quick speaker question

[ejp2fast]

i have a deck that says 4x50W on it..
if i have speakers rated at over 50W apiece, will i only get 50W of output?
i don't have my new speakers yet.

[Pu241]

i have a deck that says 4x50W on it...

Is that RMS or peak?

if i have speakers rated at over 50W apiece, will i only get 50W of output?.

Yes, no matter what the speaker rating is you will get no more than what the amp is putting in.
As a matter of fact, less, because of the inefficiencies of the speaker itself!
But, for me 4x50 RMS is plenty, not to mention cheaper and less likely to be stolen.

[ejp2fast]

Is that RMS or peak?

peak i believe.

[MONSOON]

Yeah theyll always show you peak power. Generally continueos power is going to be around 20w. Also it makes a difference if its a mofset amplifier in the deck. If it is then the power rating is going to be pretty close to what it advertises.

[JPT]

Speakers are rated by how much power they can HANDLE. It has nothing to do with output. If your speakers are rated to 100 watts, that's how much they will hold. If your amp puts out less, then you're safe. If your amp puts out more, then you'll probably pop a speaker if you crank it.

For a quick idea of how loud your system will be, find the spl rating of your speaker of choice. For example 90 Db, add 3 Db per speaker, then 3 Db per doubling of wattage.

Example: 1 speaker @ 90 Db. 4 in the car gives 99 Db all at 1 watt. For 3 DB more double the wattage to 2, you'll get 102. For 105, double that to 4. Keep doing this and you'll soon see why it takes 1000's of watts to get to the "glass shattering" range

For comparison:

105 is loud in a car
120 is a loud rock concert
150 causes instant deafness
180 will kill you
200 will blast a hole in 4" of concrete