Audio wattage question: Matching speaker wattage with head unit

Leinhit

Leinhit

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If my new polk audio speakers are rated for 100 watts / 300 watt max..

Am I short changing myself looking at a marine radio rated at 22 watts RMS?

Are they not the same thing?

What wattage stereo should I be looking for.. I do not have an amp at this time And no real plans for one.

I just want to hear the music clearly with the top off...

Thanks...
 
Leinhit said:
If my new polk audio speakers are rated for 100 watts / 300 watt max..

Am I short changing myself looking at a marine radio rated at 22 watts RMS?

Are they not the same thing?

What wattage stereo should I be looking for.. I do not have an amp at this time And no real plans for one.

I just want to hear the music clearly with the top off...

Thanks...
Click to expand...

You would need an amplifier to properly match the Polks. Some people will say the stock head unit is fine, but it's not. It's like putting 33" tires on a stock TJ, yes it can work, but not recommended.

This is a high wattage head unit, 40 watts RMS and 100 watts Peak. Could be your best play without using an amplifier.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158M100BT/Sony-MEX-M100BT.html
 
skrelnik said:
You would need an amplifier to properly match the Polks. Some people will say the stock head unit is fine, but it's not. It's like putting 33" tires on a stock TJ, yes it can work, but not recommended.

This is a high wattage head unit, 40 watts RMS and 100 watts Peak. Could be your best play without using an amplifier.

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158M100BT/Sony-MEX-M100BT.html
Click to expand...

Ok thanks for the info! That stereo is a bit pricey for what I had in mind but not completely out of question.. I am researching it..

Open to other suggestions as well

And lol... I m running 33"... Ha
 
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Leinhit said:
If my new polk audio speakers are rated for 100 watts / 300 watt max..

Am I short changing myself looking at a marine radio rated at 22 watts RMS?

Are they not the same thing?

What wattage stereo should I be looking for.. I do not have an amp at this time And no real plans for one.

I just want to hear the music clearly with the top off...

Thanks...
Click to expand...

You can find quality used stuff as well. So much on eBay and DIYMA. Look at Crutchfield for an open box or ding/dent head unit, and then get a good quality 4 or 5 channel amplifier.
Leinhit said:
Ok thanks for the info! That stereo is a bit pricey for what I had in mind but not completely out of question.. I am researching it..

Open to other suggestions as well

And lol... I m running 33"... Ha
Click to expand...

Funny about the 33"s - are you on stock suspension height or have a lift?

What is your budget for this?

A little cheaper is this one, but you need to look for it as there are not many available.

https://www.ebay.com/p/595119211
One more

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_143925_Sony-MEX-XB120BT.html
 
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Leinhit said:
Am I short changing myself looking at a marine radio rated at 22 watts RMS?
Click to expand...

Umm yes... big time!

You need a separate amp to power those speakers if you want to get the full potential. By using that head unit to power them, you're going to be missing out substantially.
 
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skrelnik said:
You can find quality used stuff as well. So much on eBay and DIYMA. Look at Crutchfield for an open box or ding/dent head unit, and then get a good quality 4 or 5 channel amplifier.

Funny about the 33"s - are you on stock suspension height or have a lift?

What is your budget for this?

A little cheaper is this one, but you need to look for it as there are not many available.

https://www.ebay.com/p/595119211
One more

https://www.sonicelectronix.com/item_143925_Sony-MEX-XB120BT.html
Click to expand...
Oh and I don't care if it has a cd player.. I'm looking these others up.

Was mostly looking to match the correct power to the speaker rating
 
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skrelnik said:
One more for you

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158DSXGS80/Sony-DSX-GS80.html
Not many to choose from mainly because most people would choose to buy amplifier, but there is clearly a need for a head unit with built in class D amp.
Click to expand...
So looks like your recommending the 45 Watt RMS with a class D amp pretty consistently for my modest want/need.

I imagine I could always add a bigger amp down the road for more... But probably won't need to

That gs80 seems to fit pretty good.. I'm researching and of course checking eBay for any deals..

Thanks again.
 
Leinhit said:
So looks like your recommending the 45 Watt RMS with a class D amp pretty consistently for my modest want/need.

I imagine I could always add a bigger amp down the road for more... But probably won't need to

That gs80 seems to fit pretty good.. I'm researching and of course checking eBay for any deals..

Thanks again.
Click to expand...

I was looking for a high power/wattage head unit as I think that will be most helpful without using an amplifier. You shouldn't need an amplifier down the road unless you add a subwoofer or more speakers.

You can still stack an amplifier on top of one of the head units.

If you order from Crutchfield you get a couple freebies, so factor that into your cost.

Screenshot_20200309-213551.jpg
 
A speaker's max power rating has literally nothing (!) to with how much amplifier power (watts) it takes to drive it properly, even to ear-splitting levels.

