Power Handling

[Myren]

The one other question I have is how do you determine how much power a given speaker can handle? I'd really like to build a pair of <a href="http://members.home.nl/edgar.beers/">GeerS eVe II's</a>, but I dont know how they'll match up with the Odyssey Stratos HT3 I'm also hoping to buy. I wouldnt wanna destroy a lot of hard work and a disgustingly expensive amount of parts.

thanks
Myren

 

[Æ]

Only one way to really know for sure.

Play them till they fry while measuring the power.

Of course you probably wouldn't want to do that. Use the manufacturers listed power handling as a good starting point. Typically the woofer draws/requires the most power, so the safety limit would be how much the woofer can take before it burns out. It also depends somewhat on the music program. However gross distortion usually sets in before things heat up too much. At that point you should turn it down, unless you really prefer listening to distortion. Never a problem to use an amplifier with too much power, just be careful and not turn it up too loud.