Modern cordless speakers come in all shapes and sizes. Finding the perfect model for your application can often be tricky. There is a flood of different names and terms describing loudspeaker performance. Also, each manufacturer publishes a large number of specifications, including "sound pressure level", "dynamic range" etc. I will give a short overview of the output power spec in order to help you better understand the meaning of this term and how they relate to the performance of an speaker.
Some of the terms which speaker manufacturers publish often are misleading and do not necessarily give a good indication of the actual performance of the speaker. Next I will explain the "wattage" spec of speakers. This spec is one of the most basic and perhaps important specs to understand.
The power of the speakers is given as "wattage". This describes how loud your speaker can sound. If you have a small room then you don't need much more than a few watts. If you want to set up speakers outdoors or in a concert then you will need several hundred watts of power. For best audio quality, you may want to go with a speaker that has higher power than you need since many speakers will show increasing distortion as the audio power goes up.
There are two common ways to display speaker wattage. These are "peak power" and "rms power". "Peak power" describes how much power the speaker can tolerate for a short burst. On the other hand, "rms power" describes how much power the speaker can tolerate for a prolonged amount of time without being damaged. In the past, vendors have usually preferred listing the "peak power". This number is higher than the average or "rms" power. However, "peak power" can often be misleading since there is no standard showing the amount of time that the speaker has to be able to tolerate this amount of power.
Music and voice is not constant in terms of loudness. As such the peak power rating is still important, although not as important as the rms power rating. Ideally the speaker will show both the rms and peak power rating. Having a high peak power rating will ensure enough headroom for power peaks which are common in music signals. Having enough headroom is essential since music signals differ a great deal from sine wave signals which are used to measure rms power. Short bursts of high power are often found in music signals. These bursts will drive the speaker into high distortion unless the peak power is high enough.
However, be aware of the fact that the maximum output power also depends on what type of speakers you are using, in particular the impedance of the speakers. Speakers usually have impedances between 4 and 8 Ohms. Due to the limited supply voltage of your amplifier, the maximum output power will be half if you connect an 8-Ohm speaker than the peak power that the amp can deliver to a 4-Ohm speaker. Thus often maximum output power is given for a specific speaker impedance.
Some of the terms which speaker manufacturers publish often are misleading and do not necessarily give a good indication of the actual performance of the speaker. Next I will explain the "wattage" spec of speakers. This spec is one of the most basic and perhaps important specs to understand.
The power of the speakers is given as "wattage". This describes how loud your speaker can sound. If you have a small room then you don't need much more than a few watts. If you want to set up speakers outdoors or in a concert then you will need several hundred watts of power. For best audio quality, you may want to go with a speaker that has higher power than you need since many speakers will show increasing distortion as the audio power goes up.
There are two common ways to display speaker wattage. These are "peak power" and "rms power". "Peak power" describes how much power the speaker can tolerate for a short burst. On the other hand, "rms power" describes how much power the speaker can tolerate for a prolonged amount of time without being damaged. In the past, vendors have usually preferred listing the "peak power". This number is higher than the average or "rms" power. However, "peak power" can often be misleading since there is no standard showing the amount of time that the speaker has to be able to tolerate this amount of power.
Music and voice is not constant in terms of loudness. As such the peak power rating is still important, although not as important as the rms power rating. Ideally the speaker will show both the rms and peak power rating. Having a high peak power rating will ensure enough headroom for power peaks which are common in music signals. Having enough headroom is essential since music signals differ a great deal from sine wave signals which are used to measure rms power. Short bursts of high power are often found in music signals. These bursts will drive the speaker into high distortion unless the peak power is high enough.
However, be aware of the fact that the maximum output power also depends on what type of speakers you are using, in particular the impedance of the speakers. Speakers usually have impedances between 4 and 8 Ohms. Due to the limited supply voltage of your amplifier, the maximum output power will be half if you connect an 8-Ohm speaker than the peak power that the amp can deliver to a 4-Ohm speaker. Thus often maximum output power is given for a specific speaker impedance.
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You can find additional details about cordless outdoor speakers from Amphony's website.
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