Question about wattage...
 

I've got an old 100W Onkyo receiver, and may be setting it up to power some "buttshakers". The buttshakers are only 25w each. From the instructions, if I wire them in seriers, they will handle 50 watts.

So, is it ok to use this receiver with them, as long as I keep the output down to 50% or less?

If something can get damaged, it will be the buttshakers, not the receiver, right?

Thanks.

It would be OK.

You should also look at rated impedance. (Speaker impedance varies a LOT with frequency, so this is a very "nominal" thing. The rated impedance usually occurs at one frequency and is higher at all other frequencies.)

If the subwoofers are rated at 4 ohms each, then in series they would be 8 ohms. Your receiver or amp is also rated with an impedance it can drive. If it is rated 100 W into 4 ohms, it will probably not be able to deliver 100 W into 8 ohms anyway (maybe 50-75??).

An amp won't be harmed by driving a higher impedance, it will just deliver less than full power. Driving an impedance lower than rated impedance may be a problem, and could damage an amp not designed with protective circuitry.

Thanks, OldDude.

Another point is that most of the time, you never go above 1 watt of power in actual usage.