifier delivers into 4 ohms. This means that one will usually be louder than the other, depending on their sensitivities.
good day sir i have behringer ep 2000 power output [rms per channel 8 ohms] 350 watts... i have speaker 15inch 600 watts 4-8 ohms.. passive speaker its ok sir? or not? thank you sir.. god bless
thanks for the free info
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
I have 6000 watts Gemini professional amplifier, i have 2000 watts of speakers.
Please can i use this amplifier?
It depends on the impedance of your loudspeakers and the power delivery of your amplifier into that impedance, especially if you are planning to run more than one speaker on each amp channel.
thank you so much! great explanation
You're welcome Josh!
so are my calculations correct at 1600 watts per speaker? and will I have enough Headroom with my setup?, I haven't put the system together yet but I'm in the middle of building it there's plenty of used Crown xti 4000 amps available to purchase, do you think I should put each tower speaker on one amp? that would give me 2400 Watts per speaker at 8 ohms, my main concern is I don't want to clip the amps thanks again
Yes your calculations are correct but remember that with bridge mono there are no longer separate channels - the amp acts as a monobloc ie ONE big channel.
Based on the numbers you supplied the match is just about perfect, assuming you only connect the two speakers and nothing else to the amp.