Off topic audio questions

[Rlaf75]

I've have a side project I'm doing and I'm looking for some schooling in the audio department.
My question is for the audiophile's in the group.
What is the correct why to match an amp with speakers? I dont want to buy just any old amp and throw a set of speakers at it only to blow everything in a few days lol. Any help would be appreciated

 

[canadiankodiak700]

RMS power.... Go by that, don't even look or worry about max power.
Grab a set of speakers, let's say they are 60 watts rms, pick up a 2 or 4 channel amp that is close to 60 watts per channel. 45 to about 80 watts per channel would be a good general area.

Yes it can be more than what the speaker is rated for. The speaker will rarely ever actually see full power from the amp.

Once you properly set the gains on the amp, all will be good.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[MADDOG]

Watt RMS power - amp should exceed speaker Watt RMS rating. Helps to avoid distortion at higher volume.

Ohms - amp & speaker ohm ratings should match.

 

[bigred90gt]

Be sure to match the impedance as well. In audio, amplifiers are rated for a certain output based on the load presented by the speaker. An amp that puts out 60w x 4 @ 4ohm might put out 100w-120w x 4 @ 2ohm. If you have a 60wrms speaker @ 2 ohm and feed it from an amp rated at 60w x 4 @ 4ohm, you’ll be nearly doubling the power to the speaker.

then of course if that same amp is not 2ohm stable, you could fry it in short order.

you also need to figure in how you plan to wire them. One speaker single output to one channel on the amp is easy. Once you get into dual voice coils, multiple speakers on same channels wired in series or parallel, all of the numbers start changing. If it is a simple 4 channel running 4 speakers, just match RMS power and resistance and carry on.

 

[Rlaf75]

Thanks for the info. It's gonna be a simple 2 channel set up for a Harley Davidson. The biggest speakers I can use without any difficulty in the fairing are 6.5" and space is limited inside the fairing for the amp too.

 

[Graygoose]

Thanks for the info. It's gonna be a simple 2 channel set up for a Harley Davidson. The biggest speakers I can use without any difficulty in the fairing are 6.5" and space is limited inside the fairing for the amp too.

Harley, you will have to find speakers that are waterproof, and try to find a neo magnet, to not mess with gauges.
Powersport speakers are designed different than car speakers.

 

[BillyGoat]

I went with the JL audio MX 280/4 (waterproof) and bridged the channels, paired with a set of 6.5” JL C3’s on my 15 Road Glide. Absolutely rocks for two speakers..... while the C3’s may not be waterproof, mine have been through numerous downpours and several washings and no issues in the past 5 years. The amp fits perfectly under the radio inside the fairing. There is also a place for the speaker crossovers to fit. Someone makes an aluminum bracket for the amp to fit, but I just used a few zip ties. I like my tunes loud on the bike and have no reason to add any more to the saddlebags.

 

[Rlaf75]

I went with the JL audio MX 280/4 (waterproof) and bridged the channels, paired with a set of 6.5” JL C3’s on my 15 Road Glide. Absolutely rocks for two speakers..... while the C3’s may not be waterproof, mine have been through numerous downpours and several washings and no issues in the past 5 years. The amp fits perfectly under the radio inside the fairing. There is also a place for the speaker crossovers to fit. Someone makes an aluminum bracket for the amp to fit, but I just used a few zip ties. I like my tunes loud on the bike and have no reason to add any more to the saddlebags.

my road glide is an 09 with a built 124 motor and 2into1 exhaust and it is extremely loud flying down the highway. It's already got speaker lids but I'm removing them because the bags dont stay dry when it rains.

 

[kurek]

I've have a side project I'm doing and I'm looking for some schooling in the audio department.
My question is for the audiophile's in the group.
What is the correct why to match an amp with speakers? I dont want to buy just any old amp and throw a set of speakers at it only to blow everything in a few days lol. Any help would be appreciated

After you have selected your speakers look at how many continuous watts they're rated for (that's going to be labeled RMS).

The speakers will also have a rated impedance like 2 or 3 or 4 ohms (most often in mobile audio)

If you're shopping amplifiers, find one whose RMS Watts per channel - at that impedance (ohms) - is similar to, or higher than the speakers you've selected. And of course has the appropriate number of channels... you don't need a 5 channel amp for two speakers and also a single channel amp or a subwoofer amp won't be suitable for a pair of stereo speakers.

Punch those numbers in here and you'll get a voltage https://ohmslawcalculator.com/ohms-law-calculator

Example if your speakers are rated 60 Watts each (that's per speaker not per pair) and they're 4 ohms, you're going to get 15.5 volts.

Now after you've wired everything up except the speaker wires, make sure any kind of bass boost, EQ, any of that other B.S. is turned off and then follow the steps in this video:



If your amplifier is rated for fewer watts than the speakers, no problem. Just find the amplifier specs for RMS Watts per channel at the impedance (ohms) that your speakers are, and use that number when you're calculating instead of the speaker RMS Watts.

 

[kurek]

Also in case it wasn't clear you can use almost any amplifier with almost any speakers as long as the speaker impedance isn't lower than the amplifier is rated for.

That means you can use a 1 watt amplifier with 1000 watt speakers, you can use a 1000 watt amplifier with 1 watt speakers. There is no problem as long as you do your part of properly establishing gain when you install it and then don't fool around with it once it's set properly.