is this even right?

Systems

"For a speaker rated at 100 watts peak, you should get a 100 watts/per channel amplifier to safely get the greatest amount of volume from that speaker. If all you know is the continuous power of a speaker, use "The 3/4 rule": divide the continuous rating by .75 to calculate the maximum amplifier size. (For example, a speaker with a 50 watt continuous rating can be safely used with an amplifier of 70 watts/channel [50÷.75 = 66.7, round up to 70 watts]). "

im confused. dont you want your amps at the max *continuous* power and at 3/4 of the *max* power?

sntnsupermen131

you dont really need to pay attention to the peak(max) power
rms is pretty much all that matters
a 50watt rms speaker should not have less power than 37.5 watts going to it
the 75% rule is a minimum, not a maximum
(50 x .75= 37.5)
it is true that speakers blow more often by underpowering them than overpowering them because the amp clips or distorts because its to much for the amp and it sends the signal to the speaker and bye bye
the highest amount of power i would feed a 50 watt speaker is probably 60 watts
but with smaller power handling speakers(50 and less) the rms power should power the speakers to their full potential
a good rule for max is multiply it by 1.2 or so, but with cheaper speakers, you should probably only run what they say is rms, more expensive speakers tend to be underrated
hope i could be of help
-Cody

PoweredByDodge

Cody is right basically -- I don't know who wrote that 75% rule deal, but I'll tell ya... right or wrong.. its sure confusing!

better quality speakers can be driven 50% beyond their rms like Cody said (100 rms high quality speaker may take 150 watts) if your amp is clean as hell, your power steady and your head screwed on straight so you keep on eye on what you're playing on the system... "heavy" music will beat on a speaker being driven beyond its rms much more than say something like "easy listening".

if that "100 watts peak speaker needs a 100 w rms amp" then i need an amp that is 1,000 watts x 1 into 4 ohms for my piddly little 80 dollar JBL GT 10 inch 250 watt sub. that's overkill -- wayyyy overkill.