I wanted to post this as a separate thread because I feel like people get really confused about power concepts (or maybe someone can correct me if I am the one who is confused)...

I am going to power my fronts with 70W RMS into a 4 ohm load -- UP TO 70W RMS!

now I imagine I would never even exceed 10W RMS for daily listening and here is why...

the sensitivity on my speakers is 91 db @ 1 watt (Diamond Audio D363.5) -- which is already fairly loud...

doubling the power to 2 watts will yield a 3 db gain...so now I am at 94 db

doubling the power to 4 watts will yield another 3db gain...so now I am at 97 db

and doubling the power yet again to 8 watts will yield another 3db gain...so now I am at 100 db -- ALMOST twice as loud as 1 watt @ 91 db (technically 101 db would be twice as loud)

100 db is comparable to a to a jack hammer at 1 meter -- i have never been that close to a jackhammer...but I imagine it cant be conversation friendly...
(source = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_pressure)...

accounting for some loss through the crossover / wires...lets say 10W RMS might get me close to 100 db

did i get this right - please feel free to correct me if the loss from the crossover / wires will be greater or lesser...or if I just missed the whole concept period...thanks...

the whole reason this has been brought up is because I am fairly sure 18 gauge wire will have no issues with the power I will be sending to my speakers on a daily basis...

anyways...even if I were to really crank it up and use all 70W (which would probably be for only short moments at a time)...18 gauge would still be okay...

opinions??

 

dude! youre insane.

Im speechless.
all that to see if 18 ga wire is ok?
Yes it is ok.
i dont know how i keep happening upon your posts, but im SAVING you from insane flamage.

 

if you would never exceed 10 watts then why not leave your factory head unit and speakers in as they where more than 10 watts

 

bmccann101 - you got me again....lol....
one of the funniest responses - https://my350z.com/forum/audio-and-v...enclosure.html

but i didnt really do anything additional...just sharing common knowledge...bored at work...but i guess i should have worded it like this...18 gauge is okay for 70W RMS...or a little more actually...and the fact that most people will rarely (relative to the amount of time spent listening to their systems) even run the rated output of their amps through their wires...unless you are competition ready...

 

i use 0 awg for power and ground
i use 8 awg for subwoofer leads
i use 12 awg for tweeter and mid range leads
i use 10 awg for remote trigger

 

PS, your not going to get 92db out of any speaker no matter what brand etc with 1 watt of power.. sensitivty is like fuel economy when it comes to speakers just cause u get 26 miles to the gallon does not mean 1hp will make u go 26 mph..

 

You did lots of homework but but but two things are missing:

a. Frequency. There are several methods of measuring sound pressure level. No matter what method used it is related to frequency.

b. Distortion. 25 watts RMS. 50 watts RMS. 100 watts RMS. Unfortunately none are comparable without a distortion level.

 

you're confusing sensitivity with power output and its fudging up your math

in short 18ga will be fine wire to use but if you're interested in figuring out what exactly the ratings on speakers mean you might have to do a little more research. You're on the right track...you're actually researching this stuff