My First Post , Help Needed With Amps and Buffers

[horizonrays]

Hello there I am a newbie in DIY so now I have couple of problem ,
First all my question is what are pro and con of overdriving the speakers ? (Big Companies Like Creative and Altech are using 15watts IC to drive 5w speakers why so ?)
Second what's the pro and con of input buffer ?
what are the best crossover points ? Subwoofer,Woofer,Midrange,hig range
that's pretty much , all kind of help are appriciated .

[AndrewT]

have a read of Decibel Dungeon and Elliot Sound Products for starters.

[pacificblue]

Overdriving speakers has no pros, only cons. Using a 15 W IC with a 5 W rated speaker does not mean you are overdriving it. Speaker ratings are often long-term ratings (except where 3-inch speakers are given with several kW). The 15 W IC rating is a peak figure that will not be reached very often during music reproduction. You also need to check, whether the IC is really implemented for 15 W. If the speaker has a different impedance or the supply voltage is lower, the output power might be lower than 15 W. Most of the time you can ignore amplifier output power and speaker ratings, if you are not working with PA equipment.

Pros and cons of input buffers. The name says it. It buffers source and load. As pros it provides the source with a constant load impedance and the load with a constant input impedance which can improve the sonic quality. You can use it to match the impedances of stages that are not naturally matched well to each other. It can provide some additional gain as well. Cons are that it makes an amplifier more complex and expensive and can also deteriorate the sonic quality, if badly implemented. Or it can simply be superfluous as well, depending on where you put it.

The best cross-over points depend on the drivers you actually use, on their frequency response, stroke, beaming/dispersion characteristics (determined by their diameter) and what you want to achieve with regards to which sound pressure level at which distance and what area they need to cover (e. g. football stadium vs. living room).

[horizonrays]

thanks for the help