Music power = ? RMS power

[gurnihal]

Hello,
i have a 12" subwoofer.
it is written that it has a maximum music power of 550W and nom power of 150W.
but nowhere it is written about RMS power. is this power enough for a car

 

[jacobboe89]

Hello,
i have a 12" subwoofer.
it is written that it has a maximum music power of 550W and nom power of 150W.
but nowhere it is written about RMS power. is this power enough for a car

the maximum music power rated refers to peak power , when music has a dynamic part in a song or say a sound effect intended to be dramatic , that would be your "peak". the term nominal is another way of saying continuous or rms which is the amount of power that is safe for long term. the continuous or rms power rating is usually more important than peak .

 

[E_Net_Rider]

the maximum music power rated refers to peak power , when music has a dynamic part in a song or say a sound effect intended to be dramatic , that would be your "peak". the term nominal is another way of saying continuous or rms which is the amount of power that is safe for long term. the continuous or rms power rating is usually more important than peak .

RMS is the true answer, but unless it states RMS, they often use obscure methods of calculating power that are less than truthful. That is they have devised methods to pump that number up. As part of consumer affairs, if they advertise the power, it is required that they are supposed to also list it in RMS, the only true comparison.

 

[suat]

You may take nominal power as RMS power that goes into your electrical bills.

The manufacturer of your subwoofer turns electrical power of 150W into musical power of 550W.

Different subwoofer manufacturers make different music powers from a given electrical power. This is related to the efficiency of the speaker in the subwoofer, the design of the cabinet where the speaker resides, and the design of the speaker cone itself.

 

[anwaypasible]

RMS is the true answer, but unless it states RMS, they often use obscure methods of calculating power that are less than truthful. That is they have devised methods to pump that number up. As part of consumer affairs, if they advertise the power, it is required that they are supposed to also list it in RMS, the only true comparison.

hopefully they stop with the devised methods of wattage, but could be seen as fantastic to learn how to know what is too much and what is too little.
it will always boil down to the simple fact of chemistry.
you could wrap the copper in half a dozen different chemicals and compare each one.
if 5 of those are about the same.. that means when the 6th withstands much more heat, the voice coil will be considered unique (at least because of its coating).

some copper doesnt have a coating at all.. and this is when you might want to look at the thickness of the coil, and take into account the diameter size of the voice coil.
this way you can clearly see the voice coil is 4 or 8 ohms .. and if you mess around with the copper without coating all the time, then you know when it is going to break or if it is getting too hot too fast (you will catch a liar this way).

but
speakers are getting better and better.
they are adding materials to the voice coil wrap (maybe you see it, maybe it is microscopic)
these materials might burn faster than the voice coil wrap.
and if they give you an average number of watts to use, it would be specifically for those added materials.
the voice coil wrap might be perfectly fine.. and it could be recycled if unwrapped.


nominal wattage is simple.
you have a thermal rating for the entire voice coil wrap.
and
you could look at each note individually with the impedance chart of the speaker.
when the wattage is exactly what it should be on the graph.. the value is what it is.
but
when the wattage tolerance is higher than the impedance mark on the chart.. the increase (or decrease) is called a 'nominal' value.
it really helps you to see where the crossings in the voice coil are.


usually anything else after the above process is completely derived from however they want.
and then again.. where they start the wattage (for what impedance value) could be however.


there are different ways to use a speaker.
most people simply plug it into the amplifier and press play.
i cannot go into detail with people who dont realize the more advanced ways to use the speaker.
music
program
rms
nominal

these are all CHANCES to be considered code words.
it could be code for 'apply fir filter to combine the hex inside the voice coil and this is your thermal limit'
it could be 'apply heavy amounts of reverb and this is your thermal limit'
it could be 'with absolutely no limiter in use, this is your limit'

when you look at the speaker and think it is simple .. you really fail on quite a few levels.
the voice coil is very complicated.. and they are not all the same.
different cones make different sounds
different magnets make different sounds

knowing all of this myself.. i do not have the money to go about getting my hands dirty to make an attempt to learn and 'customize' the speaker to make it better.
it also looks like the economy doesnt really support such 'benchmarking'
i mean.. sometimes the customization possibility is there, all you have to do is find out how (or why) to use it.

i suspect the economy will be removing these customization possibilities to make room for a much better overall sound when you simply plug the speaker in and press play.
maybe different impulse responses already tailored to.
maybe impulse responses AND frequency responses.
maybe simply a flat frequency response and the rest is up to you.
maybe more room for reverb in one speaker.. and less reverb for one in another speaker.
maybe more room for an equalizer in one speaker.. and less room for an equalizer in another speaker.


getting speakers and listening to music has been really popular since REALLY the days of radio and no television.
but
things got really big in the 50's and 60's

now people are spoiled rotten and it shows.
i come along to spoil them some more (as well as RE-teach them).