Music is a matter of choice that varies from person to person. And music is not played the same all the time. That’s why we care about the loudness of the speaker.
We often wonder how many watts is a good speaker. It’s hard to tell in a line. It depends on the usage. We may ask ourselves how loud is a 100 watt speaker?
Well, a 100-watt speaker is pretty loud if you use it for a room or small party. For a room less than 500 sq. feet, you can cover it with a pair of 100 watt speakers. Remember, this power capacity is not usually recommended for daily use. It is mainly used for some kind of small gathering or party.
Now there is so much more about the loudness of speakers. It doesn’t depend only on the watt count. There are some terms like amplifier power output, speaker sensitivity, and sound level. You need to have a basic idea before choosing any speaker.
Basic Principles of the Loudness of a Speaker
The first thing I want to clarify is the difference between amplifier and speaker. An amplifier receives a signal and amplifies it. A speaker is a device for taking that amplified signal and making a louder output of sound.
Now there are two levels of transmitting signals where the question of speaker sensitivity and speaker power rating comes. Speaker sensitivity is the ability to transform amplifier signals into sound. And speaker power rating means power output in the speaker.
Things are made a little bit complicated. To explain it clearly, a speaker with more sensitivity is louder in between two speakers with the same amplifier power. And if the two speakers have the same sensitivity, the one with higher wattage will be louder.
Now there’s another factor. That is about decibels(dB). It is used as the loudness unit of a source in a defined condition. We can describe the loudness of every sound with this unit. Now, how much decibel is good enough?
Any sound above 85 dB is considered loud. If you buy a 100-watt speaker, that may be used mainly for small parties. In that case, 105 dB should be the limit.
And remember, decibels are logarithmic units. If you increase the power of the amplifier 10 times, the decibel unit will be increased by 10 units. In other words, you need to multiply the power capacity to increase by only 3 dB.
Suppose, a speaker of 70 watts produces 90 dB. So, if you use 140 watts, then the sound will be 93 dB.
So, this is the basic knowledge about loudness. Besides all these, distance from the speaker is a factor too. But as we are considering a closed room only, this doesn’t need to care much.
Are 100 Watts Powerful for a Speaker?
A 100-watts speaker is not too much for a large party where there are hundreds of people. But it’s enough for a small party. As I said before, if your room space is less than 500 sq. feet, you can use a pair of 100-watts speakers. 200-watt speakers will work too. But if it is more than 500 square feet, you should have 400-watts speakers. And gradually, this number will be increased compared to room space.
How Much Amplifier Power is Needed for a 100 Watts Speaker?
Selecting the right amplifier power for speaker power is a matter of debate. Most people advise keeping the amplifier’s power twice that of the speaker. That says that if you use a 100-watt speaker, you will need a 200-watt amplifier. The rest 100W will be reserved for unclipped peaks, according to them.
But many others suggested not to keep such a big difference between the power of the amplifier and speaker. Rather keep the power of the speaker a little more than that of the amplifier so that the speaker can handle every output of the amplifier. However, very low amplifier power is highly discouraged.
Both of the opinions mentioned above can be implemented if and only if you don’t increase your volume suddenly like a blast.
How Many Decibels Can a 100-Watts Speaker Produce?
For a small house party, a 100-watts speaker can do very well. A speaker with this power capacity will produce 110 dB. Whatever happens, you should go beyond 120 dB. And in the case of a house, the limit is 105 dB. So, this number is a bit doable.
Final Words
If you are planning to create a sound system for the first time, there may arise too much confusion. In general, we assume that the more power, the louder. But there are a number of factors which may influence your buying decision.
Among my suggestions, I mostly emphasize your needs. If you ask how loud a 100-watt speaker is, I may not answer directly. But if you have to play music loudly in a small room and you don’t want to cross the volume limit, 100-watt power is a good number for a speaker.
