# Run 50W speaker with a 350W amp: how to avoid break everything



## stonemarten (Jan 4, 2016)

Dear experts,

I’ve a question about amplifier and speaker. I would amp a 50W RMS 4 Ohm speaker with a 350W amp (Crown 1000)

I understand that amplifiers have to be bigger than speakers, but my concern here is how to get the maximum output from this set up without destroying everything. I have all the hardware and software to measure SPL (MiniDSP calibrated mic, REW) and I know how to use

The sensitivity is 87 dB at 1W/1m

Is there any way to do some sort of “scientific” testing to get the maximum output from the speaker so I can set a max gain on the amp to avoid bad surprise? I read that “pump the volume up until they distort” could fit my scope, but I would like to be more precise…
I was thinking to run pink noise by REW until I read 105dB SPL @ 1m: does it make sense?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cheers


----------



## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

Hard to give a definitive answer. The amp gain setting will largely depend on the output of your pre amp. 

It would be helpful to know what speaker you’re talking about, but basically, speaker power ratings are notoriously questionable. 

Furthermore, the Crown amp’s power specification is given at 1 kHz, not broadband (i.e. “xx watts RMS 20Hz-20 kHz”). This is a common trick for inflating an amplifier’s figures. 

Regards, 
Wayne


----------



## stonemarten (Jan 4, 2016)

Wayne,

they are 2 TB w4-1337sd in parallel

I understand that the output depends from the pre-amp input signal, but if I know the "rule" (Volt measurement from a range of fixed frequency signal, [email protected], etc.) I can set them up and eventually I can switch pre-amps without fear

Thanks for your help!

Cheers


----------

