300 watt Boombox ??????

[[email protected]]

I was in walmart and they got what they call a stereo. To me, it's a
boombox. It's an all one piece thing with two 6 inch speakers and a
small plastic horn tweeter on each side. The whole thing is just
plain ugly to boot.

I have no intention of buying one, I just happened to notice the sign
that said 300 WATTS OUTPUT POWER.

OK, I used to work on guitar amps, and years ago, I built my own
stereo using guitar amps and speakers for power. Tha thing was real
loud, and each of these guitar amps put out 100 watts PEAK power.

I also now own an older stereo from the early 1990's, and it is rated
at 50 watts per channel, and has some of the old SOLID speakers in
REAL wooden boxes. (Remember when they made decent speakers and
cabinets). This stereo is plenty loud, and will distort at full
volume.

Now, looking at this "thing" at Walmart, that they call a stereo. I
find it very hard to imagine this thing is putting out anything even
close to 300 watts. Most of the old 15 inch guitar amp speakers could
only handle 70 to 80 watts at most, and I did burn one of them out
once too. So how in the heck can these two 6 inch speakers handle 150
watts (on each channel). I just do not believe these statistics.
Even if that is peak power, that would mean over 100 watts RMS. I
just do not believe this !!!!

This means one of two things. Either their claim is purely false
advertising, or else they are using some other standard of
measurement. In my opinion, those speakers could safely handle 30
watts before blowing, and even that seems to be stretching it.

They had a demo pluged in, and I had the urge to crank the volume all
the way up, in the store, and wait for smoke.......
Maybe next time I go to Walmart

Does anyone have any comments on this. I really think they are using
false advertising, myself !

George

 

[red]

If, AND ONLY IF, they are telling the truth, then it would be 300 WATTS
MAXIMUM. And that is all the speakers added together. So if the thing could
do 150Wx 2, the they can advertise 300 watts. The thing will never put out
300 watts. Maybe 25watts RMS to each speaker. I havent seen the thing, so i
dont know

 

[Uncle Peter]

If, AND ONLY IF, they are telling the truth, then it would be 300 WATTS
MAXIMUM. And that is all the speakers added together. So if the thing could
do 150Wx 2, the they can advertise 300 watts. The thing will never put out
300 watts. Maybe 25watts RMS to each speaker. I havent seen the thing, so i
dont know

25 watts RMS would be a FAR stretch. Probably instanteous peak
music power on a damn good day at 3x battery voltage.

Pete

 

[Bennett Price]

Maybe they were rating the speakers - 300Wmax for 1 nanosecond w/o
burning up.

 

[Ross Mac]

I was in walmart and they got what they call a stereo. To me, it's a
boombox. It's an all one piece thing with two 6 inch speakers and a
small plastic horn tweeter on each side. The whole thing is just
plain ugly to boot.

I have no intention of buying one, I just happened to notice the sign
that said 300 WATTS OUTPUT POWER.

OK, I used to work on guitar amps, and years ago, I built my own
stereo using guitar amps and speakers for power. Tha thing was real
loud, and each of these guitar amps put out 100 watts PEAK power.

I also now own an older stereo from the early 1990's, and it is rated
at 50 watts per channel, and has some of the old SOLID speakers in
REAL wooden boxes. (Remember when they made decent speakers and
cabinets). This stereo is plenty loud, and will distort at full
volume.

Now, looking at this "thing" at Walmart, that they call a stereo. I
find it very hard to imagine this thing is putting out anything even
close to 300 watts. Most of the old 15 inch guitar amp speakers could
only handle 70 to 80 watts at most, and I did burn one of them out
once too. So how in the heck can these two 6 inch speakers handle 150
watts (on each channel). I just do not believe these statistics.
Even if that is peak power, that would mean over 100 watts RMS. I
just do not believe this !!!!

This means one of two things. Either their claim is purely false
advertising, or else they are using some other standard of
measurement. In my opinion, those speakers could safely handle 30
watts before blowing, and even that seems to be stretching it.

