Sony SS-GN88D power handling capacity

[RishiGuru]

Hi this is rishiguru. I have just bought a pair of Sony SS-GN88D for 30$ in seconds sale.

Here is the pics:

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/8c871

http://www.freeimagehosting.net/9c86d

Those 3 satellites are Sony SS-RS77D.

Sony SS-GN88D Speaker specification:

Speaker System: 3-way, 4-units, bass-reflex type (magnetically shielded)

Speaker Units:
Subwoofer : 8 inch X 1
Mid woofer : 3 inch X 2
Tweeter : 2 inch X 1
Nominal Impedence : 6 ohms
Dimension: 265 X 415 X 320 mm
Mass: 8.7 kg approx per speaker

----------------------------

Can anybody tell me the power handling capacity(RMS) of these speakers? And also any details about their crossovers.

This speakers belongs to a Sony Mini-Hifi System MHC-GN77D.

Sony Mhc-Gn77d Gn 77d Dvd Stereo Sytem Pal ntsc code free 4600 pmpo

The thing is I simply don't believe what this Sony people states. I need the info from pro guys in diyaudio.

Thanks in advance.

[Ron E]

why do you care what the power handling is?

Generally PMPO is at least 100x RMS rating...

[RishiGuru]

Originally Posted by Ron E

why do you care what the power handling is?

Generally PMPO is at least 100x RMS rating...

Well the amp as shown in the picture can produce 125W X 2 RMS @ 4ohms.

I am worried that the speakers can take that amount of power or not.

Considering the individual weight if these speakers is nearly 9 kilos, can any body guess what is its power handling capacity?

[Ron E]

Originally Posted by RishiGuru

Well the amp as shown in the picture can produce 125W X 2 RMS @ 4ohms.

I am worried that the speakers can take that amount of power or not.

Considering the individual weight if these speakers is nearly 9 kilos, can any body guess what is its power handling capacity?

Take it as a test of your ears. If the speakers blow before you detect distortion, you have found the power handling....

I could listen to 1 watt speakers with a 1kW amp, you might not be able to listen to 100W speakers with a 10W amp.

Power handling is irrelevant...

[RishiGuru]

Originally Posted by Ron E

Take it as a test of your ears. If the speakers blow before you detect distortion, you have found the power handling....

I could listen to 1 watt speakers with a 1kW amp, you might not be able to listen to 100W speakers with a 10W amp.

Power handling is irrelevant...

Thanks Ron E. Ron i have a very basic question.

Suppose a bookshelf has a 50W sub, two 15W mids & a 20W tweeter.

Will we say that the bookshelf have: 50 + 15X2 + 20 = 100W of rated power at a certain load.

[Ron E]

Originally Posted by RishiGuru

Thanks Ron E.

Power handling is irrelevant. assume 10W max

[RishiGuru]

Originally Posted by Ron E

Power handling is irrelevant. assume 10W max

Ron i am puzzled.

Say i buy an amp which is rated at 100W RMS X 2 @ 4 ohms.

Now I go to a shop and i see four bookshelves rated at:

1) 100 W @ 4 ohms for a pair
2) 200 W @ 4 ohms for a pair
3) 300 W @ 4 ohms for a pair
4) 400 W @ 4 ohms for a pair

If i want to listen at max volume i assume 200 W @ 4 ohms for a pair will be the right one to choose. Higher values are even better since they can handle more than the amp can produce, but they are gonna cost more. Right.

I am a noob.

Kindly explain.

[Ron E]

wow, so many questions.

Power handling is an elusive number. There are a lot of ways you can define it.

1)Mechanical limits
At very low frequencies where cone motion is the highest, the speaker has a lot of failure modes depending on the attention to detail of the designer and intended use. Mechanical limits depend on enclosure design, so driver power handling (typically a thermal number) won't tell you what happens at low frequencies.

2)Distortion or compression limits
Drivers are nonlinear and higher drive levels mean higher distortion. A power rating based on distortion would be useful because it would tell us how loud we could go with acceptable sound quality. Manufacturers (for consumers anyway) don't typically give this number.

