home audio questions

[BrianG]

Actually, I always speak in rms terms. And it is better to run a higher power amp than the sub can technically handle because of the duty cycle of the signal; where you only run max rms power for about 10% of the time, and MUCH lower power on average. For movies or any other dynamic media, you want some headroom. If you are running 200w to the sub during normal listening, then a car explosion hits, the sub will want more power for that time then the amp can deliver and will clip. It's much healthier for the sub to see clean power than dirty clipped power.