Speaker Watts, Amp Watts, what's okay?

[JordanM82]

So I was talking with Laz recently about amps and we were talking about how the relationship between amp wattage and rated wattage on the speaker may not be as important as I thought.

I have a new BlackStar HT-20 studio, and I want to swap the speaker (and tubes for higher quality later). I really dig the sound of a Vintage 30 and have been looking at WGS speakers Vet 30 as a replacement, however that speaker is rated for 60 watts (as well as some other speakers I find myself liking from eminence that are around 50). So my question is, how close does it need to be? Can a 20 watt amp drive a 60 watt speaker properly?

I guess this is Amp learning week for me... thanks for the help guys...

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Speaker Watts, Amp Watts, what's okay?

It'll drive it just fine. You might not get all the speaker distortion you seek, but it will work fine.

 

[JordanM82]

Re: Speaker Watts, Amp Watts, what's okay?

Yeah that was my concern, will I get any speaker distortion or not... and I am assuming I really will not with this disparity...

 

[Reckless Abandon]

It will drive it. Not much break up. Some high watt speaker materials allow them to break up quicker and they can handle high wattage.

 

[JordanM82]

Re: Speaker Watts, Amp Watts, what's okay?

I am also considering a Greenback type speaker as well (WGS Green Beret) as this just might be a better match for the amp... honestly to my sound as well too...

 

[CTN]

Re: Speaker Watts, Amp Watts, what's okay?

If you really like the Vintage 30 sound, the Retro30 is a more accurate representation.

The Vet 30 is quite a bit darker than the retro 30, but both have a vintage 30 flavour minus the annoying mid spike.

I'm a huge fan of the Retro30.