50 > 15

Important lesson in electrical engineering for the day: 50 is greater than 15. Okay, got it? I apparently didn't think hard enough about that. Last week, I got a new stereo put in my car (yeah, I know it sounds silly: a nine year old car with a brand new stereo). I wanted to be able to listen to CD's, something that wasn't possible on the factory-installed AM/FM/cassette. So I got a cheap Pioneer. Nothing fancy, just your basic AM/FM/CD. Blissful in my ignorance, I figured "50 watts isn't too much. The factory speakers must be able to handle that. I'll check later." Oops.

Five days later, the rear speakers blew out to the opening bars of ZZ Top's Sleeping Bag. I wasn't playing it that loud, but after the first thumps, a sickly rattling noise accompanied most of the music coming out of the rear speakers. Upon closer investigation, I found that the new stereo was driving 15 watt speakers. 50 > 15, and that equals two blown speakers. The factory speakers were junk - cheap paper cones.

I got some new speakers yesterday. 50 watts (with a peak north of 150, should it ever come to that). I also got the front speakers replaced, even though they were perfectly "good" 4-inch powerhouses. It sounds a lot better now, and I don't think these will tear open like the last set.

Next time, maybe I'll read the owner's manual. After a quick skim, I've found that using this stereo with "speakers rated at less than 22 watts per channel minimum may cause the speakers to malfunction, emit smoke, or catch fire".