Q. So I don't really know much about audio equipment. But our house will be throwing a bunch of pregames and parties over the course of the next year at college and our surround sound speakers just aren't cutting it. I looked around on different forums but could really get a clear answer. Basically looking for speakers that will be loud (played outside on the porch etc.), sound decent, and won't blow out. Would it be worth it to get active speakers or do passive speaker setups have a decent price break. Our budget is likely about $400. Thanks for any help, guidance, advice, horror stories you can provide.
So would this setup be sufficient to simply play music off an ipod or computer and be able to completely fill up a moderate sized room?
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Phonic-Powerpod-820---S712-PA-Package-502578-i1469200.gc
So would this setup be sufficient to simply play music off an ipod or computer and be able to completely fill up a moderate sized room?
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Phonic-Powerpod-820---S712-PA-Package-502578-i1469200.gc
Answer
Unless you go upmarket active speakers are of low quality for the money you pay but they can be convenient and you don't have to get another amp.
Main reason speakers blow out is through using high volumes on amps that have a dirty output that way or playing dirty inputs through them.
Dirt means harmonics muck in the signal..
All amps have a rated output power. Some amps have an honest one.
Some amps are rogues. The spec says 400 watts output but not how that figure was arrived at.
Stay away if you want 400 watts you can use.
If it says
400 watts RMS continuous rated output power at less than 0.1%THD from 30 -15 000 Hz (plus/minus 3dB) @8 ohms
Then you know what the 400 watts means.
THD is Total Harmonic Distortion. Harmonics can be baddies.
If it says just 400 watts or 400 watts at 4 ohms with no more info they're likely hiding the truth and that is likely to be 400 watts measured at 1000Hz peak power instead of being measured over the whole spectrum at RMS value.
It says nothing about the power available at 80HZ or 8000Hz or whether any power at all is available at all at those frequencies or whether it's running at 20% THD at 30 hz at full power but some guy reading it says
WoW
At low THD it might only have 60 useful watts for a really bad amp quoted as 400 watts.
If the figures are properly quoted in full you know you have a decent amp.
.
RMS means Root Mean Square and it shouldn't really be applied to power, only to voltage.
RMS value is the square root of 2 divided into the peak value of a sine wave which works out at 0.707 of the peak value.
120v on your house wiring is 120v RMS. That's the level it would have if it was a continuous DC current instead of a sine wave going from zero to max 60 times a second, so it's an average value..
RMS is 120v so the max is the square root of 2 times 120v which is
1.414 x 120v = 170v
Quoting 170v for the mains voltage gives you a false idea of how much power there is available and so does quoting peak power as a stand-alone figure on amplifiers.
There are two ways to go with amplifiers.
Home hifi stereo amps give excellent quality but can be expensive for high powers, 100 watts and above
You can use indoor and outdoor speakers with them and they have a load of inputs for CD, tape etc.
Vintage types can have very good sound and go for peanuts compared to buying new stuff.
One of my amps is an Acoustic Research pre and power amp combo, and I have the matching tuner and CD player all found separately in in Cash Converter branches for a total of under $400
Amps for gigs and PA systems like the excellent Peavy amplifiers are made in high powers and can give a good quality sound with suitable speakers. A used one from a music shop can be a good investment
Most amps use speakers from 4 -16 ohms.
Ohms is a measure of resistance for DC and impedance for AC.
The quoted ohms on speakers is a nominal or average value since impedance depends on frequency.
At low frequencies it goes low and with less impedance (resistance) right where any low frequency harmonics are present the current goes high putting too much power through the box and that's burnt coil or busted cone land and the output stage of the amp won't like it either when it's suddenly asked to provide more power than it can safely handle.
Most decent amps have protection circuits for all kinds of stuff but it's best to stay away from dirty outputs.
Buy good quality speakers with strong cones and properly rated voice coils fit for the job..
Amplifiers have a damping factor. At low ohms it gets smaller which isn't so good.
With 8 ohms speakers the amp will have about twice the damping factor as at 4 ohms and they will give the amp an easier load but at 4 ohms the amp can push out more power than at 8ohms.
In theory it's twice as much but in practice it's less.
A 100 watt amp at 8 ohms might give you 160-180 watts at 4 ohms but it varies with each model
.
The sensitivity tells you how loud a speaker goes.
For outdoors, high sensitivity speakers are best, 100dB or more for one watt input at 1Khz measured at 1 meter on axis.
The wattage rating tells you how power much the speakers can handle.
Having speakers rated much higher than the amp is a safe policy if you run the amp at high levels on the volume control so for a 100 watt amp get 150 watt or higher speakers.
Safer though for 100 watts output is to get a 150 watt amp and always run it well below the top level and then 100 watt speakers will be much happier with the cleaner signal they get, free of harmful harmonics, and 150 watt speakers will be even happier with a 100 watts output from a 150 watt amp than with the top level of a 100 watt amp.
Running a 140mph car at 140mph all the time will soon run it into the ground, and sooner on rough bumpy ground.
Same with amps and speakers, run them well within their limits for cool running and a longer life.
