N00B Question

[c4sper]

Hey guys, im very newbie at all this stuff and am currently attempting to build a sound system for my car. I have a few very n00b questions:

1. Watts with Watts??
Say a i have 2 400W speakers how many watts of amp do i need? 400w? 800w? 200w???

2. i Have a vibe cbr10" active (the amp inside is 300W) and it is running through my 4x50w head unit. My speakers are running through the head unit too. Are these 300W of power from my cbr amp added to my 200w of head unit, therefore giving my speakers extra power?

Any websites with answers to simple questions like these for me would help too..

much appreciate the help!
Thanks
C4SPER

[c4sper]

basically, how do i work out what amp i need for what speakers?

[sss]

for 2 400W speakers u need 2 channel amp , 400w or more each channel .
u can use smaller amp ,nothing wrong with that , just dont use it in the "clipping" area

[Cal Weldon]

Are you using the line level out to your powered woofer? Then it gets it's 300 watts as the signal sent to it is low level, not amplified.

If you use the amp in the head unit for the main speakers, they each get 50 watts. The two aren't combined except for at your ears. The 400 watt speakers will probably do okay with that but you have to not fall into the pretense that a 50 watt amp "couldn't possibly" blow a 400 watt speaker. It can and it will if you push the amp too hard. That's when you get the "clipping" that sss mentioned. To be very general, it's like the amp is sending out huge bursts of electricity to the speakers (10 to 20 times the rated output of the amp or 500-1000 watts in this case). So be careful not to overdrive the system.

Cal

[c4sper]

so, basically, watts doesnt really mean a whole lot?, just dont go stupidly overboard and dont go too underboard either?

i guess this is the case.... is there a ganeral medium i should stick too?

i.e
if i have 2000w worth of various speakers, keep to about 2000w of amp? or say, 2000w of speakers to around 1000w of amp? just looking for a genral rule to stick too.


Thanks for your replies peeps, most useful.

Thanks again
C4SPER

[Cal Weldon]

The best way is to have at least as much amp power as the speakers will handle. Sometimes twice as much.

Watts:
To double the volume you need 10 times the power.

so 1000 watts is only twice as loud as 100 watts.

[c4sper]

thankyou most helpful, so you can easilly find yourself spending alot of money on amps?
4X400w speakers is 1,600w x 10 = 16,000w!!!!!

wow!


thanks again
c4sper

[sss]

Originally posted by c4sper
thankyou most helpful, so you can easilly find yourself spending alot of money on amps?
4X400w speakers is 1,600w x 10 = 16,000w!!!!!

wow!


thanks again
c4sper

why x 10?