The power ratings are a trick every manufacturer uses to their advantage. The output IC has four 25 watt amplifier stages which is typical, not exceptional. One stage feeds one speaker wire, the second stage comes after the return wire. Two stages are for one speaker, so one IC will feed the left front and left rear speakers for a total of 100 watts worth of output stages. A second IC feeds the right side. The thing to remember is at maximum volume, one stage will be full on for an instant while the other one for that speaker is full off. They share the load like a teeter totter. Only one side can be at the maximum height at a time. That alone cuts the maximum possible power output to 100 watts, and that would only occur if all four speakers were at maximum volume. All four would never do that at the same time.

Another way to look at it is to do the math. Ohm's Law states that power equals amps times volts, (P=IE). 200 watts divided by a 12 volt system equals 16.66 amps. They would need a 20 amp fuse just for the output stages. That doesn't include running the cd player motor or any of the other electronic circuitry. These radios actually draw less than two amps on my test bench. They use a ten amp fuse in the vehicle which has way plenty of safety margin, so you know there's no way they can really put out 200 watts.

So you're right, 200 watts is not realistic as far as practical usable power. But they never said that's what it meant. Advertisers are sneaky. They feed us a bunch of numbers and hope they will appear better than their competitors. I used to have a home stereo rated at 10 watts per channel. It sounded great and would rattle the walls. The 50 watt per channel unit I have now doesn't perform any better. It's all in how they want to manipulate the numbers. You can't even use the numbers to compare products in a meaningful way.

caradiodoc

 

Hi tcterry.

I haven't seen a '99 model speaker yet, but I've repaired a bunch of the older ones with the jelly-filled amp housings. I charge dealers $45.00 including return shipping, with the understanding I'm going to keep it for two weeks to thoroughly test run it. Don't want to send it back if there's still a problem.

I can't repair a ripped or detached cone, and I haven't had much luck for the two-way units that get smashed and the tweeter breaks off the mounts. I just repair the amp. To tell if the amp is causing the problem, remove the speaker while it's playing and turn it over to various positions. If it goes from sounding good to sounding distorted, weak, low, out completely, or it starts buzzing and popping, it's the amp. If it's something I can't repair, all I want is enough bucks for return shipping, typically 8 -10 bucks through Parcel Post.

caradiodoc