How many watts can i use

suds · #1 (**permalink**) 21st September 2008 , 11:40 AM

I probably dont need to tell you this cause you will probably realise from my question but im a newbe. This is my question sorry if it sounds stupid, i have 2 x 100watt rms speakers and was wondering if i can use a power mixer which delivers 500watts, is this possible and are there any dangers in doing this in regards to safety and my equipment.

suds · #2 (**permalink**) 21st September 2008 , 06:32 PM

ive been doing some research on the mixer and found that the mixer delivers
2 x 130w at 4ohms. my speakers are 100w rms with an impendance of 8 so if i hook the speakers up in parallel they will run at 4 ohms. Can anyone tell me if this is correct and if this would be an acceptable system to use. All feedback will be greatly appreciated.

e-vinyl · #3 (**permalink**) 21st September 2008 , 08:35 PM

The speaker must have the same or superior impedance than the mixer/amp/Whatever so there is no need to wire them in parallel. There might be no problem as the higher the impedance the lesser the power so the mixer might deliever less than 130W @ 8 ohms which is fine for the speaker to handle.
PS: IF you wire them in parallel you will get less impedance but the mixer will be @ 130W which will fry your 100W speakers if you put the volume high enough.

Stagesound · #4 (**permalink**) 21st September 2008 , 09:05 PM

there's actually no way you could wire them in parallel and use both sides of the amp, unless the amp has a "bridged mono" output. In any case, if you wired two of them in parallel, that parallel arrangement can handle 200W.

With your 8 ohm speakers, as e-vinyl says, you will not get the full 130W from your amp - you might not even get 100W. (What amp is it?) This setup wil be perfectly safe.

The general rules are:-
1/ total load impedance must be equal to or greater than the lowest rated output impedance of the amp. So if the amp is rated into 4 ohms, you can't parallel two 4 ohm speakers (which would be 2 ohms), because you'd wreck the amp. (A lot of new amps can go down to 2 ohms, but I wouldn't recommend a setup with 2 ohm speakers, unless the amps are right beside the speakers. Otherwise, you need massive speaker cables, or will loose a significant amount of power in the speaker cables and connections).
Note that in working out the lowest impedance, power has nothing to do with it! Two paralleled 100 watt 4 ohm speakers can wreck a 1000 watt amp (though you'd probably wreck the speakers too!

)

2/ Combined speaker power handling capacity should ideally be matched to the amplifier. It does not have to be, but if there is a mismatch, it's best that the amplifiers have more power output than the speakers can handle. (This is because underpowered amps driven hard will be distorting long before the speakers are at their power handling capacity, but the "clipped" signal is very damaging. On the other hand, overdriving the speakers with too powerful an amp is fine for short periods, provided you don't go mad!

suds · #5 (**permalink**) 21st September 2008 , 09:19 PM

Thanks for your replies, i think i understand. the mixer is the behringer pmp1000 europower. So if i have got this right if i connect my 8ohm speakers 1 to each channel i will get a delivery from the amp of around 100w per speaker which will be perfectly safe and of good quality.

Stagesound · #6 (**permalink**) 22nd September 2008 , 12:30 AM

The manual is available here - http://www.behringerdownload.de/PMP1..._ENG_Rev_A.pdf
and according to it, RMS power into 8 ohms is 90 watts, peak is 135 watts, so as long as you're not driving it like crazy and causing distortion, yes, that amp with 100W rms 8 ohm speakers ought to be quite nicely matched.

suds · #7 (**permalink**) 22nd September 2008 , 08:34 AM

Thanks stagesound that has really cleared things up for me and you have been a great help. Thanks for your responses and all your help i really appreciate it.

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#1 (permalink) 21st September 2008 , 11:40 AM
suds Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 7	Will my mixer blow my speakers I probably dont need to tell you this cause you will probably realise from my question but im a newbe. This is my question sorry if it sounds stupid, i have 2 x 100watt rms speakers and was wondering if i can use a power mixer which delivers 500watts, is this possible and are there any dangers in doing this in regards to safety and my equipment.
Offline	Last edited by suds; 21st September 2008 at 07:18 PM .

#3 (permalink) 21st September 2008 , 08:35 PM
e-vinyl Super Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Coimbra Posts: 249	The speaker must have the same or superior impedance than the mixer/amp/Whatever so there is no need to wire them in parallel. There might be no problem as the higher the impedance the lesser the power so the mixer might deliever less than 130W @ 8 ohms which is fine for the speaker to handle. PS: IF you wire them in parallel you will get less impedance but the mixer will be @ 130W which will fry your 100W speakers if you put the volume high enough. ______________________________ To boldly go where no musician has gone before
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#4 (permalink) 21st September 2008 , 09:05 PM
Stagesound Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 180	there's actually no way you could wire them in parallel and use both sides of the amp, unless the amp has a "bridged mono" output. In any case, if you wired two of them in parallel, that parallel arrangement can handle 200W. With your 8 ohm speakers, as e-vinyl says, you will not get the full 130W from your amp - you might not even get 100W. (What amp is it?) This setup wil be perfectly safe. The general rules are:- 1/ total load impedance must be equal to or greater than the lowest rated output impedance of the amp. So if the amp is rated into 4 ohms, you can't parallel two 4 ohm speakers (which would be 2 ohms), because you'd wreck the amp. (A lot of new amps can go down to 2 ohms, but I wouldn't recommend a setup with 2 ohm speakers, unless the amps are right beside the speakers. Otherwise, you need massive speaker cables, or will loose a significant amount of power in the speaker cables and connections). Note that in working out the lowest impedance, power has nothing to do with it! Two paralleled 100 watt 4 ohm speakers can wreck a 1000 watt amp (though you'd probably wreck the speakers too!) 2/ Combined speaker power handling capacity should ideally be matched to the amplifier. It does not have to be, but if there is a mismatch, it's best that the amplifiers have more power output than the speakers can handle. (This is because underpowered amps driven hard will be distorting long before the speakers are at their power handling capacity, but the "clipped" signal is very damaging. On the other hand, overdriving the speakers with too powerful an amp is fine for short periods, provided you don't go mad!
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#2 (permalink) 21st September 2008 , 06:32 PM
suds Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 7	ive been doing some research on the mixer and found that the mixer delivers 2 x 130w at 4ohms. my speakers are 100w rms with an impendance of 8 so if i hook the speakers up in parallel they will run at 4 ohms. Can anyone tell me if this is correct and if this would be an acceptable system to use. All feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Offline

#5 (permalink) 21st September 2008 , 09:19 PM
suds Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 7	Thanks for your replies, i think i understand. the mixer is the behringer pmp1000 europower. So if i have got this right if i connect my 8ohm speakers 1 to each channel i will get a delivery from the amp of around 100w per speaker which will be perfectly safe and of good quality.
Offline

#6 (permalink) 22nd September 2008 , 12:30 AM
Stagesound Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 180	The manual is available here - http://www.behringerdownload.de/PMP1..._ENG_Rev_A.pdf and according to it, RMS power into 8 ohms is 90 watts, peak is 135 watts, so as long as you're not driving it like crazy and causing distortion, yes, that amp with 100W rms 8 ohm speakers ought to be quite nicely matched.
Offline

#7 (permalink) 22nd September 2008 , 08:34 AM
suds Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 7	Thanks stagesound that has really cleared things up for me and you have been a great help. Thanks for your responses and all your help i really appreciate it.
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