They had a demo pluged in, and I had the urge to crank the volume all
the way up, in the store, and wait for smoke.......
Maybe next time I go to Walmart

Does anyone have any comments on this. I really think they are using
false advertising, myself !

George

Don't be fooled....300 watts is big power and you should be able to tell by
listening if it's anything near that....Cheap 6 inch speakes under that
power would become projectiles! Most likely it is much, much less!
I have launched a few speakers with 200 real watts a channel, not to mention
the crossovers....of course a beer or two was involved...hehehe...Listen to
the stereo and do your comparisons....I am sure you will find something you
like in your price range....enjoy the tunes.....Ross

 

[CJT]

I was in walmart and they got what they call a stereo. To me, it's a
boombox. It's an all one piece thing with two 6 inch speakers and a
small plastic horn tweeter on each side. The whole thing is just
plain ugly to boot.

I have no intention of buying one, I just happened to notice the sign
that said 300 WATTS OUTPUT POWER.

OK, I used to work on guitar amps, and years ago, I built my own
stereo using guitar amps and speakers for power. Tha thing was real
loud, and each of these guitar amps put out 100 watts PEAK power.

I also now own an older stereo from the early 1990's, and it is rated
at 50 watts per channel, and has some of the old SOLID speakers in
REAL wooden boxes. (Remember when they made decent speakers and
cabinets). This stereo is plenty loud, and will distort at full
volume.

Now, looking at this "thing" at Walmart, that they call a stereo. I
find it very hard to imagine this thing is putting out anything even
close to 300 watts. Most of the old 15 inch guitar amp speakers could
only handle 70 to 80 watts at most, and I did burn one of them out
once too. So how in the heck can these two 6 inch speakers handle 150
watts (on each channel). I just do not believe these statistics.
Even if that is peak power, that would mean over 100 watts RMS. I
just do not believe this !!!!

This means one of two things. Either their claim is purely false
advertising, or else they are using some other standard of
measurement. In my opinion, those speakers could safely handle 30
watts before blowing, and even that seems to be stretching it.

They had a demo pluged in, and I had the urge to crank the volume all
the way up, in the store, and wait for smoke.......
Maybe next time I go to Walmart

Does anyone have any comments on this. I really think they are using
false advertising, myself !

George

It sounds bogus to me. I'd look for some (very) fine print.

Maybe it comes with a space heater?

 

[Jerry G.]

They rate these things in Peak To Peak ( P - P ) power for both channels
together, including the maximum power consumption. Not in true RMS power.
If you ever saw a real 300 Watt RMS amplifier, you would not be able to even
lift or move it! To have the matched speakers, they would be very large. I
have worked with amplifiers in the 300 to 700 Watt per channel RMS power
range. A 150 Watt/ch RMS power amp from Crown or Bryston can weigh about 60
to 80 lbs to start with.

When in the various stores, I see these little computer shelf speakers that
have big wattage numbers written on them. It is sort of a laugh when you
look at what they really are! The people buy these things, and throw around
big numbers to show off or feel good about. And these numbers have no real
meaning.

--

Greetings,

Jerry Greenberg GLG Technologies GLG
=========================================
WebPage http://www.zoom-one.com
Electronics http://www.zoom-one.com/electron.htm
=========================================


I was in walmart and they got what they call a stereo. To me, it's a
boombox. It's an all one piece thing with two 6 inch speakers and a
small plastic horn tweeter on each side. The whole thing is just
plain ugly to boot.

I have no intention of buying one, I just happened to notice the sign
that said 300 WATTS OUTPUT POWER.

OK, I used to work on guitar amps, and years ago, I built my own
stereo using guitar amps and speakers for power. Tha thing was real
loud, and each of these guitar amps put out 100 watts PEAK power.

I also now own an older stereo from the early 1990's, and it is rated
at 50 watts per channel, and has some of the old SOLID speakers in
REAL wooden boxes. (Remember when they made decent speakers and
cabinets). This stereo is plenty loud, and will distort at full
volume.