3)Thermal limits
Depends only on the electrical characteristics of the driver and the thermal management steps that have been taken. Larger voice coils, magnet structures, etc... have more area and can dissipate more heat, etc. The signal used to define thermal power handling has the low frequencies filtered out so is not an indication of mechanical power handling whatsoever.

There are two main components of "Max volume". These are sensitivity and power input. If I have a speaker with 100dB sensitivity and feed it 10W, I get 110dB. If you have a speaker with 85dB sensitivity, you must feed it ~320W to get 110dB.

Another factor in music is that there are instantaneous peaks which may be 10-20dB or more above the average or RMS value. If you want these peaks to be undistorted you must listen at 10-20dB (1/10 to 1/100 the power rating) below your speaker power handling or your amp output, whichever is lower.

Interestingly, the mechanical limit may be reached at perhaps 10W even if the speaker is rated for 200W because the signal from your music is different from the test signal. If you run a continuous sine wave into a tweeter or midrange in a 100 or 200W system, you might be shocked to find it only handles 3-5W before letting off some smoke. The woofer might only handle 10 or 20 before making nasty noises and failing.

I could continue along these lines for a long time but I feel I am only belaboring the point.

One can only reach the conclusion that power handling numbers are useless. They are a qualitative number, not a quantitative number, because there are too many variables.

As I said before, the best way to preserve your speakers is to use your ears and brain. If your goal is "max volume", you will inevitably blow many speakers before you finally wise up and get some PA speakers that are meant to take abuse...

[RishiGuru]

Originally Posted by Ron E

wow, so many questions.

Power handling is an elusive number. There are a lot of ways you can define it.

1)Mechanical limits
At very low frequencies where cone motion is the highest, the speaker has a lot of failure modes depending on the attention to detail of the designer and intended use. Mechanical limits depend on enclosure design, so driver power handling (typically a thermal number) won't tell you what happens at low frequencies.

2)Distortion or compression limits
Drivers are nonlinear and higher drive levels mean higher distortion. A power rating based on distortion would be useful because it would tell us how loud we could go with acceptable sound quality. Manufacturers (for consumers anyway) don't typically give this number.

3)Thermal limits
Depends only on the electrical characteristics of the driver and the thermal management steps that have been taken. Larger voice coils, magnet structures, etc... have more area and can dissipate more heat, etc. The signal used to define thermal power handling has the low frequencies filtered out so is not an indication of mechanical power handling whatsoever.

There are two main components of "Max volume". These are sensitivity and power input. If I have a speaker with 100dB sensitivity and feed it 10W, I get 110dB. If you have a speaker with 85dB sensitivity, you must feed it ~320W to get 110dB.

Another factor in music is that there are instantaneous peaks which may be 10-20dB or more above the average or RMS value. If you want these peaks to be undistorted you must listen at 10-20dB (1/10 to 1/100 the power rating) below your speaker power handling or your amp output, whichever is lower.

Interestingly, the mechanical limit may be reached at perhaps 10W even if the speaker is rated for 200W because the signal from your music is different from the test signal. If you run a continuous sine wave into a tweeter or midrange in a 100 or 200W system, you might be shocked to find it only handles 3-5W before letting off some smoke. The woofer might only handle 10 or 20 before making nasty noises and failing.

I could continue along these lines for a long time but I feel I am only belaboring the point.

One can only reach the conclusion that power handling numbers are useless. They are a qualitative number, not a quantitative number, because there are too many variables.

As I said before, the best way to preserve your speakers is to use your ears and brain. If your goal is "max volume", you will inevitably blow many speakers before you finally wise up and get some PA speakers that are meant to take abuse...

Ron E thanks a lot for your detailed explanation. You opened my eyes. I certainly feel 10x smarter now after reading your comments.

Guys like you is what makes diyaudio so special.

[Ron E]

I really would like to know where to find a "bookshelf sub" and a "400W bookshelf (at 4 ohms nonetheless)"