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Nominal watt

What is nominal watt? A clear definition from the loudspeakers section of our glossary, with 15 related terms and further reading.

Definition of Nominal watt

Nominal wattage is used to simplify the measurement of the efficiency of a loudspeaker.

The impedance of a loudspeaker varies with frequency. This means that if different sine wave tones are fed into the loudspeaker at the same voltage (or the same current), the amount of electric power consumed will vary.

By convention, loudspeakers are designed to generate the same sound pressure level (SPL) at the listener for the same voltage at varying frequencies - regardless of the variation in electric power. This permits a loudspeaker to be used with an amplifier having a low internal impedance and a flat frequency response is realized for the combined amplifier/loudspeaker system.

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What is Nominal watt?

Nominal wattage is used to simplify the measurement of the efficiency of a loudspeaker.

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