There are lots of specifications for car speakers, like, Sensitivity, RMS Power, Frequency response, impedance etc., but the most important specifications you should consider before buying your car speakers are given below:
-Speakers Sensitivity
-Power handling
Sensitivity
This is the first thing you should be looking for when buying your car speakers. The Sensitivity is actually a measure of how effectively a speaker can convert electrical power (Watts) delivered from an amplifier or your stereo system into sound energy (volume). The speaker sensitivity is measured in decibels (dB) and is typically measured from one meter away from the speaker by applying one watt of power to the speaker. A level meter measures the volume in decibels. This output level results in a measure of sensitivity. Enough technical talk, but sometime it is better to understanding the basic concepts for better judgment and decision.
Relationship of sensitivity (dB) with the power (Watts)
Now let’s see the relationship of sensitivity (dB) with the power (Watts), if a car speaker with a sensitivity of 85 dB is applied 100 watts of power to produce a given volume and then another speaker with sensitivity of 88 dB would only require 50 watts of power to produce the same volume. Similarly a speaker with 91 dB sensitivity requires only 25 watts of power to produce the same volume. So what we observe here is a pattern and we can clearly see that by increasing sensitivity of the speaker by 3 dB, the power required to produce the same volume is reduced by one half.
Therefore, what we infer here is that for a low powered system, a high sensitivity speaker is the best match and for a high powered system a low sensitivity would be the best match.
Power Handling
The second important specification is the power handling and the power handling is defined as the maximum power a speaker can handle and it is measured in watts. It is better to know how much power your factory installed system can produce before deciding the power handling of the speakers because a low-powered system does not need high powered car speakers. As we know that most factory installed systems are low power and for such systems a high sensitivity 6×9 car speakers make the best match. But if you have a high powered stereo system equipped with external amplifier then you need speakers with low sensitivity and higher power ratings, which can handle the power produced by the system.
A word of caution about the power ratings, some car speaker manufacturers display the maximum or peak wattage rating only and it is very misleading because the peak power rating is the maximum amount of power that a speaker can handle for a very short time, and it happens when the song reaches its peak and usually it last for milliseconds. If the peak power is even pushed for a second, it could below up your speakers.
The other power rating which you should be actually looking for is called the RMS (constant power) and it is the power which a speaker can handle for extended periods of time. RMS power rating is the best measurement of power handling capabilities of a speaker and at the loudest volume your car stereo system is putting out its RMS power to the speakers.
So, it is very important to match your car stereo system with the speakers by matching the sensitivity and power handing capability of the speakers. Lastly, for low powered systems you can have a high powered rating speaker but for high powered system you must not have a speaker with low power ratings unless you want to below up your speakers.