Now, looking at this "thing" at Walmart, that they call a stereo. I
find it very hard to imagine this thing is putting out anything even
close to 300 watts. Most of the old 15 inch guitar amp speakers could
only handle 70 to 80 watts at most, and I did burn one of them out
once too. So how in the heck can these two 6 inch speakers handle 150
watts (on each channel). I just do not believe these statistics.
Even if that is peak power, that would mean over 100 watts RMS. I
just do not believe this !!!!

This means one of two things. Either their claim is purely false
advertising, or else they are using some other standard of
measurement. In my opinion, those speakers could safely handle 30
watts before blowing, and even that seems to be stretching it.

They had a demo pluged in, and I had the urge to crank the volume all
the way up, in the store, and wait for smoke.......
Maybe next time I go to Walmart

Does anyone have any comments on this. I really think they are using
false advertising, myself !

George

 

[James Sweet]

I was in walmart and they got what they call a stereo. To me, it's a
boombox. It's an all one piece thing with two 6 inch speakers and a
small plastic horn tweeter on each side. The whole thing is just
plain ugly to boot.

I have no intention of buying one, I just happened to notice the sign
that said 300 WATTS OUTPUT POWER.

OK, I used to work on guitar amps, and years ago, I built my own
stereo using guitar amps and speakers for power. Tha thing was real
loud, and each of these guitar amps put out 100 watts PEAK power.

I'm not sure what precisely they do, but the ratings are complete BS, sadly
most of the low and mid end equipment has massivly inflated power ratings. I
have a powered subwoofer on my home theater system that while it sounds ok,
it's rated at 150W output, but 75W draw from the wall, I'd like them to
explain to me how their amplifier is 200% efficient.

I also recall seeing a set of computer speakers that were rated at a
laughable 600 Watts, said it in big letters on the front, an autopsy
revealed an amplifier chip that was 0.75W RMS x 2 and another similar
looking chip driving the sub, ridiculous.

I have an air compressor also that's rated at 5HP according to the huge
sticker on the front, though it plugs into a standard 120v outlet and has a
rated current draw of 15A, it couldn't possibly be more than about 2.5HP.

I look forward to the day when there's a law regarding these ludicrously
inflated ratings, much like those that force manufactures to show the actual
viewable size of a TV screen.

 

[James Sweet]

Don't be fooled....300 watts is big power and you should be able to tell by
listening if it's anything near that....Cheap 6 inch speakes under that
power would become projectiles! Most likely it is much, much less!
I have launched a few speakers with 200 real watts a channel, not to mention
the crossovers....of course a beer or two was involved...hehehe...Listen to
the stereo and do your comparisons....I am sure you will find something you
like in your price range....enjoy the tunes.....Ross

Yeah my friend has an old Dynaco Stereo 400 I rebuilt for him, 200 real
watts per channel, the thing must weigh 60 lbs, it's a massive old beast.
Hooked up to some 15" Cerwin-Vega cabinets with horn tweaters they produce
enough loud clean sound to fill an auditorium, we've set up for several very
large outdoor parties using that amp as the only main source.

 

[Ross Mac]

Yeah my friend has an old Dynaco Stereo 400 I rebuilt for him, 200 real
watts per channel, the thing must weigh 60 lbs, it's a massive old beast.
Hooked up to some 15" Cerwin-Vega cabinets with horn tweaters they produce
enough loud clean sound to fill an auditorium, we've set up for several very
large outdoor parties using that amp as the only main source.

HI James,

Yes, that's where I was coming from. I have an old Pioneer SX1250 with 8 of
those old Advent bookshelf speakers.....that amp puts out 200 watts a
channel into 4 ohms and hey....that is not boombox....you can hear it an
acre away!....have a great holiday....Ross

 

[Ross Mac]

I'm not sure what precisely they do, but the ratings are complete BS, sadly
most of the low and mid end equipment has massivly inflated power ratings. I
have a powered subwoofer on my home theater system that while it sounds ok,
it's rated at 150W output, but 75W draw from the wall, I'd like them to
explain to me how their amplifier is 200% efficient.

I also recall seeing a set of computer speakers that were rated at a
laughable 600 Watts, said it in big letters on the front, an autopsy
revealed an amplifier chip that was 0.75W RMS x 2 and another similar
looking chip driving the sub, ridiculous.

