I have always heard that Receivers and amps are rated at minimum wattage
wheras speakers are rated at maximum wattage. Is this true? I always read that when most people sell speakers they will say that these speakers weren't played loud or weren't driven hard. What is the volume level you should play most stuff? When I play some rock on my SOV II'S or my 4425's I blast the shit out of them and the louder I go the better they sound. I hear no distortion so I know I am not hurting them. But does it hurt them in the end? I noticed on my L56's which I don't like, start to pop a little at a certain level at which time I turn down the receiver. By the way I bought an almost new Pioneer SX1250 off of ebay and sold the one I got at the garage sale as it was too much work to make it look nice. My stuff has to look mint before I can really appreciate it. It's like I can't drive a car if it's got rust on it. I've always been that way. So does it really hurt the speakers if you pump some raw power to them? I'm not talking about playing loud until you hear distortion or see sparks flying, I'm just talking about playing loud most of the time,does it eventually wear on the speakers themselves? I know speakers are watt rated but can I hurt the speakers eventually if I consistantly pump say a 100 watts to them all the time or is it the louder you go the less life of the speakers? Any Thoughts! I hope you can figure out what I am trying to say here. Thanks!