> My tuner has 280 watts split by 4 and I've never found an automotive
> speaker that I couldn't drive into total distortion with the WHO or ZZ
Top.

No indash has more than about 20 watts per channel REAL power built into it
(that is, measured by home audio standards). Problem is, while the FTC
regulates power output claims on home audio, they don't on car stereo.  So
manufacturers have license to grossly exaggerate the power output of their
indash units and power amps (and that's putting it kindly).  Only a few
companies quote honest specs in car audio - it's a case of "nice guys finish
last," as doing so makes their amps look bad on paper compared to the
companies that inflate their power claims, and gives them a competitive
disadvantage.  Go to a good hifi store and look at an _actual_ 200 watt per
channel home power amp.  It's massive, and probably about 70 lbs; you could
get a hernia lifting it.  Now go look at the "1000 watt" amp in the car
stereo department, and you can lift it with one hand.  (If it's big, don't
be too impressed.  The manufacturers know that size impresses; most of it's
empty space, which is why it only weighs 10 or 15 lbs.)

Also, it is virtually impossible to distort, or for that matter to blow, a
speaker with too much CLEAN power (within reason).  It is a common fallacy
that too much power blows speakers.  The truth most speaker damage is caused
by too LITTLE power.  When you crank up the volume control and ask your amp
(or the amp built into your indash) to deliver more power than it's capable
of, it responds by "clipping" or distorting the audio signal (basically
turning a sine wave into a square wave, or "clipping" off the top and
bottom, hence the term).  The same thing occurs if you crank up the bass
(since it demands the most power).  Most of the distortion that you are
hearing is coming from your amp, not your speakers. The rest is your
speakers' voice coils and tweeters begging for mercy as the gross distortion
your amp is feeding them prepares to rip them to shreds.  The solution is to
increase the power, so that your system has sufficient power output for the
volume level that you like (or add a properly crossed over sub, with its own
power source, which takes much of the work away from your existing amp and
speakers).

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  (215) 234-VWVW
  www.busdepot.com

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