How loud is a XX watt speaker?

Fill in the blank with whatever number you have in mind. This is a very common question people ask, especially when shopping for new speakers.

For some reason, people seem to believe that watts equal volume, that More watts equal more volume. However, that is not exactly the case. The relationship between the two does exist, but as it often happens with sound, it’s not as easy as it might seem.

So how does the wattage of a speaker actually impact the sound it produces? And in what situations are different wattage speakers useful for?

What does wattage mean for a speaker?

In general, wattage is a unit of power, and refers to the amount of energy transferred over some amount of time. So the higher the wattage in a wire, the more energy per second is transferred through that wire.

In electronics, the value usually labeled as wattage is actually the maximum wattage that can be drawn by that electronic. In something like a lightbulb, which is only ever really on or off, the maximum wattage is also how much it draws at any time. But in other electronics, such as a computer or speaker, the amount of energy it is currently drawing varies depending on what the electronics are doing. So a 100-watt speaker isn’t always drawing 100 watts from the outlet, that’s just the maximum it can handle.

That power is then split among all the processes the electronic is currently doing. If, for example, a 100-watt speaker is dual channel, then that 100 watts are being used by both channels of the speaker. In an ideal case, the power taken in by the speaker is evenly split between all processes, but sometimes one process will be given priority, and get a bigger share of the energy available. This is why in some dual-channel speakers one of the channels sounds much louder than the other.

Why don’t watts equal volume?

We cannot say that an XX watt speaker will be XX dB loud for the same reason we cannot say X gallons will make a car run for XX miles. There are a lot of other variables involved.

In the example of the car you’ll need to consider the speed at which you are going to be traveling, the aerodynamics of your car, the type of engine, the size of the engine, whether the engine is brand new or old, how many people are in the car, the wind conditions, road conditions, and a neverending list of etceteras.

In a similar way, when talking about speakers, watts and dB, you’ll need to consider things like the size of the speaker, its shape, the material of which it’s made, etc.

For example, a large speaker might need substantially more watts than a smaller speaker to produce a 30dB sound (that is a relatively low sound). Why is this? Well, because the cone and other parts of the large speaker will be bigger, and therefore will need more energy (watts) to vibrate (move).

Going back to the car parallelism, this is the same as a big old truck needing more fuel to travel a short distance to the mall than a small, lighter, more efficient car would.

So in this case bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better.

All of this is to say that the relationship between wattage and volume is a complicated one, with tons of different variables to consider. Although wattage is an important factor for determining the maximum output of a speaker, looking at the full range of specs for the speaker you want to buy, and knowing what you will be using them for, is just as important.

But really, how do watts translate to volume?

I know, it is so embedded into our beliefs that even when we understand why the relationship cannot be made, we still want to know!

Ok, I’ll try to answer your question, but in order to do so we first need to set some ground rules. Going forward, we’ll be assuming that we’re working with a single-channel speaker, and for comparison’s sake that each speaker is identical aside from the amount of power being put into them.

Assuming that all other factors are the same, a doubling in wattage usually means a 3db increase in the maximum volume of the speaker, which is equal to a doubling of perceived noise, meaning that a speaker with twice the wattage will sound about twice as loud at maximum.

It should also be noted that as you increase wattage, you should also adjust the rest of your equipment to match. Things like amps, wiring, and other audio equipment will also have some wattage sensitivity, so if you’re buying a 200-watt speaker make sure that the rest of your equipment can also handle 200 watts, or you may risk damaging your equipment.

This partially answers the question. We know that doubling the watts of a speaker, while maintaining all other variables intact, means doubling the perceived volume. But what are we doubling to begin with?

That is an even harder question to answer because of all the reasons already mentioned. But let’s give it a try.

How loud is a 50-watt Speaker?

Most 50-watt speakers will have an upper limit of around 100 db, or about as loud as a running engine.

This makes them perfect for a small to medium-sized room, and for a viewing audience of a small handful of people.

Although their maximum output is very high, speakers don’t usually sound their best when blasting them at full volume. That’s why most 50-watt speaker manufacturers mention that for a larger room, or for a larger audience, a higher-watt speaker is recommended.

But for a sound system in a small room (bedroom, kitchen, etc.), a 50-watt speaker should be just about right.

How loud is a 200-watt Speaker?

A 200-watt speaker has four times the wattage of a 50-watt speaker, so we’d expect around a 6dB increase in maximum sound, to a maximum volume of 106dB), and a quadrupling of perceived sound, based on our earlier rule of thumb.

This would make them ideal for a larger room, or a small venue.

A venue or event on the scale of 50 people or so could probably do with a 200-watt speaker.

How loud is a 1000-watt Speaker?

At 20 times the wattage of a 50-watt speaker, you can generally expect a 1000-watt speaker to be around 160dB, and around 20 times louder in perceived volume (remember, in an ideal, and also unreal, scenario).

At this decibel range standing close to the speaker at maximum volume would actually be damaging to human ears, so 1000-watt speakers are primarily used in much larger venue spaces, like concert halls (not the Madison Square Garden type, but decent ones).

Conclusion

Although wattage alone can’t tell you a ton about what a speaker is capable of, it can be very useful for getting an indication of how loud a speaker can get.

Generally, the higher the wattage, the louder the speaker will be able to reach. It’s also critical to check the wattage on speakers for compatibility with the rest of your audio equipment, to ensure you don’t damage anything and get the best listening experience possible.

Lastly, even though we live in the era of the internet and online shopping, the best way to know how loud a speaker is, is to test it. So visit the store that’s closest to you and the professional there will let you try some that might be a good fit for your needs. And remember, if he/she tells you something along the lines of “take these ones, they have more watts”, well, they are not the professionals they claim to be!