Wattage or watts of a soundbar is typically a spec that determines the loudness of a soundbar, and yes, louder soundbars are preferred. However, this spec is not a deal-breaker as mostly wattage is a marketing gimmick used by the manufacturers to showcase their products as better than the rest.
In This Post
How many watts soundbar do i need for home in India
So, if you are asking “What wattage soundbar do I need?”. Anywhere between 80 to 300 watts is the best soundbar. Wattage has a connection to the loudness of a soundbar, which I have explored later in the article. Although you can’t determine the sound quality by just looking at wattage. Wattage is simply the power received from the amplifier. In any standard soundbar, watts refer to the amount of power intake.
It’s also advisable to focus on the decibels. The sensitivity of the soundbar determines how much power a soundbar can convert to sound. Thus higher the sensitivity, the greater will be the sound. Besides decibels, channels are another soundbar spec that you must consider. The higher the number of channels the better the sound will be.
The relation between wattage and soundbar
Wattage and soundbars have an intertwined relationship. Watts in a soundbar is also referred to as a volt/voltage converter. Wattage denotes the electricity being produced and shows how much of it is being used at a time.
Similarly, for every soundbar, the wattage unit determines how much electricity is being used for the television or your entertainment unit and if the power supply is adequate.
The wattage also determines whether or not your soundbar is drawing in too much electricity or if it’s running at the desired efficiency.
The wattage also helps one detect any imbalance on the soundbar. Though wattage is not an essential spec to check while purchasing a sound box, it does determine the quality of the soundbar or subwoofer. In a wattage amp soundbar system, the volts determine the quality of the sound.
Some manufacturers claim that there is a massive difference between high and low amp soundbars as it’s essentially the way sound travels through the amp that affects its quality. However, avoid opting for too high-watt amps as they lead to bass distortion. Instead, a low-watt amp produces better sound quality.
Is a higher watt soundbar better?
More watts make a sound box louder. That being said, there is a lot of difference among soundbars beyond wattage and volume. Thus, besides the wattage, it’s also wise to focus on other more essential specs like better decibel and frequency range.
All these factors determine the quality of your soundbar.
Ideally, for a good quality soundbox, it’s essential to consider the bass response, broader soundstage, and a convincing surround if you install an entertainment unit. Of course, all these factors will make your soundbar louder, but these qualities will upgrade the sound quality to a great extent.
How Soundbar Specs Can Mislead You
Getting a soundbar for your entertainment unit can be a fulfilling experience if you choose the ideal unit. However, this choice becomes tricky as soundbar specs can be highly tricky for average consumers to decode.
Manufacturers often give misleading information or withhold crucial information to sell their products. Thus it’s important to go prepared while buying a soundbar.
Generally, it’s essential to consider the:
- Wattage
- Number of channels
- Frequency range
Besides these, you must also consider the soundbar’s type, connectivity, and size.
Do Watts Really Matter in Soundbar?
Wattage is simply to power received by the amplifier. In other words, it refers to the power output amount. However, in a normal soundbar, watts refer to the power input. Mostly, manufacturers mention the number of watts.
By this, they want to tell you the amount of power the soundbar can handle without breaking down. But most soundbars these days have built-in amplifiers (except passive models). The soundbars use this built-in amplifier to run the device.
That being said, it does not mean that wattage doesn’t really matter. After all, if you need a good quality soundbar and subwoofer, considering the wattage is recommended. Considering the wattage is unnecessary while using a preamp, but if you have installed a wattage amp, your soundbar will produce great quality sound at a much lower wattage.
Additionally, there is no difference between high and low wattage amps. However, you can opt for a high wattage amp if you want good bass free from any distortion.
Do more watts mean better sound?
More wattage means louder sound but that necessarily means better sound. The sensitivity of the amplifier and the soundbar and frequency response are other essential factors that affect the overall sound quality to produce clear and cleaner sound.
Of course, it’s tempting to opt for the most powerful audio set. However, power does not always guarantee satisfactory results.
It’s a common practice among manufacturers to advertise the power of a soundbar or an amplifier as the first spec. It’s an essential spec since powerful sound bars and amplifiers produce better and cleaner sound even at high volume.
However, this is not the only metric that determines the quality of a soundbar, especially if the soundbar is to play at a high volume.
What’s a good wattage range for a soundbar?
The good wattage range of the Soundbar is anywhere between 80-300 Watt. Besides wattage, many other factors impact the quality of a soundbar, including sensitivity. One of the most challenging issues of soundbar wattage is the lack of a concrete definition.
Either you can think of wattage as the total power a soundbar needs to run or the quantity of power a soundbar can take. Some also associate watts with the loudness of a soundbar.
Keeping all this in mind, it’s advisable that you don’t try to match the capacity of a soundbar with an amplifier that surpasses the soundbar’s wattage. Ideally, the amp should be lower than the power rating of the soundbar.
This will keep the soundbar safe and produce better sound quality. However, playing the soundbar too loudly will lead to distortion, and you will end up unhappy about it.
To get a good soundbar, you first need to understand the relationship between wattage and sound performance. Not only loudness, but you also need to consider the sound quality. Having said that, if you host frequent parties at home that have loud music, you will need a soundbar with more wattage.
In this case, you require a soundbar that has more amp and power. This configuration will allow the soundbar to play loud music without any distortion. It’s advisable to opt for a 100-watt soundbar as these produce clean audio.
If you want a moderate sound, a soundbar’s power rating should not bother you. For such people, even a 20-watt soundbar is good enough. However, you must be careful during the selection process. Often a 110-watt soundbar may produce poor sound, while a 10-watt one functions way better.
Do more watts mean more bass?
No, more watts doesn’t mean more bass. Bass, like many other soundbar specs, needs to be measured in the quality vs. quantity component. Also, it must be noted that more bass does not mean better bass.
The power of a soundbar always depends on the wattage of the subwoofer, and indeed a high wattage subwoofer is extremely powerful. Mostly, a powerful subwoofer is preferred against a less powerful one not only because it will play louder but because it can handle lower frequencies more effectively.
Additionally, there exists better control of the drive units in the subwoofer.
As a rule of thumb, please remember that a 1000 watts soundbar will not play ten times better than a 100 watts one and it will not produce more bass necessarily. Wattage is only an estimated indicator of how powerful a subwoofer is, but now how it will sound.
Is 300 watts loud enough?
Though the amps received by the soundbar determine the soundbar’s volume, there is a different sensitivity rating to measure its loudness. The manufacturer mostly lists this spec.
However, as a rule of thumb, to increase the soundbar’s volume, make sure the wattage is more than the amp’s output. It’s also highly crucial to look into the soundbar sensitivity, often termed as SPL, and is measured in decibel (dE).
There are two principles to know:
- If the amp power output is similar, getting a soundbar with higher sensitivity will produce a louder sound
- If two soundbar have a similar sensitivity, one with the higher wattage will be louder
If you compare soundbars with different sensitivity ratings, you need to consider the combination of sensitivity and power wattage to get the loudest soundbar. It all boils down to combining the number of the different specs to come up with the ideal selection.
So going by that, a 300-watt soundbar will be loud if it features a sensitivity of 93 dB, which produces 117.5 dBs.
Conclusion
So, the summary of the question “What wattage soundbar do I need?” is most of the time a higher wattage soundbar means louder sound. If you want loud music you should definitely go for a 300 watt soundbar and for moderate music 100 watts is more than enough.
But louder sound doesn’t necessarily mean quality sound. Keeping the dBs in mind will help you make a perfect choice according to your needs.
