Need speaker (Stereo Help bad)

m and m · Jun 16, 2011

So for fathers day we got my dad and Her dad some out door speakers. My dad is good to go with the stereo he is a stereo freak but her's is not. What would I need for her dad to make this work? I was told a 75-100w Amp by the store? But when I look all i find is like car stereo amps? Could some one please help me out with finding a cheap one for her dad?

Here below is what I got them.

Bose 151 SE Outdoor Environmental Speakers (White) 34104 B&H

TinaFoster · Jun 16, 2011

They're 40W speakers. They're good quality speakers but they aren't powerful. You don't need an amp. Just run some wire and hook them to any stereo. (I'm a disc jockey)

rybitski · Jun 16, 2011

Stereos have built in amplifiers so look for one that has about 20-40 watts per chanel. Not sure what your price range is, but something like this stereo from Walmart would work well: Sony Mini Stereo System - Walmart.com That's just an example tho, run down to your local electronic store and pick something up. Let me know if you have any more questions or if that isn't what you are looking for.

m and m · Jun 16, 2011

Aright thanks, the guys over at bose said we needed the amp. Thans for the help guys.

TinaFoster · Jun 16, 2011

The guys at the LFS told me I can add a red hermit crab to my tank with turbo snails and shrimp in it too hahaha

The majority of people are convinced that more power is better sound. It's not true, and in fact, pushing more power through a speaker than it is built to handle can tear it. These guys do it with their cars all the time. Some inexperienced DJs do it too. Keep the bass down to a tolerable level and don't get a huge amp to push through speakers not rated to handle it and they'll last a lifetime.

TinaFoster · Jun 16, 2011

Oh, and--quality is one thing that's important to consider. You did. Bose are built for excellent resonance. The other thing is position. Placing your speakers where they will carry sound without being blocked, and angled so they don't create hotspots and deadspots will have everyone wanting to listen to the professional sound he's putting out.

CJO · Jun 17, 2011

You've gotten some interesting information here, most of it true, but some of it's confusing. I've been into A/V for over 20 years (my personal home theater was featured in Electronic House a few months ago) and can offer a little advice that I hope you find helpful.

What does your father-in-law currently have?

You do need an amplifier of some kind. However, as rybitski said, most stereos have them built in. Specifically, receivers do, but pre-amps do not. If your father-in-law currently has a nicer receiver, there is a chance that it has a powered zone output that would work. How much power do you need? The rated power output doesn't matter much as long as you have a decent receiver/amplifier. Speakers handle fairly high amounts of clean power well. However, they do not handle distortion very well at all. You have more of a chance of killing your speakers with a 10 watt no-name brand amp than you do with a 100 watt Krell amp. In either case, you just want to make sure that you don't turn it up too loud.

You also need a source for the music. This could simply be the built-in radio tuner in a receiver or it could be a CD player, ipod doc, etc. (or all the above).

Lastly, you need speaker wire to connect the speakers to the receiver/amplifier. 14 gauge should be plenty unless you are running a long distance (several hundred feet). If you want it to look good, installing the speaker cable will likely be the hardest part of it all. If you can give me some specifics on where things are located, I coudl try to give you some thoughts on that part as well.

CJ