You can drive a 500W speaker with a 10W amp, the sound output just won't be very loud. In a home stereo, it's not crucial to have an overpowered amp for your speakers, depending on your usage. If you listen to music at comfortable and neighbour-friendly levels, a small-ish amp can drive big-ish speakers to a certain degree, lets say a 50W amp driving 100W speakers. But in a professional setup where you are looking at a high power usage scenario over prolonged periods of time, you want a more powerful amp, the manufacturers of speakers often recommend an amp which is equal or upto double the power of the speakers, i.e. 500W to 1000W amp for 500W speakers. The reason for this is that you want to avoid that the amp will start clipping at all costs. An amp that clips will blow up speakers very quickly. Then it is up to you as a sound engineer to handle this power correctly, i.e. not push the speakers too hard by setting the levels correctly on the amp. A 500W RMS speaker can handle more than 500W in short peaks, i.e. a kick drum or similar, as long as you don't push too hard.

Thank you for explaining this. You saved me from making a colossal mistake in purchasing an integrated amp on eBay that looked good, but from your excellent tutorial I learned that it would not handle my speakers. :)

Thank you so much. This is the first video I've seen that actually speaks to people who have little or no knowlege of the subject.

Wonderful very easy to understand presentation, there's a lot of vids out there but this one is really makes me easily understand basic "amp to speaker matching tutorial" Thanks!!!

Thank you for this video! It does an excellent job of summing up the pairing process as simply as possible. I've read hours of explanations online only to come away more confused. Some of the comments below are insane- the audio nuts and people who don't know what they're talking about strangely sound similar. This video just goes over the process of pairing a set of speakers to an amplifier properly. It does not cover speaker sensitivity, etc. because it doesn't matter at this point. He's clearly working with a PA system for a venue. While your home listening needs will most certainly be different in terms of speaker sensitivity, speaker size, etc. the concept is the same. If you're going for audiophile quality sound, pre amps, filters, etc. all come into play, but again, it doesn't matter at this point. Great video!

I've been using a 60W stereo amp with 150W speakers (2 way). For almost 7 years it's been working with absolutely no issues whatsoever. Same amp, same speakers, almost 7 years. So it confuses me you say that having speakers of a higher power handling will damage the amp... [EDIT]: I think I get what you're saying now... overdriving an amp rated for a lower power output than that which the speakers can handle can actually burn them because of harmonic distortion!

Usually don't write comments but I liked your video and thought it was super helpful. Thanks a lot. Made things really easy.

You say that continuous power, RMS and program power is the same thing, maybe it is maybe it isnt. I looked at some Cerwin Vega speakers online from a store here in Norway and the description says this: Power Handling (Watts): RMS 350 W | Program 700 W | Peak 1400 W The reason i ask is RMS and program is very different, who of the two should i have in mind when looking for an amp?

Nice flip/catch @ 4:00. Really though, This explanation made it all sooooo understandable. Great vid!

This sounds like home stereo equipment. While the same logic in our tutorial is applicable, we are discussing live sound equipment. Without knowing the specifications of your 6 speakers, this is impossible to quantify. I would recommend consulting the manual that came with your home stereo equipment as that should provide the information for a proper installation.

Thanks for the quick response! Well, right now we have a 300-watt Yamaha EMX312SC Mixer with two Yamaha S112V Club Speakers (350 watt program handling each). I realized after watching your video that we're at a risk of damaging our mixer, so we're currently looking into trading up for the Yamaha EMX512SC mixer.

I gave up mate but this video was the best I found, Now I am on battery's and they work of they same principle, My brain canot handle it, But once you got the basics than the rest will follow. Cheers for vids

When setting gains on amp you should first set your signal levels on the mixer to just before the red meter. Then turn your gains on the amp to your desired level which should never have to be up all the way.

Good info. Computer PSU's are kinda the same, you want to get more watts then needed or else your PSU will be less efficient at full load and run more hot and also will degrade sooner. Also a basic rule they say is to keep your cost ratio of the cpu and gpu at about 50/50 to avoid bottle necks. I wonder what the ratio would be for amp and speakers. 2/1? So roughly a $700 amp mates well with ~$400 speakers?

