Which of the following stereos for RV's offer the most power to drive the speakers. Assume there will be 2 inside speakers and 2 outside speakers. Also assume that I already know that none of these are good and I would be better off going with an aftermarket setup. I'm just trying to understand the power spec since it's so vague on web sites and in manuals. I know RMS means Root Mean Square and refers to continuous power and the spec to look at rather than Peak power output but which one are company's referring to if they only state one and aren't specific like the Jensen.Jensen JWM6A has 3 Zone/8 Speaker Outputs with a Power Output of 6W X 8iRV34 says Total Continuous Power Output 50W and has three zonesFurrion DV3300 States 4X40W on the webpage but in the manual states Maximum Power Output 4X24W RMS and has 2 zones.

If you're looking for power, the Furrion. iRV, since they say "total," is probably adding the power of the individual channels together to come up with that number.

Unless the manufacturer includes distortion figures (THD), any power specification, peak or RMS is useless. I can take an amplifier rated at 100 watts @ a THD of .1 percent, turn it up until the distortion is 10 percent - 20 percent, and it can be rated at 1000 watts or more..

If you're looking to blow out the CG, go to gear the South Central Lowriders use. There's no reason to use Jensen.. go to Alpine, Kenwood, etc., and add an external amp, the power of your choice

I'm not looking to blow out the campground. I just want enough power so music sounds good. I put in Polk speakers inside and outside and the Jensen that came with my camper doesn't have enough power to make much of a difference from the cheap speakers that came with the camper. I'm not going to get an amp and subwoofer and spend a ton of money. I just want something that isn't total garbage and sounds ok.

Even if you're not taking your trailer to an SPL competition, I would still go with a brand-name head unit with good reviews. No sense going to the work and expense of replacing your existing unit with something that is marginally better.As for your question of advertised power ratings, in my experience, if only one number is advertised, it's the peak wattage. As you mentioned, RMS is more meaningful, and should be buried in the product specs somewhere.

Help understanding Stereo Power | Good Sam Community

RobWNY
Explorer
Jun 09, 2017
Well wa8yxm, if we camped next to each other and you had some sort of catastrophic electrical event with your sound system and you really wanted to hear something on the radio, and you knocked on my door and asked if I could put a certain station on, I would be happy to do that for a camping neighbor. So yes, you could be in a situation where you want to listen to my radio LOL
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jun 09, 2017
Looks like they are all about the same.. 48 watts for 2 of 'em and 50 for the remaining one. (2 watts = no difference for all practical purposes)

If you want only two zones. i'd go with the two zone job..

Frankly however. I'm against external speakers.. I mean do I really want to listen to YOUR radio?
whatimmadoboutm
Explorer
Jun 09, 2017
Even if you're not taking your trailer to an SPL competition, I would still go with a brand-name head unit with good reviews. No sense going to the work and expense of replacing your existing unit with something that is marginally better.

As for your question of advertised power ratings, in my experience, if only one number is advertised, it's the peak wattage. As you mentioned, RMS is more meaningful, and should be buried in the product specs somewhere.
RobWNY
Explorer
Jun 09, 2017
I'm not looking to blow out the campground. I just want enough power so music sounds good. I put in Polk speakers inside and outside and the Jensen that came with my camper doesn't have enough power to make much of a difference from the cheap speakers that came with the camper. I'm not going to get an amp and subwoofer and spend a ton of money. I just want something that isn't total garbage and sounds ok.
SCVJeff
Explorer
Jun 09, 2017
If you're looking to blow out the CG, go to gear the South Central Lowriders use. There's no reason to use Jensen.. go to Alpine, Kenwood, etc., and add an external amp, the power of your choice
vermilye
Explorer
Jun 09, 2017
Unless the manufacturer includes distortion figures (THD), any power specification, peak or RMS is useless. I can take an amplifier rated at 100 watts @ a THD of .1 percent, turn it up until the distortion is 10 percent - 20 percent, and it can be rated at 1000 watts or more..
mike-s
Explorer
Jun 09, 2017
If you're looking for power, the Furrion. iRV, since they say "total," is probably adding the power of the individual channels together to come up with that number.

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