Wattage of Compression driver

[drhulsey]

With two cone drivers in the same cab, the total wattage of the cab is the sum of the wattage of the two. With a cone driver, a compression driver, and a crossover is the total wattage still the sum of the two?

[Pano]

No, it's the lower of the 2. (in basic terms)

However, the compression driver is going to be attenuated to match the woofer/mid. So not all the power is reaching it. Plus,of course, the crossover divides the total power out among the drivers - however many you might have. 2,3,4

Simple answer:
Usually with a cone and a horn in a 2 way, you are safe going by the wattage rating of the woofer.

[drhulsey]

Thanks so much for your help!!

[Cal Weldon]

Originally Posted by drhulsey

With two cone drivers in the same cab, the total wattage of the cab is the sum of the wattage of the two.

Only if they are the same driver. Otherwise as Pano says it basically 2X the lower powered unit no matter what the drivers.

[gedlee]

Its not that simple when the bandwidth of the two drivers is not the same. The wattage as defined for the compression driver is always band limited while that for the woofer is usually not. How the power is split between the two is also a factor. What Pano said is the simplest answer but not always accurate.

[Pano]

True, if you don't know how much the compression driver has been attenuated or what the crossover slopes and points are. That determines how much power gets to the CD.

So you still might want to be careful. =)

[Defo]

Originally Posted by drhulsey

With two cone drivers in the same cab, the total wattage of the cab is the sum of the wattage of the two.

So you get 3 db gain from adding a second cone driver, and another 3 db for double power handling? Seems a bit odd to me.

[Glowbug]

In theory...with power compression in reality, doesn't always work out that way