Can I add a 4 channel mixer to Guitar amp speaker and use for small home gigs ? basically 3 or 4 mics coming together in a mixer and getting out into guitar amp speaker like fishman/boss/roland ?

WOW! Best tutorial I have ever seen on this subject. Excellent video! Thanks so much for posting and demystifying this subject for me.

Excellent video; concise, accurate and easy to follow. Thanks!

05:43 And remember. Dividing the impedance by the number of speakers is only correct when all the speakers have the same impedance. If you connect different impedance speakers to a channel you'll need to calculate the net impedance differently and also keep in mind that different watts will now flow to the two speakers because of the difference in impedance. So its always a good idea to keep with the same impedance and watts when bridging multiple speakers to a channel :)

Great question! Using 1 speaker at a time should be just fine. You can run in mono as long as your speakers are matched properly. What type of PA system do you have (i.e. speakers, amplifier, mixer, wattage rating, etc.)?

Hi, Your info is so good and clear. Please help in the case, i have TDA7560 4 Ohms 45 W-Max 51 W then, what is voltage & amp to apply and which speaker is suitable?

So, great video. Finally able to understand what all this stuff means and how to use it when getting speakers/amps and receivers. But i have a quite lengthy question for you. What i have: 5.1 surround system, VSX-321 - 600w total? 100w per channel. Two Behringer 2031A Truth Studio Monitors (TRS/TS to RCA) Now, i did some research and it states online that this model is 5.1 but can be converted to 7.1 using the RCA inputs in the back for AUX/Audio out (Left and right). I hooked it up, after some fiddling i got it to work, turned up the trim on the monitors but still can bearly hear anything out of them, they are both pre amped out of the box if that matters (ive turned this on and off to fix it) So then i read i need to buy a separate mini amp to just power the monitors because the receiver cant handle the regular satellites and the monitors. The X-over is set at 200 on the receiver by the way. So my questions are this: 1) Why do i need to buy a second amplifier for them, if they have one on the back of each the monitors? 2) Should i just go buy a newer model receiver to accommodate higher watts, and more channels - or would i still need a separate amp for the monitors (they are 140w max per monitor) (Also, i have a 4k monitor hooked up to my computer via PCM on my tv, so i really want to get one with 4k up-scaling to use it in surround while watching movies/gaming.) 3) TRS/TS better than the 5 pin (XLR?) round ones? I need to get an amp with rca's unless i can find cheap T/S's that convert to raw speaker wire. Is there a preference? Thanks in advanced for any replies, Steve.

The rule of thumb no. 1 seems to be the other way around for guitar amps and cabinets!?! Why is that? People keep telling me not to overpower my guitar cab as I might blow the speakers. Common half stacks are 120watts amp + 240-300watts cab with matched impedances. Great video! Cheers

best and simplest video abt this topic! question, why does my Aiwa speaker indicate that it has 7 ohms? i thought spkrs usually only came in 2,4,8 and 16 ohms.

I have a pair of speakers which each have a max power capacity of 150 watts and an impedence of 6 ohms. What I understood from what you said in this video is that I should then get an amp 50% more powerful than this meaning 225 watts per channel, right? But I'm really confused because the manifacture of my speakers says that the recommended amp power for the speakers is 40-150 watts per speaker. How come that they recommend that the amplifier does not exceed 150 watts per channel when you say that I should give it 50% more. Wouldn't I be ignoring the advice from the manifacture completely? Hope you can help me out :)

Nice video. It's not based on facts but on experience! Some things are not technical correct bit gives a nice indication.

if an amp only has specs that state a minimum watt value, in my case its 100W, what does this mean in terms of how much power it can send out?

This is the best explanation for ME I have found. Thanks so much!

Thank you sir, for your information in a clean way. Will you please explain more about crossover matching with driver/speaker in your other video.