I have an air compressor also that's rated at 5HP according to the huge
sticker on the front, though it plugs into a standard 120v outlet and has a
rated current draw of 15A, it couldn't possibly be more than about 2.5HP.

I look forward to the day when there's a law regarding these ludicrously
inflated ratings, much like those that force manufactures to show the actual
viewable size of a TV screen.

I like that....200% efficiency.....guess I missed that in my physics class
many years ago.....Ross

 

[Mark D. Zacharias]

It might give off 300 watts heat energy if you set fire to it.

mz

P.S.
The FTC has relaxed it's power amp ratings requirement from 1/3 power to 1/8
power preconditioning, and also made some changes to accomodate subwoofer
ratings, but obviously this crappy equipment doesn't even fall into this
product category.

 

[JW]

I have no intention of buying one, I just happened to notice the sign
that said 300 WATTS OUTPUT POWER.
[...]


Does anyone have any comments on this. I really think they are using
false advertising, myself !

See:
http://sound.westhost.com/power.htm

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

I like that....200% efficiency.....guess I missed that in my physics class
many years ago.....Ross

No problem. They can put out that much power for one cycle running
on the filter caps.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Home Page: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
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contact me, please use the Feedback Form at repairfaq.org. Thanks.

 

[ELAL]

Maybe they were rating the speakers - 300Wmax for 1 nanosecond w/o
burning up.

It's more like the *theroretical* maximum peak power output for <10ms @
100% distorsion, a.k.a. the PMPO rating.
Needless to say, it's a completely meaningless rating to trick the
unwittingly...

 

[Ross Mac]

No problem. They can put out that much power for one cycle running
on the filter caps.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Home Page: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
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Maybe this has something to do with the type of music that is played on most
of these boomboxes.....I think perhaps it sounds better when distorted and
clipped.....I suppose I wouldn't be able to tell either way without test
equipment!!
Hey, I like that one too Sam....one cycle...now that's an interesting
standard!

 

[Sam Goldwasser]

Maybe this has something to do with the type of music that is played on most
of these boomboxes.....I think perhaps it sounds better when distorted and
clipped.....I suppose I wouldn't be able to tell either way without test
equipment!!
Hey, I like that one too Sam....one cycle...now that's an interesting
standard!

Similar to Sears air compressor ratings.

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ Home Page: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Site Info: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

Important: The email address in this message header may no longer work. To
contact me, please use the Feedback Form at repairfaq.org. Thanks.

 

[[email protected]]

They rate these things in Peak To Peak ( P - P ) power for both channels
together, including the maximum power consumption. Not in true RMS power.
If you ever saw a real 300 Watt RMS amplifier, you would not be able to even
lift or move it! To have the matched speakers, they would be very large. I
have worked with amplifiers in the 300 to 700 Watt per channel RMS power
range. A 150 Watt/ch RMS power amp from Crown or Bryston can weigh about 60
to 80 lbs to start with.

When in the various stores, I see these little computer shelf speakers that
have big wattage numbers written on them. It is sort of a laugh when you
look at what they really are! The people buy these things, and throw around
big numbers to show off or feel good about. And these numbers have no real
meaning.

On a sine wave signal the Peak to Peak power is eight times the
Average power. (P-P is not a proper way to measure power)

This 300 watt boombox would break down something like this:

150 watts p-p/channel

150 watts p-p = 150/8 = 18.75 watts average (rms) at a given
distortion level.

This 18.74 watts could be at 50% distortion

If this boombox used standard methods to rate its wattage then it
might more accurately be.......... 10 watts/channel at 1% distortion

 

[James Sweet]

Similar to Sears air compressor ratings.

It's not just Sears anymore, it's all the <5 true HP consumer stuff.

 

[JURB6006]

Jerry, there are class D amps now. Look at the Crown K1 and K2, they are pretty
awesome ! I know the old Crowns were hernia factories, but not these. They are
high efficiency switching amps, and knowing Crown, they probably switch at at
least 80Khz, although I have no direct knowledge of this.

JURB