he response is scaled and smoothed, etc. If your speaker system really is +/- 3dB, that is only 3dB of deviation, from 300 Hz to 18,000 Hz in a lab condition and +/- 5 dB from 30 Hz to 500 Hz in your listening position it’s likely to be a fine sounding system indeed. If you choose to look at response graphs, keep in mind, rough peaks that are narrow in frequency range will not be as audible as graphs that have a wide frequency range that is low or elevated.
- What is Power Handling? Continuous power handling is only limited by how hot the voice coil can get before the glue that holds the wire begins to melt. Peak power handling refers to how big of a momentary burst (at the most troublesome bass frequency) a speaker can take. This is a somewhat tricky spec, because if a speaker is rated for 100 watts, we don’t know how long it can really sustain that power level. Also, just because a speaker can handle a large amount of power does not mean that it is better than a speaker with a lower power handling spec. Finally the power handling spec is only really important if you plan on playing your speakers at a loud volume for a long period of time.
- What is Recommended (amplifier) Power? This defines the manufacturer’s idea of a sensible range of amplifier (or receiver) power for their speaker. This specification is a helpful way of subjectively combining power handling and efficiency into one useful rating.
- What is Max SPL? This is a measure of how loud a speaker can play. It’s hard to make sense of this spec. This isn’t the most helpful specification because there isn’t a real standard in terms of the conditions that are used to test the maximum SPL of a speaker, so you may not be comparing apples to apples when looking at different speakers.
Hopefully this article helped demystify how speakers work and also will help you make an informed buying decision the next time you are shopping for speakers. Just remember, the most important thing is to trust your ears and as always, happy listening!
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