Rms

[charlieboy]

could someone explain to me what "RMS" means on subs/amps as its causing me a little bit of confusion

 

[jamie86]

My understanding is that it's the rating of the speaker

For instance they can be

150watt speakers but that could be peak power and could blow them constantly running at this power so are better to be run at say 100watts...

I'm sure someone more technical will explain properly shortly.lol

 

[Luke]

RMS is the constant power rating that the speaker can run comfortably at / amp can give.

PMPO (aka MAX) is the maximum the amp can give, but isnt stustainable for long periods of time before blowing up.

 

[gaz.d]

an acronym for "root mean square." Used in audio to help rate the continuous power output of an amplifier or input capability of speakers. This is the preferred method for comparing anything in audio applications.

Thank you google

Do not look for max or peak power that the amp/speakers can run, as it will not be able to achieve this for sustained periods, it will also of been achieved in test conditions

Oh and i always like my amp to have a bigger RMS output than my speakers, so the amp is in control and not the speakers, i am most probably talking crap but thats the way i like it

also look out for 2ohms and 4ohms speakers and try to match amps up accordingly

 

[littleyellowcar]

gaz, you're the wrong way around. your speakers need to be able to handle about twice the output of the amp so the amp doesnt blow them. As long as you dont turn the amp up all the way, you should be fine tho

 

[gaz.d]

oh **** the bed

*goes to turn amps down*

sorry for the wrong info, slap on wrists, another un-intelligent post by me

 

[arc]

well, no. You should match them properly. If the speakers are twice the RMS of the amp, the amp will clip the signal when the gain is high. Clipping signals leads could lead to your speakers voice coils being fried

 

[littleyellowcar]

ideally you want an amp powerful enough to be running really low gain tho as the higher the gain, the poorer the sound quality

 

[chrisunoman]

... which is what Gaz does.

If you have for example a pair of 100w rms speakers, the best amp to get would be a 2 channel 2x100w rms or maximum 2x125w rms.

You should either match the rms, or get an amp with the rms output ever so slightly higher,

 

[Luke]

... which is what Gaz does.

If you have for example a pair of 100w rms speakers, the best amp to get would be a 2 channel 2x100w rms or maximum 2x125w rms.

You should either match the rms, or get an amp with the rms output ever so slightly higher,

Exactly, nail on the head.

If you go too much over you fry the voice coils, too much under and you kill them through distortion

 

[Paul Westhead]

RMS = proper watts

MPO = ARGOS ****ty watts

Once a guy told me that he had a 1500watt amp and speakers

suffice to say i pissed myself laughing

he was most infuriated when i then told him that it was actually about 1000 watts that he had. What a ****ing clown.

I hate people who think that they know what there talking about when they don't

 

[Dan]

I have a pair of pretty old alpines that run 4 6x9's. Im sure that they were rated at something stupid like 50w! but you wouldnt believe the sound that comes out of them, id say equivalent of the 400w amps on the market now! No joke. I got them free off of my boss who at the time paid about 1 grand for the pair, but that was a long time ago. If you dont believe me lets have a sound off.

 

[littleyellowcar]

Its like all things, when my dad was younger, he used to play in a band and they would gig with 30watt amps, when the stereophonics played at Morfa Stadium, Swansea in 1999 they had 40,000watts of sound system - something has seriously changed with regard to power ratings racently

 

[arseofbox]

Yeah...but Morfa Stadium is huge...
30-100W (for guitar amplification), Id say is enough to fill a small venue...(like a pub / small concert hall)