hey /g/ I have an audio quesion. I recently a pair of Wharfedale

bump

>TLDR: will 40w amp power 100w speakers?

>>56081190
yes
100W is the maximum rating of the speakers, anything below 100W (peak i presume) will drive them without breaking them.
the 40W amp should be good

now delete the thread please.

>>56080535
>86db sensitivity
Unless you like to really rock out in a large room, you should be fine. But you will probally run into clipping if you turn the volume up too much. Really, the important consideration is if your amp can supply enough amperage. You can damage tweeters by underpowering them also. It's really boarderline in this case.

>>56081404

>Really, the important consideration is if your amp can supply enough amperage

First time i'm hearing about this. It's true, I don't know much about how speakers and amps work. How do I even know how much my amp is outputting/how much is needed by the speakers?

Also, thanks a lot

i'm using a lepai chink amp with wharfedale 121 speakers.

>>56081635
just make sure the speakers don't start clipping. on a 40 watt amp they shouldn't unless you set the volume on wake up all the neighbours level.

>>56081404
>Oh no!
>I walked across the room with a magnet in my pocket!
>Now my tweeters are completely trashed because they were underpowered!

>>56081714
thanks again!
>>56081682
how does it work out? those are tiny

Make sure the speakers are the right resistance too. I can't remember which way it goes, either you can mess up the amp by running too high an ohm rating or too low, I can't remember which.

>>56081635
as long as you don't clip the amp, you should be be fine.

If you clip the amp, you can fry your speaker very quickly. Think speaker coils looking like the heating element on your electric cook-top. If you then back off and normal operation continues, presto.. melted wax, coils busted and cone extruded from core. Not pretty. Been there done that.

>>56081893
Many amps can only supply so much current at x ohm rating. Drive all channels at high volume, there is simply not enough current to provide full output on many amps. This can lead to clipping, and trash your speakers.

It is probally easier to damage speakers from not enough power than too much. Underpowered leads to maxing out your amp, and clipping. If you had a big amp, you probally couldnt turn it up 25% without damaging your hearing before you ever get to the point of blowing your speakers.

>>56081862
That I actually know. The resistance matches at 8ohms.
>>56081893
oof, sounds nasty. Thanks for the info.

Man these sound like cream cheese compared to my previous speakers. I'm gonna spend the night smoking up and listening to music.

What kinda setups you guys got? I'm interested

>>56081978
Ever wonder why Sony or whoever can sell a 7 channel 500 watt (or whatever) reciever for such a low price? Simple, it cannot output all that power with all channels being drivin at the same time. Not enough power= clipping = no airflow around tweeter=blown speakers.

>>56082038
So, how much do you have to turn the amp up to get to an adaquate volume level? This should tell you weather your amp is enough. I think you will be fine as long as you just dont crank the volume up too much. You should be able to hear distortion and clipping, especially on nice equipment.

Ever listen to music for a bit and it hurts your ears? that's not volume that hurt your ears, it's distortion that's causing you pain. On very low distorion gear, you can turn it up too much because it just continues to sound nice. You can't doo that with cheap gear, and not be in physical pain after a long listning session.

>>56081404
>>56081893
Please leave /g/ permanently.

>>56082132
Ok, your turn then. Explain how speakers can blow.

>>56082149
>explain basic physics to me!
No.
But what rock have you been hiding under? You certainly have your 90's myths nailed down.

>>56081737
>>56082132
Considering like half dozen anons basically posted the same exact thing (clipping is bad, underpowered speakers may lead to clipping if pushed hard enough), it looks like it is you who needs to leave. Protip: you don't know as much as you think you do.

>>56082117

>So, how much do you have to turn the amp up to get to an adaquate volume level?

a third up is already pretty loud, I doubt i'll be turning it up more. I'm listening at a quarter volume right now. My room's pretty small tho.

>>56082250
So you're saying clipping doesn't happen? lol

>>56082250
Ok smartass, since you can't I will:
The amp tries to generate the amplified version of the input waveform, but runs out of "headroom" before the full wave is generated.
The result is a square wave.
The sinusoidal version of the waveform is only partially generated and the result is a square wave with a "plateau" on the top.
The "plateau" is pretty much a DC current at that point.
DC in large enough amounts is what burns up speakers.