EDIT
Yup, no prob
Unless you go upmarket active speakers are of low quality for the money you pay but they can be convenient and you don't have to get another amp.
Main reason speakers blow out is through using high volumes on amps that have a dirty output that way or playing dirty inputs through them.
Dirt means harmonics muck in the signal..
All amps have a rated output power. Some amps have an honest one.
Some amps are rogues. The spec says 400 watts output but not how that figure was arrived at.
Stay away if you want 400 watts you can use.
If it says
400 watts RMS continuous rated output power at less than 0.1%THD from 30 -15 000 Hz (plus/minus 3dB) @8 ohms
Then you know what the 400 watts means.
THD is Total Harmonic Distortion. Harmonics can be baddies.
If it says just 400 watts or 400 watts at 4 ohms with no more info they're likely hiding the truth and that is likely to be 400 watts measured at 1000Hz peak power instead of being measured over the whole spectrum at RMS value.
It says nothing about the power available at 80HZ or 8000Hz or whether any power at all is available at all at those frequencies or whether it's running at 20% THD at 30 hz at full power but some guy reading it says
WoW
At low THD it might only have 60 useful watts for a really bad amp quoted as 400 watts.
If the figures are properly quoted in full you know you have a decent amp.
.
RMS means Root Mean Square and it shouldn't really be applied to power, only to voltage.
RMS value is the square root of 2 divided into the peak value of a sine wave which works out at 0.707 of the peak value.
120v on your house wiring is 120v RMS. That's the level it would have if it was a continuous DC current instead of a sine wave going from zero to max 60 times a second, so it's an average value..
RMS is 120v so the max is the square root of 2 times 120v which is
1.414 x 120v = 170v
Quoting 170v for the mains voltage gives you a false idea of how much power there is available and so does quoting peak power as a stand-alone figure on amplifiers.
There are two ways to go with amplifiers.
Home hifi stereo amps give excellent quality but can be expensive for high powers, 100 watts and above
You can use indoor and outdoor speakers with them and they have a load of inputs for CD, tape etc.
Vintage types can have very good sound and go for peanuts compared to buying new stuff.
One of my amps is an Acoustic Research pre and power amp combo, and I have the matching tuner and CD player all found separately in in Cash Converter branches for a total of under $400
Amps for gigs and PA systems like the excellent Peavy amplifiers are made in high powers and can give a good quality sound with suitable speakers. A used one from a music shop can be a good investment
Most amps use speakers from 4 -16 ohms.
Ohms is a measure of resistance for DC and impedance for AC.
The quoted ohms on speakers is a nominal or average value since impedance depends on frequency.
At low frequencies it goes low and with less impedance (resistance) right where any low frequency harmonics are present the current goes high putting too much power through the box and that's burnt coil or busted cone land and the output stage of the amp won't like it either when it's suddenly asked to provide more power than it can safely handle.
Most decent amps have protection circuits for all kinds of stuff but it's best to stay away from dirty outputs.
Buy good quality speakers with strong cones and properly rated voice coils fit for the job..
Amplifiers have a damping factor. At low ohms it gets smaller which isn't so good.
With 8 ohms speakers the amp will have about twice the damping factor as at 4 ohms and they will give the amp an easier load but at 4 ohms the amp can push out more power than at 8ohms.
In theory it's twice as much but in practice it's less.
A 100 watt amp at 8 ohms might give you 160-180 watts at 4 ohms but it varies with each model
.
The sensitivity tells you how loud a speaker goes.
For outdoors, high sensitivity speakers are best, 100dB or more for one watt input at 1Khz measured at 1 meter on axis.
The wattage rating tells you how power much the speakers can handle.
Having speakers rated much higher than the amp is a safe policy if you run the amp at high levels on the volume control so for a 100 watt amp get 150 watt or higher speakers.
Safer though for 100 watts output is to get a 150 watt amp and always run it well below the top level and then 100 watt speakers will be much happier with the cleaner signal they get, free of harmful harmonics, and 150 watt speakers will be even happier with a 100 watts output from a 150 watt amp than with the top level of a 100 watt amp.
Running a 140mph car at 140mph all the time will soon run it into the ground, and sooner on rough bumpy ground.
Same with amps and speakers, run them well within their limits for cool running and a longer life.
EDIT
Yup, no prob
How can I hook up outdoor speakers without an amp or receiver?
CokeThief
I'm looking into a pair of outdoor speakers or around our pool, but I'm not sure what I need to get them to work. I don't want to plug them into a home theater system, I just want to be able to play from an iPod. Is there some kind of adapter I can buy to connect to the speaker cable.
Answer
You need to buy some amplified speakers. Most amplified speakers will have a 1/8" jack input, which should plug into the headphone outputs of most mp3 players (including an iPod).
There are lots of these kinds of speakers available ranging in a wide range of prices. Just Google outldoor amplified speakers and you can see which one fits your budget.
You need to buy some amplified speakers. Most amplified speakers will have a 1/8" jack input, which should plug into the headphone outputs of most mp3 players (including an iPod).
There are lots of these kinds of speakers available ranging in a wide range of prices. Just Google outldoor amplified speakers and you can see which one fits your budget.
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