Do I need an amplifier for my speakers?

I have a 275 watt amplifier and i need to know what kind of speakers i need?

• i bought this 275 watt amp but my speakers max power is 180w so i need 2 buy sum new speakers but i dont know which ones 2

• Answer:

  If you need new speakers or not depends on the method used to obtain that 275 watt rating. There are three methods quoted in some advertising material and in the stated specification of amplifiers. 1: Peak to peak, 2: Peak, 3: RMS or continuous. An amp rated at 275 watts peak output is only around half that in RMS watts. (140 watts) Speakers are generally rated in RMS watts. Most manufacturers of quality amps use the RMS rating. So if the speaker rating is for real you may be OK as long as you don't push them too hard. Just do yourself a favor, do not run the amp to max output. If you do it gets into clipping of the audio waveform. (distortion) Many amps when run into distortion levels can develop substantially more power than the rated output for a short while. Part of that output is not audio but actually DC current which can quickly overheat speaker voice coils.You will note that most amps will give you the max output within a specific percentage of distortion. Go well beyond the rated output and It is a toss up which will fail first the output stages of the amp or the speakers. If that 275 watts is RMS, you can use it with your present speakers just don't push it. Meanwhile start shopping around for speakers that can handle more power. One final word of caution, make sure the output impedance of the amp matches the speaker impedance.