Do I need an amp for my tower speakers?

[CollinC]

I just bought a 2014 G21 and it doesn't have tower speakers. I am wondering if there is speaker wired into the tower already? If so, is that wire hooked up to an amp or will I have to buy an additional amp in order for the tower speakers to work? Thanks.

[MLA]

Tower is likely pre-wired but you will need and want an amp for the tower speakers.

[CollinC]

Okay, that was what I was thinking. I haven't had a chance to take a close look at it. Thanks though!

[JD ski]

Ideally you want to be pushing more watts that the combined max handling capacity of the speakers. Not having enough power causes distortion and blown speakers.

[charlesml3]

Ideally you want to be pushing more watts that the combined max handling capacity of the speakers. Not having enough power causes distortion and blown speakers.

Yes, this exactly. And most people get this completely backwards and the audio industry doesn't seem to do much to fix this. They advertise speakers as "100W Max" and most people think they're safe as long as their amp is 100 watts or less. It's actually just the opposite, as JD described. You really want an amp that has MORE power than the speakers are rated to handle. Overpowering speakers is far less dangerous than underpowering them.

-Charles

[MLA]

"Overpowering speakers is far less dangerous than under powering them."

I disagree with this statement once you apply some context to the idea of using an amp thats capable of deliver more wattage then the speaker can handle. Yes, more wattage then the speaker can handle will blow one faster then less wattage. If the opposite was true, we'd be replacing speakers driven by head units, by the dozens. But we dont. Now, here the missing context. Using an amp that has the ability to deliver more wattage can blow a speaker, IF you gained the output to deliver that excess wattage. However, if you gain the amp appropriately, the untapped wattage is called head room and speaker actually receives wattage within its window of power handling. So yes, no worries using an amp that CAN deliver more wattage then the speaker needs, but it has to be tuned careful.

Using a 50W rms amp to power a speaker with rating of 100W rms/200 peak will NEVER blow that speaker, period. You cannot blow a speaker with less wattage then the speaker's capability. What will blow speaker? Driving the amp or source unit into a constant state of clip. This can happen with an amp of any wattage. More common in an under powered setup where the operator is wanting more output or just doesnt realize the clipping and distortion. In a state of clip, amp output is unpredictable and can easily spike above the amp's rated output. This is how an amp delivering less then the speaker's rated wattage can blow a speaker, but the root cause is the signal, not the amps wattage.

In the case of tower speakers, I do like to drive them with am amp that exceeds their RMS.

[JD ski]

Exactly, It does have to be tuned properly. I did not want to write all of that, thanks for putting the full explanation out there.