Speaker Question

[40sTheme]

Hi, I recently bought an guitar amp (Crate V18) that I figured out would do well with a speaker replacement. It says it is an 18W amplifier, but the speaker I want to put in is 50W. My question is: If the speaker is the right impedance, does the wattage matter (as long as it's not ridiculous; like 200W or something)?

 

[PurdueRy]

Keep in mind that drivers do not generate power. Therefore a power rating on a driver is talking about power disappation. Namely...MAX(typ or peak...depends on the manufacturer) power disappation of the driver.

Using this, its apparent that you would, if anything, want a higher power rating on a speaker.

 

[krotchy]

You can hook a 250W 8 ohm speaker to a 10 Watt 8 ohm amp just fine. The only issue is you won't be able to go nearly as loud as the speaker's limit. As mentioned before wattage ratings on speakers are a function of the maximum dissipation and nothing more.

The speakers sensitivity will tell you more about whether the new speaker will be louder than the old one at the same volume levels or quieter. It is possible for a 10W Amp connected into a 250W speaker to be louder than 10W amp connected to a 20W speaker, or it could be much quieter, but that is a function of the speakers design not the wattage maximum.

Hooking a 250W amp to a 10W speaker though might yield some unpleasant noises/smoke however.