Can you help me understand watts in a car audio system?

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NolandVoyd

New member
If I have a 60 watt stereo and two 100 watt speakers (and no amp), does that mean my speakers are limited to 60 watts? Also, if I have a 180 watt stereo (again, no amp), can each speaker be up to 180 watts, or do the speakers have to add up to 180 watts? How does an amp affect these things? How does wattage affect volume output? My main question is: if I have a 180 watt stereo, two 100 watt speakers and two 200 watt speakers, do I need an amp to get all 180 watts out of my speakers (100 on the smaller speakers), or is the amp unnecessary (or is its purpose something else entirely)?
@AndrewJH: Yes, that helps a lot! Thank you! So if I understand correctly, a pair of 200 watt speakers versus a pair of 100 watt speakers on a 180 watt stereo won't make any difference? And with a pair of each, I can safely amplify the power x2 (to 360 watts)? Is that how it works?
 
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AndrewJH

New member
Watts are just the amount of electricity you pump into speaker/subs, If your stereo only supplies 60 watts and you have 2 speaker the stereo will split the 60 watts into 2x30. So 30 watts each. An amp is just extra power, some amps are special for only one chain (speaker/sub) and some are for many chains. More watts = louder and more power. But you DO NOT want to put more watts into the speaker then your supposed to. Too much and the speakers blow. To answer your main question no you don't need an amp but if you want the most out of your speakers then yes. If the speakers say they are 100 watts each then you should prob put 100 watts into the speaker because that is what they were designed to handle and then you will get the most out of your speakers.

Hope this helped
 
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