What really determines how much power a speaker requires to produce a given SPL (sound pressure level) is its Sensitivity rating. For example a speaker with an 87 dB Sensitivity rating literally requires twice as much power to drive to the same SPL a speaker with a 90 dB Sensitivity rating. A 3 dB difference means a lot where sound volume is concerned. It takes twice as much power (watts) to produce a 3 dB increase in sound level.

So there's more to deciding how much power a speaker requires than just looking at its max power rating.

And to add even more confusion not all wattage ratings are the same. To save confusion make sure the wattage ratings are RMS. RMS is the industry standard which allows for apples to apples comparisons. Some sneaky retailers or even amplifier manufacturers will use misleading wattage terms like 'music power', 'peak power', 'dynamic power', etc. meant to fool people into thinking they're putting out more power than they really are.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
A speaker's max power rating has literally nothing (!) to with how much amplifier power (watts) it takes to drive it properly, even to ear-splitting levels.

What really determines how much power a speaker requires to produce a given SPL (sound pressure level) is its Sensitivity rating. For example a speaker with an 87 dB Sensitivity rating literally requires twice as much power to drive to the same SPL a speaker with a 90 dB Sensitivity rating. A 3 dB difference means a lot where sound volume is concerned. It takes twice as much power (watts) to produce a 3 dB increase in sound level.

So there's more to deciding how much power a speaker requires than just looking at its max power rating.

And to add even more confusion not all wattage ratings are the same. To save confusion make sure the wattage ratings are RMS. RMS is the industry standard which allows for apples to apples comparisons. Some sneaky retailers or even amplifier manufacturers will use misleading wattage terms like 'music power', 'peak power', 'dynamic power', etc. meant to fool people into thinking they're putting out more power than they really are.
Click to expand...

I'm finding much confusion and been trying to look at the RMS wattage for comparison.

I have those Polk db 652 speakers and just want to get good sound and music easily understood while driving with the top off..

My stock radio just died and looking for modest replacement. I like music, but not a passion or need the best..
 
The OP speakers are the Polk Audio DB rated at 100RMS and 91db. What is the minimum RMS amp to pair with these speakers? Is 50RMS adequate or try to get close to the 100RMS with the amp?
 
A 50-60 RMS watt per channel amplifier would easily drive those Polk speakers to a louder level than even a 16 year old could stand. No need for 100 RMS watts per channel for that size speaker in a Jeep or car.

The 60 RMS watt per channel amp I installed in my previous TJ was more than was needed for my Polks.
 
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Leinhit said:
I'm finding much confusion and been trying to look at the RMS wattage for comparison.

I have those Polk db 652 speakers and just want to get good sound and music easily understood while driving with the top off..

My stock radio just died and looking for modest replacement. I like music, but not a passion or need the best..
Click to expand...

Simplest solution is to use a high powered/wattage head unit to drive those Polks.

Best solution is to buy an amplifier, but that is so much more involved, and from my reading of your posts, adding an amplifier is way more work and money than you want to spend.

Get one of those high powered/watt head units from Crutchfield and call it a day.

explorerlyon said:
The OP speakers are the Polk Audio DB rated at 100RMS and 91db. What is the minimum RMS amp to pair with these speakers? Is 50RMS adequate or try to get close to the 100RMS with the amp?
Click to expand...

It's not that simple, but if it was, you want an amplifier with an RMS wattage between 50% and 99% of the speakers RMS wattage - at the same ohm, so 50 to 99 watts RMS.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
A 50-60 RMS watt per channel amplifier would easily drive those Polk speakers to a louder level than even a 16 year old could stand. No need for 100 RMS watts per channel for that size speaker in a Jeep or car.

The 60 RMS watt per channel amp I installed in my previous TJ was more than was needed for my Polks.
Click to expand...

Since OP does not want an amp, but has the Polks, I recommended a high powered head unit with 45 watts RMS and 100 watts max. Figured that was the easiest solution for this case. Any other options you can think of?
 
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skrelnik said:
Since OP does not want an amp, but has the Polks, I recommended a high powered head unit with 45 watts RMS and 100 watts max. Figured that was the easiest solution for this case. Any other options you can think of?
Click to expand...

Amongst other very good info from Jerry I picked up was the easiest to understand of 50-60 RMS .. those you linked for me were 45 RMS and I'm guessing close enough for my slightly over 16 year ears ( although maybe my ears do need more than a 16 yr old ears do at this point)

Yeah amps and stuff sound cool.. But I think I'll go with the easy set up with the built in amp.. now to find it and the best deal.. new or used deal
 
skrelnik said:
Since OP does not want an amp, but has the Polks, I recommended a high powered head unit with 45 watts RMS and 100 watts max. Figured that was the easiest solution for this case. Any other options you can think of?
Click to expand...
What's the difference, if any, of these two Sony's type of amps?

1. Gsx-gs80 built-in MOSFET amplifier (45 watts RMS/100 peak x 4 channels

And

2. Mex-xb120bt built-in Class-D amplifier (45 watts RMS CTA-2006/100 peak x 4 channels)

Thanks
 
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