You can blow a speaker with a high or low power amp. A low power amp that is over driven will clip causing distortion and damaged to the speaker. A high power amp can also over power the speaker causing distortion and damage. A higher power amp can also clip if over driven. Either way you need to be sensible, If you hear distortion you need to turn it down. Some amps like Denon let you set a maximum volume so there's no way of accidentally damaging your speakers.

there obviously is some big misunderstandings about Impedance and speakers here, caution ! impedance and resistance are never the same thing, this is not the way to work out impedance of multiple speakers, the more power you have to drive a speaker the more control you have over it, in this example 2000watts seams excessive but with good engineering is perfectly fine. also more power equals more head room = less clipping. under powering a speaker will kill the speaker before the amp !!

Wow. I just needed a refresher from memory loss. Some of your questions people are scary. I think some of you should not be allowed to plug things in, for the general public safety. Just call someone over who knows what they are doing before you burn down the house..........

i have a jbl prx612m loud speaker, now i thinking about getting a qsc plx1802 amplifier to hook them in together ,,! do you think they will help the music sound better or will be the same..? some body told if i have a loud speaker i would need an amplifier,, it that true.. ? thanks

hello im ricky im about to buy my new mobile dj, and after i saw your tutorial video i thinlk im going to buy the CROWN 2002 power amplifier i really like it just because i can add 2 more speakers , now i have a question can i add a cd mixer to it , im not sure if i can and read the product features and specificacions but i couldnt figure out if i can can someone help me out please and thanks

the way you explain is good the only thing i dont get is if you have the 800 amp and 500 spk and the you ad 2 more do you need to go high on the amp or just wire good for the ohms meaning if i have 2 sets of 500 watts spk (4 spk) i can run them with a 800 watts amp if i wire them on impidence or i need to go higher

While you calculate 2 speaker per channel with impedence of 4 ohm becomes 2ohms, you forget to add up the power which makes it 500w +500w = 1000w per channel while the amp should be 1500w 50% more powerful than speaker load.

An 8 ohm speaker is only Nominally 8 ohms. It's impedance actually varies from about 3-30 ohms over the course of the frequency range. Amp makers PREFER you to use 8 ohms because if you crank the volume, you are less likely to over-heat the amp. Putting an 8 ohm speaker on the amplifier capable of supplying current to a 4 ohm load makes the amplifiers job easier. Please refer to your equipment manuals and contact the manufacturer to maintain the integrity of your equipment.

if I have a behringer pmp 6000 or 4000 they are the same amp what is the lowes watts I can use. and whats the highest watts they can handle ech channel?

hi i have the same jbl speakers if i buy the crown xti 1000 do u think they are gona work ok ?? thanks

completely new to this type of thing thanks for simplifying a bit I recently got a dean markley dmc-80 amp and don't know much about it. just want to know if I can hook up a mic also don't know what type of adapter I need to let it play 1/8 male end I could send photos to see what I have thanks

That's very nice, well done and simple, though I would have added the calculation in wattage for 2 pairs of those speakers, because the xti 2002 would have been insufficient for 4 of those speakers, you would have needed a second amplifier, and thus the logic and reason for the bridging function becomes more apparent. I also would have talked about total wattage as opposed to watts per channel, as many manufacturers list their amplifiers that way. Thus you have a 1600 watt amp, not an 800 watt amp. Otherwise, outstanding job!

I work at a club that has a Peavey xr1212 mixer. The mixer has 2 600 watt power amps at 4 ohms each. We are running 2 Peavey SP 2s (1000 watts program) off one amp. Then, we're running 2 Peavey PV monitors (500 watts program) off the other. Am I correct in assuming that we are at least under powering the mains?

Is it ok to use only one of the speakers with my PA, instead of the two? My group has a couple of practice spaces, and it would be nice if we could leave a speaker at each spot rather than travel with everything every time. Thanks for your help!

