Speaker vs Driver Power ratings? (1 Viewer)

[Brandon B]

I am building a DIY 7.1 surround system this summer, and am unclear on what determines a speaker's power handling capability.
I am building 7 MTM's and am adding bass module for the LCR mains. The tweeter I am using carries a rating of 100W, and the midbasses as a pair carry the same. On the desing specs at Orca Design (the Aria 5A) it gives the speaker overall a rating of 100 watts.
So my question is, the 100W rating the tweeter's mfr states, is that presumed to mean when it carries the portion of the spectrum it was designed for, the passed portion of the full spectrum 100W/channel is all it should handle? Or does it mean the tweeter alone can carry 100W just in its passband? Ditto for the mids. Seems not to me as tweeters carrying a full 100W should explode skulls for a mile.
I ask because, as I am adding a bass module for the fronts, with a driver that alone can carry another couple hundred watts, this will unload the mids from the severely power taxing lower bass portion of the spectrum, and it seems to me should increase the overall power handling capabilities of the drivers as a system. I need to know this to spec amps (I am building these as an active system).
Also, any thoughts on Marchand's power amps as compared to something like an Odyssey Stratos would be appreciated.
BB

 

[Greg Monfort]

>I am building a DIY 7.1 surround system this summer, and am unclear on what determines a speaker's power handling capability.
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Whatever the driver manufacturer's short/continuous ratings are. If it only has one rating, assume it's peak, just in case.
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>I am building 7 MTM's and am adding bass module for the LCR mains. The tweeter I am using carries a rating of 100W, and the midbasses as a pair carry the same. On the desing specs at Orca Design (the Aria 5A) it gives the speaker overall a rating of 100 watts.
So my question is, the 100W rating the tweeter's mfr states, is that presumed to mean when it carries the portion of the spectrum it was designed for, the passed portion of the full spectrum 100W/channel is all it should handle? Or does it mean the tweeter alone can carry 100W just in its passband? Ditto for the mids. Seems not to me as tweeters carrying a full 100W should explode skulls for a mile.
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I guess I didn't follow this as it seems to me you said the same thing three different ways. Anyway, if the manufacturer says it can safely handle 100W, then it should be able to do so from the beginning of its mass rolloff point on up. Ditto for the mids.
WRT exploding skulls, 100W = 20dB of gain, so if the driver is 90dB/2.83V/m, then it can hit 110dB/m peaks. IOW, you won't get to HT reference level with it unless you sit I ask because, as I am adding a bass module for the fronts, with a driver that alone can carry another couple hundred watts, this will unload the mids from the severely power taxing lower bass portion of the spectrum, and it seems to me should increase the overall power handling capabilities of the drivers as a system. I need to know this to spec amps (I am building these as an active system).
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Think in terms of what you need. Since the HF rating is probably the limiting factor SPL wise, select the amount of power needed for the two 'M's to hit 110dB/m, and since the LFE should be 10dB higher, 120dB/m.
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>Also, any thoughts on Marchand's power amps as compared to something like an Odyssey Stratos would be appreciated.
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Nope, sorry.
GM
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Loud is beautiful, if it's clean

 

[Brandon B]

OK. So if the tweeter is rated at 100W, then in an active XO biamped setup, I should have 2 100W amps, 1 for mids and 1 for tweeter.
I just thought I'd seen that the tweeter was using negligble amounts of power in a 100W driven program with normal XO's, and wondered if I should/could use a smaller amp to power the tweeters.
Thanks
BB

 

[Greg Monfort]

>I just thought I'd seen that the tweeter was using negligble amounts of power in a 100W driven program with normal XO's, and wondered if I should/could use a smaller amp to power the tweeters.
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They use negligible amounts of current, but you need the voltage to reproduce the transient peaks without clipping, the number one cause of tweeter failure. If you were using a tube amp, you could get by with ~1W and a power trannie capable of short term voltage peaks of ~29V.
Also, HT requires a ~flat power response Vs a music's ~flat frequency response, which makes a big difference in LF/HF power requirements.
GM
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Loud is beautiful, if it's clean

 

[Brandon B]

OK, gotcha. Thanks very much for your patience.
BB