Car Audio upgrade question

[sizmtrz]

I'm looking at a set of 5.25" focal seperates that call for 5-60 watts rms, 120 peak. The amp I have is a 5 channel pushing 75w rms to the full range speakers at 14.4v . I know you send less power at lower voltage and the ram runs between 13.5 and 14. my question is will this amp OVER power these speakers? thanks!

 

[sizmtrz]

I'm looking at a set of 5.25" focal seperates that call for 5-60 watts rms, 120 peak. The amp I have is a 5 channel pushing 75w rms to the full range speakers at 14.4v . I know you send less power at lower voltage and the ram runs between 13.5 and 14. my question is will this amp OVER power these speakers? thanks!

no one?

 

[troutspinner]

Did you ask the shop that is installing it for you?

 

[cra1g]

Are you asking whether 75 is more than 60?

 

[chithead]

No, you cannot overpower those speakers with that amp, if the crossover is set correctly.

 

[sizmtrz]

Did you ask the shop that is installing it for you?

No, I’m asking here, knowing there are forum members who have the knowledge that I’m lacking, thanks though.

 

[sizmtrz]

Are you asking whether 75 is more than 60?

Are you chiming in for any reason than to be a smarta**?

 

[sizmtrz]

No, you cannot overpower those speakers with that amp, if the crossover is set correctly.

Copy that, thanks.

 

[cra1g]

Just trying to figure out what you're looking for. Obviously, you can power 5W speakers with a 1000W amp as long as you turn down the gain or don't turn up the source volume. Also obviously, if you're looking for an amp that CAN'T overpower your speakers, it needs to be rated at the same or lower wattage. So what am I missing that's not obvious?

 

[sizmtrz]

Just trying to figure out what you're looking for. Obviously, you can power 5W speakers with a 1000W amp as long as you turn down the gain or don't turn up the source volume. Also obviously, if you're looking for an amp that CAN'T overpower your speakers, it needs to be rated at the same or lower wattage. So what am I missing that's not obvious?

I'm not a car audio guru or any electronics for that matter. But, in reading, its clear to me that an amplifiers power output decreases as voltage to the amp decreases. Also, It's clear that most amps, especially entry level quality amps display their power output ratings at 14.4 volts. So my question is how much wattage out put is lost from the 14.4 volts to the actual running voltage of 13.5-14 volts. Get what I'm looking for now? if an amp is rated at 75 watts at 14.4 volts, whats it's wattage at 14? 13.5? basically asking is there a linear relationship between watts of output and volts of input that I can just plug my numbers into an equation and get an answer. Thanks, and I hope this is clearer.

 

[cra1g]

Ah, ok. Re-reading your original post, that makes sense--my fault for not getting it. Sorry about that.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the power drop with voltage will be dependent on the amp design--some might be linear, and others less so. I would guess that Class A or AB amps would be more linear, and Class D amps less linear. IF your amp is linear, it's going to be good for about 70W at 13.5V, and 73W at 14V. Not a huge difference, but...

From a practical perspective, you don't really have anything to worry about. There's likely a bit of a safety margin in the Focals' power rating, the amp's rating is going to be on the optimistic side, and there's going to be some reduction in power due to the voltage, even if we don't know exactly how much. Also, when playing actual music, you're never going to get 100% of the amp's rated power delivered to the speakers. You might be able to pull it off with pure sine waves or white noise or something.

 

[chithead]

Truth right there ^^^ You won't have anything to worry about with a proper crossover setting on those speakers. The difference between those voltages on a pretty standard power rated amplifier are not going to be significant enough to cause much worry. I think you'll enjoy that setup quite well.

 

[sizmtrz]

Ah, ok. Re-reading your original post, that makes sense--my fault for not getting it. Sorry about that.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think the power drop with voltage will be dependent on the amp design--some might be linear, and others less so. I would guess that Class A or AB amps would be more linear, and Class D amps less linear. IF your amp is linear, it's going to be good for about 70W at 13.5V, and 73W at 14V. Not a huge difference, but...

From a practical perspective, you don't really have anything to worry about. There's likely a bit of a safety margin in the Focals' power rating, the amp's rating is going to be on the optimistic side, and there's going to be some reduction in power due to the voltage, even if we don't know exactly how much. Also, when playing actual music, you're never going to get 100% of the amp's rated power delivered to the speakers. You might be able to pull it off with pure sine waves or white noise or something.

Thank you for the info! Thats what I needed to know. I appreciate the response. Sorry for the miss communication.