The driver is only driven part of the way in or out, but it is held in a suspended position at the top of the square wave the amp is generating.
The result is the speaker is in a near DC state and the constant voltage without any corresponding movement causes the windings of the voice coil to heat up.
Eventually the heat is too great for the windings and they burn up.

In practice, the motion of the speaker also pulls in cooler air and forces out the heated air around the voice coil.
With the speaker mostly in the motionless state, but with voltage being applied there is no cooling from the speaker moving in and out.

In the case of too much power, the amplifier is sending more power than the vouce coil windings can stand and they burn up, or...
In the case of woofers, the voice coil is bottomed-out against the magnet.
This causes a distortion in the shpe of the voice coil.
Once the voice coil is distorted in shape the windings rub against the sides of the gap.
They either wear though or are so thin that power surge burns them out at the weak point caused by wear.

Now anon here has low, low 86db rated sensativity speaker, coupled with a low powered amp. This is prime territory for him turning the amp up to get the volume he needs, potentially leading to clipping, potentially blowing his speakers from not enough power.

>>56082269
you are fine, don't worry.

>>56082259
Clipping is just the amplifier being pushed into a nonlinear region. Woohoo. Yes, it doesn't sound very good since it's no longer an accurate reproduction, but it doesn't mean anything.
>underpowered speakers lead to clipping
No. A speaker has a power handing rating, not a power requirement.

>>56082320
Jesus fucking christ. An amp that's clipping is putting out more power than when it isn't -- because it's being driven more. That might lead to the speaker being blown, but it has nothing to do with the clipping, it has to do with putting more power into it than it can handle. I put my 1000W Fosgate amp on a 40W speaker and I guarantee I'll melt that little fucker with no clipping whatsoever. Clipping is just driving an amp into a nonlinear region, there's nothing magical about it. Putting the same power into it in a sinusoidal wave will cook it just the same.

>>56082479
Congratulations, you are both right and very wrong, all at the same time.
The square waveform that occurs during clipping is waht will cook your speakers, friendo. This has nothing to do with the speaker rating, and everything to do with the amp's ability to drive the speaker without distortion.

>>56082571
>distortion kills speakers
The 90's called. They want their myths back.

>>56082668
Everything I have said is accurate, especially as it relates to over-excursion and overheating.

All you can do is meme

>>56082571
>>56082838
I don't understand this heated discussion. Both of you are correct and are saying the same thing for the most part.

File: 1471210075908.jpg (37KB, 840x356px) Image search: [Google]

37KB, 840x356px

>>56082838
An amp reaching its limits is not magically putting out more power than one that isn't. Left is not more power than right.
A 500W amp driven to its max is not going to hurt my three 12W6's. "Oh noes it's putting out more power than it would when turned down to 300W where it's linear!" And? They don't fucking care. If they can handle an amp that can burn through 80A fuses, you think one that can't pop a 40 will burn through their voice coils?

>>56080535
Yes, you won't need that much power for playing audio at normal volume inside.

>>56081301
You can't delete threads anymore grandpa.

>>56083188
Reaching it's limits, it's fine. Going past the limits, into clipping, is not fine. When an amp clips, it sends DC into your speaker, and that's what fucks it up. Simple as that

>>56083111
This Dude:
>>56083188
wont admit that a square waveform is damaging in any way to your components. Pure lunacy.

It's not only the power, its the distortion that kills. Ever heard of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th order harmonic distortion? Do you know the frequency range changes greatly with distortion? Your amp is not just outputting an 8khz signal or whatever when it clips it will have signals up what 30khz or so? There is distortion that will occur during clipping that is way way over the designed limits of your speaker.(and hearing)

>>56083365
>if the voltage is no longer rising, that's more amps than if it is!
No.
An amp reaching its limits is not putting out more current than one that isn't. It's nonlinear because it can't continue to push out enough power to keep it linear. It's just voltage droop. An amp not suffering from that droop is not putting out less power, it's putting out more.

The speaker does not care if an amp reaches its limits. Now, most speakers are cheap and not rated for much more than 10W, so pushing even a stock head unit to its max can blow speakers. That has nothing to do with distortion, it's just exceeding the power handling, which you weren't doing when you were putting out 8W. Put the same power into them distortion-free as cooked them with distortion, and they'll blow just the same. They don't care about the shape of the waveform.

>>56083383
The limits of its physical reproduction are the limits of its physical reproduction. Above that you're just cancelling parts of the signal out.
There's a reason we don't use subs as tweeters, you know.