Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Question, would 75 watt speakers for a PC be louder/more powerful than 50 watt, or no connection? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Yes generally (for the same speaker efficiency) you can turn up the volume more if the wattage is higher. And if you turn them up to the same volume, the higher wattage speakers will play with less strain. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Raceaddict Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Generally speaking, speakers are only as loud as the amplifier that supplies the signal. If your PC soundcard puts out 5 watts, a 50 watt speaker or a 75 speaker will not make any significant difference at all. https://www.the-home-cinema-guide.com/speaker-power-rating.html I worked in a high end car audio shop for a few years and we'd always get a bit of a quiet laugh (behind the counter) when dude bros came with some speakers they bought in a big box store rated for 200 watts and expected that once these were installed their car stereo (still the stock box in the dash) would be so much louder... and it wasn't. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 Well, lessee....the PC is a school-issued one (I'm a music teacher), and I know that if I hook up a huge speaker the size of four shoe boxes that the volume is massive, so that must mean the soundcard is more than capable. So the key would then be the wattage, correct? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 The other thing to consider is not only volume but clarity. Something can be "louder" but if it can't accurately separate the signal and play highs as highs and lows as lows then louder is just mushier. A lower "volume" speaker that allow the full musical spectrum can be "heard" better than a loud junk speaker. Just something to think about. Bill Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Raceaddict Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 53 minutes ago, Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy said: Well, lessee....the PC is a school-issued one (I'm a music teacher), and I know that if I hook up a huge speaker the size of four shoe boxes that the volume is massive, so that must mean the soundcard is more than capable. So the key would then be the wattage, correct? If you're looking for pure "loudness", then the spec you need to look for is "Sensitivity". It'll be listed as "____ dB @ 1 W / 1 m". All other things being equal, the larger the speaker the more volume you will get from your PC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crash Test Dummy Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I may be mistaken, but I thought most PC speakers were self powered and the output from the PC was line level. So a 75watt speaker would have a built in amp rated at 75 watts and wouldn't rely on the sound card at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 The problem I'm facing is that in my teaching I often use video clips and such related to the lesson to enhance instruction, especially with my older students. I do a lot of video editing, especially of musicals and performances, and the completed item often has greatly reduced sound. They can hear it, but it is just weak enough to be annoying and lacking. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Hegedus Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 As a music teacher, do you have a stereo in your classroom (amp + speakers)? If so, can you take the output from your PC and input it to the stereo and play it through that system? So you have the video on the screen, but the audio coming through the external system. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 12 minutes ago, Joe Hegedus said: As a music teacher, do you have a stereo in your classroom (amp + speakers)? If so, can you take the output from your PC and input it to the stereo and play it through that system? So you have the video on the screen, but the audio coming through the external system. Nope, nothing that fancy....I'm pretty much on my own for solutions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 These 75-watt speaker boxes you're planning to use, are they powered (has own power cord you plug into the outlet)? Is there a line-in cable from the soundcard (means speaker has its own amp). Crash Test Dummy is right. Sound cards are line level. They wont be able to drive plain speakers alone nicely on their own. Curious to see photos of the setup. By the way, video editing wouldnt rely on external speakers if you"re doing the editing using a software on the pc, you will just need to adjust recording levels - usually found in recording properties if you right click on the speaker icon you'll see mixer options and such. The video you are editing, is it coming from a vcr fed into your pc? I dont do video editing but used to digitize my cassette tapes and LPs. Was wondering if you"re trying to achieve sometthing similar? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 (edited) 18 minutes ago, crackerjazz said: These 75-watt speaker boxes you're planning to use, are they powered (has own power cord you plug into the outlet)? Is there a line-in cable from the soundcard (means speaker has its own amp). Crash Test Dummy is right. Sound cards are line level. They wont be able to drive plain speakers alone nicely on their own. Curious to see photos of the setup. By the way, video editing wouldnt rely on external speakers if you"re doing the editing using a software on the pc, you will just need to adjust recording levels - usually found in recording properties if you right click on the speaker icon you'll see mixer options and such. The video you are editing, is it coming from a vcr fed into your pc? I dont do video editing but used to digitize my cassette tapes and LPs. Was wondering if you"re trying to achieve sometthing similar? No, I take DVD's or sometimes YouTube stuff to edit either for length, or to a specific clip, or for content to make it appropriate for kids. I use WeVideo since I found it easier to use than anything else I was shown, plus my school district has an account with them so it's free to use. Amazing what I can do with it, the one and only regret being the sound volume comes out less after editing/publishing. These are the speakers I'm looking at getting, the 50-watters I have are smaller, fewer but same general concept of setup. https://tucson.craigslist.org/ele/d/pcbluetooth-speakers-4-sale/6502772073.html Edited February 22, 2018 by Andrew D. the Jolly Rogers guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ytsejam87 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Andrew, Take a look at the rear panel of the subwoofer at the manufacturers page:https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/surround-sound-speaker-z506. Typically, when you plug any speaker system into a AC outlet, that speaker is a "powered" system. It uses a built in amplifier (typically measured by watts) to amplify the line inputs provided by either via the mini plug, or the dual RCA plugs. Then the signal goes out thru to the speakers via the separate speaker outputs. So, to answer your original question: typically yes, a 75 watt powered speaker system would be "louder" than a 50 watt powered speaker system. There are nuance differences, like the aforementioned speaker sensitivity, but for the most part, most PC speaker systems like the one you noted will follow this "rule". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Oh a Logitech - those are pretty good. I have the older Logitech Z2300 with 2 satellites 40-watts each and 150-watt subwoofer and it's a keeper because of the gorgeous sound quality. I sometimes use it for presentations and it can go pretty loud. I like it because it plugs in directly into the headphone out jack of the laptop and the sound is never distorted. That set you're looking at has 4 satellites 8 watts each plus a 16-watt center and 27-watt sub --- 75 watts total. Most of the vocal sound you need will come from the satellites and center channels and not the sub so you practically have just 48 watts of power. You might have to turn the volume up if its a big classroom and if you like it loud but it will deliver. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fulcrum1 Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 I'd see if you could procure some powered monitors and use them. Let the whole school listen! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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