Can anyone teache me how to look at speakers?

[simond81]

hi iam new to speakers anyone teach me how to look at speakers?!?
what is ohms ?
and what is db?
waht is hz?
so for e.g. is 2ohms with 95db better then 4ohms with 90db?
thank you

[vividjazz]

Sensitivity
Sensitivity measures how much sound a speaker makes from the power applied to it. If your car's stereo is low-powered, like most factory systems, speakers with high sensitivity ratings will be the best match. If your system more power, like that provided by a brand-name receiver or external amplifier, then consider speakers with lower sensitivity ratings. Properly powered, they'll provide excellent sound quality.

A sensitivity rating tells you how effectively a speaker converts power (watts) into volume (decibels). The higher the rating, the louder your speakers will play with a given amount of amplifier power. Sensitivity is often measured by driving a speaker with one watt and measuring the loudness in decibels at one meter.

The table below illustrates that a few dB in sensitivity can make a big difference:

Speaker Sensitivity Power needed to produce a given volume
Speaker A 85 dB 100 watts
Speaker B 88 dB 50 watts
Speaker C 91 dB 25 watts
A speaker with a sensitivity rating that's 3 dB higher than another speaker's only needs half as much power to deliver the same amount of sound.


Power handling
Power handling lets you know how much power (measured in watts) a speaker can handle. If you've got a low-powered system, it's not important that your speakers handle a lot of power. On the other hand, a system with powerful external amps will require speakers whose power handling is close to the output of the amps. And remember, the key spec in power handling is the maximum RMS power handling, not the peak power handling. RMS ratings realistically measure how much power the speaker can handle on a continuous basis, not just for a short period of time.

These 2 parameters will tell you nothing about how the speaker will actually sound. A speaker that handles higher RMS does not sound better and likewise a speaker with higher sensitivity does not sound better.

Car audio speakers except subs are all pretty much 4OHM so unlike home stereo don't need to worry about 8OHM, 6OHM, etc.

[Fhrx]

You're welcome to start here. (http://www.fastfoursforumscarclub.com/temp/fhrxstudios/faq.asp)

From there head to the basic car audio electronics website. (http://www.bcae1.com) :D