RMS Watts vs Peak and Max Watts, Amplifier Power Explained

In this video I explain why you never want to use Peak or Max power when purchasing and setting up an amplifier. Instead you want to always use RMS power. In this video I explain that RMS stands for root mean square and show you why that is the best way to measure amplifier power.

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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:15 RMS Defined
0:20 AC Voltage on an Oscilloscope
0:50 Peak Voltage
1:40 Why Peak is Stupid
2:18 Negative Voltage
3:20 RMS
4:12 Calculating RMS volts
6:20 Convert from Volts to Watts

*As an amazon associate marketer I may earn a small commission on qualified purchases. As an affiliate marketer I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase at parts express.

[leonray]

Here I am sitting thinking this will be a simple explanation video… low and behold it becomes so much more. Bravo sir! Nice to see proper amplifier gain setup and more information about the sine wave. Good stuff! 👌

[nja]

Ok, I understood just about NONE of that, but I walked away knowing to focus on the RMS vs Peak power, so thank you!

[redman]

I enjoy your video's so much more than allot of other channels you never talk down to your audience like guys like EMF who act like just because they are very knowledgeable in car audio that they are some sort savior lol Keep up the great content👍🏽

[ThomasCoryate]

I had noticed that when manufactures gave both peak and RMS, RMS was roughly three-quarters of peak. But it's great to know it exactly, and why. Thanks!

[spennington]

Great content! You really explain this well and break it down into layman's terms. Thanks you!

[ilfaraone]

soundman sent me here.
you didn't disappoint, subbed!

[bournelucid]

My father always told me this, whenever looking for an amp and for speakers too, look at the rms rating never peak.

[ChrisDIYerOklahoma]

NICE! Thanks for doing a video on RMS-peak-volts-etc. I have been a closet DIY speaker building nut-job since the late 1970s. So many of these new digital chip amplifiers have inflated advertised wattages and are severely misleading. Most are about 1/2 their advertised wattages. I go by RMS wattages and I think that should be the standard for rating amplifiers. You also rarely see amplifiers nowadays showing "how quiet" they are (THD and TIM percentages).

[koolBOY]

i always had it explained to me as peak is what it will do, right before the smoke comes out. RMS is what it does under normal circumstances. so do you want to run it all once, for a second or 2 at 2000 watts, or for the next 10 years at 500 watts?

[Dahita]

Thanks a lot for your great videos, much appreciated!

[colbylaro]

Excellent video justin..good info great explanation, thanks.

[HIGHROLLAZAUTOCLUB]

For speakers Which power rating do you use when it say AES power and continuous power and peak power?

[vaudio]

Awesome video it down for all of the non-techies out there!!!
Side video editing software do you use for your YouTube vids?? (Content looks incredible btw)

[krustythecarhauler]

I wish you would do a video on tuning in a system with a 7 band eq 4 channel and a sub amp

[travisgulley]

Does more rms power make the subwoofer louder and make it hit harder

[dachreport]

Thanks so much for this video. I have 2 speakers 300w peak power each. Can I use a powered mixer with 600w rms?

[treeper]

Here is a question that I can't seem to get answered. Can a 500 WATT RMS @ 2 OHMS amp power a sub box rated at 600 WATT RMS @ 2 OHMS and 1000 WATT Peak. I know you can overpower speakers but what if you underpowered them? Will they still work but just not be as loud?

[e-zflow]

So the RMS values and Peak values should always be 1:2? What about when a company is selling their sub as a 1000 RMS woofer that’s 1500 peak?
Should it be run at 750W? Or is true peak 2000w? And how can I figure this out?

[superchile]

Great, easy to understand information.

[gritayounes]

Thanks a lot.. if i choose tpa3116 50watts*2+100w sub .. what is the best speakers should i put .. i think is 35w rms for the speaker and 50 watts rms for the sub ..tell if alright