yet another total bonehead question

[RxJxVx]

how do i determine how many RMS  / program  / peak watts a certain speaker cabinet will handle?<P>for example, i have a sunn 215 cab housing 2 600w eminence speakers...would this mean i have a 1200w cab or 600w?  i have looked online and have not yet found a site geared towards answering such questions?  additionally, if i had a similar (acoustic 215)cabinet housing one 600w speaker and one 300w speaker, how many RMS watts will that handle?<P>sorry to put such a remedial question out there, but if i knew a better place to look , i would.

thanks in advance

[Isaac]

The simple answer is that the drivers will share the load, and the cabinet will handle 1200 watts.

[JoeArthur]

how do i determine how many RMS  / program  / peak watts a certain speaker cabinet will handle?<P>for example, i have a sunn 215 cab housing 2 600w eminence speakers...would this mean i have a 1200w cab or 600w?  i have looked online and have not yet found a site geared towards answering such questions?  additionally, if i had a similar (acoustic 215)cabinet housing one 600w speaker and one 300w speaker, how many RMS watts will that handle?<P>sorry to put such a remedial question out there, but if i knew a better place to look , i would.

thanks in advance

Speaker specifications from the manufacturer should specify the power handling capability. Take them with a grain of salt as there is no standard between manufacturers.

Speakers will share the load as Isaac mentioned - assuming the speakers are the same impedance. If they are each will handle their maximum rating. If the impedances are not equal, the lower impedance speaker will receive more power than the higher impedance speaker. For example, an 8 ohm and 4 ohm speaker combination, the 4 ohm will receive twice the power as the 8 ohm speaker.

If the power handling is mismatched, then the maximum rating should be considered as the rating of the lowest rated speaker times the number of speakers. So for your example of a 600w and 300w speaker, don't dump more than 600w of power into them or the lowest rated speaker might become history.

[RxJxVx]

thanks, guys.  this is basically what i was thinking, but i really don't want to blow anything else up any time soon, although the smoking amp is definitely a nice touch on stage....unfortunately my sunn bass rig now smells like burnt circuitry.