Tweeter ratings

Hi there this is a real newbie sort if question so hopefully lots of people should be able to help me.
When building a loudspeaker like a full range cab what sort of rating should the tweeter be.
Basically if you have a 500w sub woofer presumably you would use a 500w tweeter but they don't seem to exist.
I know that higher frequencies are easier to produce and don't need as much power to equal that of the bass. But if I put a 100 watt tweeter with a 500wat sub woofer in the same cab running through a passive crossover and then feed the cab with 500 watts wouldn't the tweeter blow or burn out due to a power overload. Or does it have fancy circuitry to protect it. If so how do I know what rateing of tweeter to use. Is there a formula you use to work out the difference in wattage between the two drivers
Cheers any answer would be great. smiley1

As you go higher in frequency the amount of energy in typical music reduces. From memory the amount of energy in the band above 3K was around 5% of the total.

If you also take into account the fact that compression drivers used for the majority of PA top ends are also considerably more efficient then you can see that you do not need anywhere near the power handling for the top end as you do for the bass.

With a typical 500w bass/mid driver you would normally see a 25-80w comp used depending on X-over frequency etc.

Tony

Just to add to what Tony has said, the B and C tweeters I use are 25 watts. They also have a sensitivity of 108db. Most bass speakers you will use will be between 96 and 100. So you can see how the balance shapes up.
Years ago when everyone wanted to use the JBL bullet tweeter (2402) they were rated at 20 watts. If you come across a tweeter that has a high wattage rating, it will be low insensitivity and have a voice coil as thick as an electric fire.

Hi guys cheers for your answer there great. So basically what ever tweeter I use I have to match it to the crossover output power wise and everything should be ok.
Cheers.

styla247 wrote: Hi there this is a real newbie sort if question so hopefully lots of people should be able to help me.
When building a loudspeaker like a full range cab what sort of rating should the tweeter be.
Basically if you have a 500w sub woofer presumably you would use a 500w tweeter but they don't seem to exist.
I know that higher frequencies are easier to produce and don't need as much power to equal that of the bass. But if I put a 100 watt tweeter with a 500wat sub woofer in the same cab running through a passive crossover and then feed the cab with 500 watts wouldn't the tweeter blow or burn out due to a power overload. Or does it have fancy circuitry to protect it. If so how do I know what rateing of tweeter to use. Is there a formula you use to work out the difference in wattage between the two drivers
Cheers any answer would be great. smiley1

On activ you must buy the amp perfect for the driver.
on passiv crossovers you can put any comp driver as long as you know how to buil your Crossover and the cros over limitations and cuts.