Speaker wattage for my amp

Saket

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Dear FMs,

I am looking for simple full-range woofers to drive with my Pioneer SX-434 amp. Specs of the amp are:

Power output: 15 watts RMS per channel into 8Ω (stereo)
Frequency response: 30Hz to 25kHz
Total harmonic distortion: 0.8%
Damping factor: 25
Speaker load impedance: 4Ω to 16Ω

I'm looking for 8" drivers but not sure of the wattage to go for. I am being offered 20w/40w/60w Sweton 4 Ohm woofers towards which I am leaning. Please help me select the correct match.

Thanks!
 
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As per my basic understanding....
Your speaker wattage means that much power it can handle so anything above 15 watts(your amp specs) will be a good choice,. However most speaker can handle quick transients. Your Amplifier Speaker load i.e. 4 o 8 ohms means if you select 4 ohms speakers your amplifier will draw more current (think of it as speaker terminal getting short) and will get hot. So 8 ohms and above 20watts speaker should be good enough.
Regards
 
Thanks Hiten. So, going for a 60w speaker doesn't seem to help in anyway? Since the cost of say 40w woofer is less than the 60w one, should I look for a 20 or 40w speaker then? Will the amp have any issues driving a 40w woofer?
 
...also in my limited understanding 'low' power handling speaker means it can not handle sustained loud volume for hours due to its voice coil and cone limits. So higher will always be better. Low impedance speaker will give more output but amp will get hot. too High impedance you will have to turn volume up. So 8 ohms is nice general figure.
if you are using single speaker with out band limiting it it try to produce whole frequency range and since no single speaker can produce full fq. range at 'same level' the frequencies at both ends mix and produce spurious output. Having said that I have enjoyed single speaker with its limitations.
Regards.
 
As per my basic understanding....
Your speaker wattage means that much power it can handle so anything above 15 watts(your amp specs) will be a good choice,. However most speaker can handle quick transients. Your Amplifier Speaker load i.e. 4 o 8 ohms means if you select 4 ohms speakers your amplifier will draw more current (think of it as speaker terminal getting short) and will get hot. So 8 ohms and above 20watts speaker should be good enough.
Regards

Thanks Hiten. So, going for a 60w speaker doesn't seem to help in anyway? Since the cost of say 40w woofer is less than the 60w one, should I look for a 20 or 40w speaker then? Will the amp have any issues driving a 40w woofer?

I don't seem to find 8ohm woofers in the market. All sweton woofers I saw today in the market were rated 4ohms.
 
Thanks Hiten. So, going for a 60w speaker doesn't seem to help in anyway? Since the cost of say 40w woofer is less than the 60w one, should I look for a 20 or 40w speaker then? Will the amp have any issues driving a 40w woofer?
No problem. your amplifier can drive 8 ohms 40w speaker easily. The 40 watts is speaker's power handling capacity. By the way I am also interested in what determines speaker power handling and its effect on SQ (if at all any)
 
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