As stated in the video, you will be best served with an amplifier that is 50% more powerful than your speakers. We have a great selection of amplifiers on the UniqueSquared website.

hello! RMS is not written in the manual.i look at the back of the amp. and i saw there are 4 pairs main speaker output and 3 pairs surround speaker output.if i will use these surround output, the speakers ratings should be the same as the speakers use in the main speakers output? i'll try to look the rms online. maybe i bought a wrong amplifier... than you very much for the reply..

good day! i just bought amplifier to create sound system set up,i'm not good enough to know if it is good to have a good sound to handle party event, what is written is 2500 watts peak power and can handle 7 speakers a total of 4000 watts,i don't understand. i give you the model:HW4000U brand:techpro, please help to understand well and give me advice what speakers i'm going to use. thank you very much don

Thanks Chris. Our system is a Yamaha EMX312SC mixer (300w) with two S112V Yamaha speakers (350 watt). Are we at risk right now with underpowering our speakers? One thing I still don't get - if we had say a 500 watt mixer, wouldn't we blow our 350 watt speakers if we turned the level all the way up?

so you are the only one that i have found that makes this make since. So my question is, I'm looking at buying 2 speaker cabs that have 2, 15" speakers in each one. the Impedance is 4 ohms. If i try to chain these together do i divide the ohms by amount of cabinets or by the number of speakers? probably a dumb question Behringer EUROLIVE VP2520 2000W

So just to confirm. I can use 2 8Ω speakers that have "Recommended amplifier power 25W - 100W into 8Ω on unclipped programme" on an amp that is 4Ω and 30W? (I don't mind if the speakers will be a bit underpowered, this will just be temporary until I can get a more powerful amp).

I have ten yamaha NS-IC800 speakers. What amplifier should I use? How can I connect them? Can I connect each pair in parallel for 5 channels? What amplifier do I need? Let me know. Thanks.

Hi i am considering buying a pair of behringer b2520 which run at 550w RMS and 2200w peak power, also the impedance is at 4ohms. which power amplifier would you recomend?

How to get wattage of the speaker ? Should I use a tester? (I do not have the specification on it )

Different manufacturers measuer Watts differently. Which one is right for this tutorial?

i got tow 4" speker and a amp.. fast time they give me sound good... but now when i make bass up and also voleum up the spekers make sound sucks... can you tell me what is the problem plz....

This might be a silly question .but how does the amplifier go from 4 ohm to 2ohm. Is there a switch or something. Thanks.

Hi. I have bought PC65.2C and CXX10 and want to buy amp for thees speakers and subwoofer. Can you suggest something, as I can not figure out which one chose. as for price, I would like cheaper)) Thanks a lot

man things get complicated in this comment section, but as much as I could summarize is that: --You need your speakers to have a higher rms than your amp, so even if you push the amp to it's limit, it won't overwhelm the speakers. This makes a little sense cause just last night I was trying out my Martin F8 speaker (150W AES/600W peak, 8ohm as it says in the manual) with my amp (which specs are below*) and I heard some clipping. Thats counting the 280w RMS from my amp and the 150w from the F8, which I took into consideration after watching this video. Amp output Power: 2 Ohms>650w RMS Per Channel* 4 Ohms>450w RMS Per Ch.* 8 Ohms>280w RMS Per Ch.* Also I tried a subwoofer (B&C 15PK40) thats 400w (Nominal, 800w Continous,) 8ohms and it had no clipping. I am somewhat new at taking into consideration the physics and numbers behind it so help me with this next one. --Am I going to screw something up if I connect: -two Martin F8s, in parralel in one channel, thus getting 4ohms of resistance, and on the other, if I connect -two 400w, 8ohm subwoofers just the same?

I have a Rockville RSG 15.28 Dual 3 way 8 ohm Pro/DJ PA Passive speaker 1500 RMS, 2000 program power. What size amp to use?

I need to know if this amp and speaker will match. Proel M1500USB Powered Mixer to 2 Alto MS15 Passive Speakers. The Powered mixer has Output Power (THD

A marshall cab i have is 140watts and 8ohms and the head i want to buy is valve and 5watts. sooo can i work or blow

Please advise me to select speakers for Pioneer vsx-531.Thanks

hi iv just got a pair of alto ts115 speakers 1000w each at 8 ohms and they are 250w continuous each and wondering what amp I should get for these speakers so please could give me an idea of what I should be looking for thanks

What should I use for my OHM Model 1 STEREO speakers. They will handle 1500 watts at 4 ohms.

