Subwoofer wattage has to be same as a/v reciever?

[someguy03]

I have a 770watt reciever (110x7)and I am running 7 speaker surround, and I am looking to get a subwoofer. I see everything from 100watt to 400 watt subwoofers. Do I have to use a subwoofer that is same wattage as the speaker channels (110w) Or can I get something like the 400watt?

[JohnMichael]

I have a 110watt reciever and I am running 7 speaker surround, and I am looking to get a subwoofer. I see everything from 100watt to 400 watt subwoofers. Do I have to use a subwoofer that is same wattage as my reciever (110)? Or can I get something like the 400watt?


Your sub can have a higher powered amp and there are many reasons you would want a bigger amp. The powered sub will have controls to balance it's output with your main speakers.

[shokhead]

I have a 110watt reciever and I am running 7 speaker surround, and I am looking to get a subwoofer. I see everything from 100watt to 400 watt subwoofers. Do I have to use a subwoofer that is same wattage as my reciever (110)? Or can I get something like the 400watt?

15 per ch or 110 per ch? Worry about the sub and forget what watts your receiver is. BTW,get the 400wt sub,lol.

[someguy03]

15 per ch or 110 per ch? Worry about the sub and forget what watts your receiver is. BTW,get the 400wt sub,lol.


Its 110x7

Its 770 watts total

[chaos24]

ARE YOU KIDDING...your sub, (should be powerd) has nothing to do with your recievers output....the amp in your reciever powers everything as far as your mains and surrounds......your sub, a POWERD SUB....has its own amp....just chosse wisely

[chaos24]

I have a 770watt reciever (110x7)and I am running 7 speaker surround, and I am looking to get a subwoofer. I see everything from 100watt to 400 watt subwoofers. Do I have to use a subwoofer that is same wattage as the speaker channels (110w) Or can I get something like the 400watt?

truth is....your 110 watts per channel recievr is really putting out about 60 to 65 watts real power.....but your sub is not going to affect any thing your reciever does being it is powered by its own amp:18:

[N. Abstentia]

Yeah your receiver will never come close to doing 110 watts per channel (add a good 50 wpc component amp and you'd be surprised how much louder and better it will sound!), and generally a subwoofer will require at least twice as much power as your recevier. The more the better for a subwoofer, since it has to work 2 to 3 times harder than your other speakers.

Welcome to the world of 'real watts' vs. 'marketing' :)

Just be careful that the '400 watt' subwoofer you're looking at is not just blowing marketing hype for the power rating.

To be honest, the best thing to do is list what you're looking at and let everyone here tell you which ones are real and which are junk.

[kexodusc]

Don't worry about wattage too much...you have to double the wattage to acheive a 3 dB increase in loudness, which is very small - most of the time you are probably using less than 1 watt to drive your speakers to loud volumes.

Subwoofers have lower impedance than most speakers, and because of that they suck electrical current like there's no tomorrow. So you see subs matched with high powered amps. Even subs don't need it all most of the time, but its nice to have because an underpowered sub sounds like a big fart.

Usually subs require more power than speakers because they are much less efficient - so a sub might need double, quadruple and even 8 times the power a speaker needs to play as loud as that speaker. Power is usually cheaper to buy than a high efficiency woofer so most companies take that approach.

[accastil]

for ht use, your subs power has to be a lot higher than the amps. but if you are going to use them for stereo music listening, same power as the amps would do just fine.

[filecat13]

Regardless of the power per channel of your receiver, the subwoofer has to have enough power to drive it to satisfying levels. A powered sub with an abundance of power can be dialed back; a powered sub with insufficient power can only be driven to distortion.

At a minimum, N. Absentia's rule of thumb of at least twice the power is a good starting point. Due to the relatively low output (all channels driven) of your receiver, I'd say 250W is the starting point for you in looking for a powered sub, and really a good 12", 14", or 15" powered sub with 400W or more would be better.

Yes, you can buy some good quality subs from reputable manufacturers that are 8" or 10" with 150–250W amps, but save your money. They will disappoint over time, especially if you do a lot of HT, and you'll be yearning for a bigger, more powerful unit to give you the oomph at the bottom that you're really longing for.