you all mention that the more RMS wattage the head unit has, the better the speakers will sound. How much is a good amount of RMS wattage? Are there any head units you can recommend? Please note that I’m not looking for multimedia. Just a good priced head unit that can power my speakers sufficiently and have AUX, Bluetooth, mic…
The speakers I got are “auditor RSE-165”. It says their max is 120 wats, is that considered good? And should I now look for a head unit that can supply for a bit more than 120 RMS wattage?
Do you need CD playing capability? Do you like to play music loud?
Auditor RSE-165 are speakers made by Focal. Good speaker company. Their efficiency rating is 90db. Not very efficient…about average. The speakers say they can handle 60watts RMS. I would get an amp around that wattage. I seriously doubt you’ll ever play it that loud in that small vehicle.
Wattage has NOTHING/ZERO/NADA as to the quality of a speaker. Yet most people cling to that spec.
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The head unit you are considering would be a good fit for the speakers you chose. Any amplifier that has between 10 to 60 watts RMS (CTA-2006) will drive the speakers to an adequate level with full frequency response. The head unit you chose has 18 watts RMS (CTA-2006).
The CTA-2006 is a specification for watts at 1% THD, 20-20khZ. The 1% THD is the upper limit of an acceptable THD as over that, it can be detected by the human ear. At or below that, very few of us, if any can detect the “colorization” of the sound, it take sensitive instruments to detect it.
Speakers are like amplifiers in that the closer you drive them to the limits, the more they distort the sound. The cone is mounted in a rubber surround that like the rubber band, will start requiring more power for any given movement as you approach its limits. The coil that moves the cone has the same characteristics, so the amp you have chosen is a very good match to the speakers you have. You really want to be about in the middle of the RMS range, in the lower half but not too close to the minimum.
BTW, the speakers have a 90dB/watt efficiency. So at one watt out, you get 90 dB, that is just a little above the average noise level (80 dB) of most cars at 70 mph. You need to be at around 20dB above the background noise to hear the music clearly, that would be about 10 watts out. At max volume, you will be approaching concert levels with would damage your hearing if exposed for too long.
Before any further upgrading after the head unit, I would recommend installing sound deadening mats to mute road noise and make sure all your weatherstripping is at its best to reduce wind noise. That will do more than any further upgrades would do, bang for the buck that is.
If the cheaper head unit you were looking at can match the specs of this unit, it would also be adequate, but if it doesn’t specify the RMS at a THD of 1% or less, or conform to the CTA-2006 spec, or doesn’t say that in its literature, then avoid it.
Didn’t you say it’s called a “head unit”? not an amp? and are you referring to the UTE-200BT or the cheap one that I’ve listed?
Do you mean that the speakers I have are listed at 120 Wats so because the head unit UTE-200BT has 4x50 wats it’s in the lower half, therefore good?
Overall do you say UTE-200BT is the best fit to my speakers? Are there any others that are cheaper with the same stats that I should consider?
For the UTE-200BT the mechanic will take 215$ installation included, is that a good price?
also note that no I don’t need a CD included, I just like a crisp, loud, and full of a good bass sound experience + AUX, Bluetooth, mic… (any other features worth mentioning?)
Then 18 watts RMS may not be enough for you. If anything, you need more power, not a cheaper head unit. And the head unit has an amp (amplifier) in it, along with all the other circuits. Getting a more powerful head unit wouldn’t be any problem for your speakers.
Where are you that you don’t have a automobile sound shop that you can visit ? Here in the US we have thousands of places that will let you hear and have hands on experience with the after market equipment.
I kind of wonder if the shop you are talking to even knows what they are doing or they would answer your questions.
The amp drives the speakers, the head unit contains the amp. I was speaking of the Alpine unit as a good fit.
The Nakamichi also claims 50 watts peak power per channel, but 25 watts RMS per channel, but it does not specify what the THD is at the 25 watts nor does it specify that the RMS is measured according to CTA-2006 and I suspect that it does not comply. When the RMS is one half the peak, that is usually at 10% the THD or more. Useable power will be less.
There is another issue with too much power. Generally the more power the amp is capable of making, the more noise it makes with a zero input signal. You need to consider what is an adequate volume for you. Ideally you want to achieve this volume at around 1/10th power. This will give you enough “headroom” if you occasionally want it a little louder.
I personally don’t like my music too loud. But I have had vehicles whose ambient noise level at the speeds I tend to drive at was so high, I could not listen to the radio. It could get loud enough, but at that level, it hurt my ears.
My best answer for you is to see if you can download a noise level meter app to your smartphone. There is a free app in the apple store for iPhones. Drive around at various speeds with the radio off and check your vehicles ambient noise level.
Now based on the speakers you have, which will produce 90dB at 1 watt in, each time you double the power, it goes up 3dB, so 2 watts = 93dB, 4 watts = 96dB, 8 watts = 99dB, and 16 watts = 102dB. Cars can have an ambient noise level ranging from 70 to 90 dB at 70 mph (115 kph). You want to be able to go at least 20dB above ambient.
Also I cannot advise you on what alternatives you have. You will need to consult with your mechanic for that to see what is available. But I have given you what you need to determine your requirements. If you need more info, let me know.
Edit: I forgot something. All the values above are per channel. If you only got a pair of speakers and are using only two channels, add 3dB to get the total volume. That means that at 16 watts, you are at concert levels which will damage your hearing in about 2 hours. If you got four of the speakers and use all four channels, now you can achieve 108dB which will permanently damage your hearing in less than an hour.
okay so just to clarify, I should get the UTE-200BT? It will deliver a good, loud yet crisp, and full of bass audio experience?
is 215$ installation included a good deal for it?
I’m sorry for asking again it’s just that you’ve already figured out I’m not an English speaker and you’ve kinda bombarded me with information (
and for those asking, I’m from Israel
There is no way for us to know, we don’t know how loud it will drive the speakers you have, in your car, and there is no way for us to know if your ‘loud’ requires 5 watts or 500 watts. As for a ‘full of bass audio experience’, we don’t know how good those speakers are at low frequencies, and how much bass you really expect.
You seem to have a decent system picked out for the money. To get better, you’ll have to spend more.
The speakers have a claimed frequency response of 65 hz - 20 khz. It does not specify the range they use to determine the frequency response. The best speakers use a +0/-3dB where companies that do not state the range often use +0/-20dB.
Without any evidence, I suspect that the -3dB for the lower frequency is probably around 70hz.
If you listen to music that actually has these low tones such as the bass guitar, organ, piano and large horns, then you may want to get. sub woofer and amp. I would stick with a fairly low powered sub amp, no more than 100 watts, and with that you may need to set it at about 1/3 to 1/2 power to keep the low from overpowering the rest of the system.
Remember the beat is NOT the bass.
Edit: A kick drum, the drum with the lowest frequency used by most rock bands is between 80 to 120 hz. A Bass guitar makes the lowest musical note at 16hz but you can’t hear that. That is one of those sounds you feel, not hear. Large pipe organs can go down to 32hz. If you listen to Also Sprach Zarathustra, aka the theme music to “2001 A Space Odyssey”, there is a 32hz tone played throughout the piece but not a lot of audio systems can reproduce that sound, especially modern systems whose amps often have a 40 hz filter.