Please could you kindly do us a video on how to connect 2 Amps using X-Over and 4 passive speakers (2 Tops and 2 Bass Bins).

Thanks Chris this video helped me.

Very informative video and easy to follow too. Thanks!

i have Alto Professional TS115A 800 watt and a Continuous: 400 watts speaker,, what type of amp should i buy?

Great video. Can you help me with my problem? I have an amp that can pump 500W at 4ohms. I've attached a 4ohm speaker that's 250W. Sounds great. I want to add another speaker but it's 8ohms at 300W. Can I do this? The impedance are different. Will this blow up anything? Thanks.

hello...i want to ask you some question.. i have av receiver that write 8ohm..but i don't know are left 8ohm and right 8ohm speaker or left speaker 4ohm and right speaker 4 ohm it that true or above...i need an explaination..help me?

Hi there, I wanted to get a the Behringer iNUKE NU6000 which delivers 2 x 3000 Watts into 4 Ohms, 2 x 1500 Watts into 8 Ohms to power 4 Gemini GVX 15s at 500 watts RMS at 8 ohms. My question is this does the description by Behringer that the iNuke NU6000 delivers 2 x 1500watts into 8 ohms mean that each channel (the amp has two channels) on the amp delivers 1500 watts into 8ohms or the total power on both channels is 1500 watts into 8 ohms. Thanks

Continuous, RMS and Program do NOT all mean the same thing. One manufacturers 'Continuous' rating may be different from another manufacturers 'Continuous' rating. In general standardized speaker ratings progress in wattage from Continuous to Program to Peak power, with RMS sitting between Program and Peak.

I have a 1967 original am/fm radio in my 67 Camaro with 2 original 10 ohm speakers (a 4x6 located in each kick panel). Is there an amp you can recommend for this set-up? Thanks

I have a set of old speakers. Two 30W subwoofers with four 12W tweeters, then two 25W mid range speakers. All of which at 8ohms each. What would be my amplifier or how do I compute for the total watts so I would know what the capacity of the amplifier I need to get for them?

What kind of amp do i want for Behringer EUROLIVE B212XL 800-Watt 2-Way PA Speaker System with 12 Woofer And 1.75 Titanium Compression Driver (Black)

Hi my name is Sajib,i have a Boss 1100 Wats 2Channel Monoblock amp and a 12" Pinoeer Woofer which working good in my Pinoeer Navigation.Now i wanted to give connection 2 other speaker in my car door? can i do that??

Sir is it ok if i have speakers 2pcs Crown JH-500-800 and i want to run those speakers for subs and my amp AD MC300 "800W x2 at 8 Ohms", "1200W x2 at 4Ohms" is this ok or correct?

Great Job explaining this for me. Wow Thanks

If a 300 watt 8 ohm speaker/cabinet is parallel wired to a separate 300 watt 8 ohm speaker/cabinet (reducing the load to 4 ohms) then hooked up to a 600 watts per channel (@ 4 ohms) amp, how many watts (if run at full power/600 watts) would the amp deliver to 'each speaker' please? (This speaker load would be the same for the second amp channel also = 4 cabinets/2 cabinets per channel)

I would not follow this guy's recommendations.

I NEED HELP TO PICK THE RIGHT AMP FOR MY SET UP PLS I HAVE 2 MACKIE S525 2500W TOPS AND 2 CERWIN VEGA JE36C 1000W SUBWOOFERS AND THEY BOTH 8ohm .Any help?

what speaker would you advise for the tweeter with the above set you just shared? tnx

I want to put these new rockford fosgate speakers that I got in my truck. I am really having problems with how to power them. They are 80 watts rms a pair and 320 peak power a pair. I have an amp that puts out 400 watts x 4. Can I put my front speakers on a channel and my back speakers on a channel even though the rms is 160 a pair and my amp will be giving them 400 watts?

hi, at 3:23 you explain not to under power the speaker as you run the risk of damaging your amp. I recently bought a pair of bookshelf speakers running at 130watts and i bought an amp/av receiver that has a stereo output of 100W X 2, am I damaging the amp? The amp has a surround output of 100 X

Hi I have a combo that is 30 watts and uses a 4 ohm 10" speaker. I am planning on turning the combo into a separate head and cab. when I make the cab, can I change the speaker to 8 ohm 12" without a problem?

