One of the most confusing topics in home audio design is determining what size amplifier your speakers need. Most people make this decision based on simplistic and sometimes meaningless speaker and amplifier output specifications. Many tend to follow misconceptions about how amplifiers and speakers work.

Speaker power specifications are usually meaningless. Most of the time you will just see a “maximum power” rating with no explanation of how the specification was derived. Is it maximum continuous power? Average power? Peak power? And how long does it last and with what type of material? These are also important questions.

Various authorities have published different, conflicting standards for measuring speaker power handling, published by the Audio Engineering Society, the Electronics Industries Association, and the International Electrotechnical Commission. It's no wonder the average person often gets confused!

Furthermore, most manufacturers don’t actually follow these standards; they simply make an educated guess. Often, this decision is based on the power handling of the subwoofer. (Power handling specifications for raw speaker drivers, such as woofers and tweeters, are more standardized and meaningful than specifications for complete speakers.) Sometimes a speaker’s power handling specification is based on marketing. In fact, a manufacturer may give a higher-end speaker a higher power handling rating than a lower-end speaker, even though they both use the same woofer.