It is safe to use 2 Magnat Vector 203 (or 2 magnat vector 201) speakers on the Pioneer A-10 amplifier?Apriciate the help!! Great video by the way thx for sharing.

Hey Hopefully i'm not asking something that has been asked beofore, but the amp that u are using can handle 2 ohms which means it wont die or anything nd the speakers would be fine aswell but when running 2 speakers each side would you lose power because you are not running 4 ohms you are only running 2?

Outstanding job, KUDOS!. Im putting together a system using a DBX Driverack PA+ and I still can't figure out how to connect it all. Easy out of the DBX, 2 XLR's per high, mid and low L and R. . Then into the amp keeping L/R so far so good but how the heck do you connect the mid and highs coming out of the amp (Subs are easy. One speaker per box L/R) to my EV T-252 meaning there is 2 speakon connectors in the rear per box but how do I know which is high and which is mid? I did take the rear panel out and moved the fuses to one side which you're supposed to do to By-Amp it. Wish I could send you a picture of the rear panel of these old EV's T-252

Very helpful, thanks!

So I'm trying to build my own Bluetooth speaker to compete with the Soundboks 2. How can I used what I just learned in this video but have it powered by a batter so it's portable???

I have a 1948 1A65 40watt operadio amp, its mono only, im wanting to know do I have to use a mixer & crossover?

Would helpful to the less tech oriented, to know about calculating loudspeakers connection in parallel vs in series. As rule of thumb speaker impedance has to be at least equal or greater than amp impedance. Neverthless if speaker impedance is greater than amp (i.e. 16 ohm on a 8ohm power amp ) then impedance output will be reduced cause of a greater resistive charge.

Hi there need help please i have 4 Audiopipe 6" speakers rated at 250w max, rms 125 and have 2 super tweeter Audiopipe rated at 250w ,rms 125watts and then im trowing in 1 pioneer 10" flat shallow subwoofer rated at 1200watts max, rms 300watts, what size watts amp and type of 5ch amp do you recommend to go with?? Thanks Was thinking of buying the audio pipe 3000 watts amp from ebay lmk please

I have a question though, I have an old radio which has 2 speakers which rated, 3VA 4Ω and I would like to change that to modern speaker. For that, how much watts speakers should I use?

So i have a setup I am looking to buy, it has speakers that has 60Wrms front and 100Wrms rear X4 for my car, both run at 2 ohms. So that is a total of 640watt rms needed. I found an amp by MB Quart (sq classification) that runs 160watt rms x4 @ 2 ohms, which is 640watt rms on the dot. Is this perfect or not enough? Since these numbers are not running their peak I should be safe?

What happend to the watts of 2 subwoofer rated at 1600w each in parallel? Thanks.

Can someone help me in this for my car audio? I have a Speaker (Blaupunkt QL 690) that has RMS of 67W and peak power 300 W, 3 omh impedance. I checked all the amplifier's and all have only 2 and 4 omh impedance. What will be my required RMS and Impedance while choosing an amplifier? Can I connect 2 omh channels to a 3 omh speakers?

what kind of speakers to use with this 55/30w bi-amplifier

This video just solved every single problem I had and showed me everything I need to know, than you so much!

Hi, is it okey to put 4x500 watts speakers in 2 cahannel 750 watts amplifier, amplifier 8 ohms and speaker 8 ohms also ?

I was considering switching to passive speakers so my power could always stay protected in my area and less cabling to run. Since I obviously need to become a scientist to accomplish this, I think I've decided to stick with powered speakers. Thanks for helping me with this decision.

if you added the two extra speakers as you showed, would they need more watts to power them? you would have two 500 watt speakers on each channel so would you need a 1000 watt per channel amp?