The thing that’s changed the least over the past 20 years is the speaker. After all, there’s only so many ways you can move air to produce sound. With that in mind, matching speakers to an amplifier should be easy, right? Here the explains.
Impedance:
Measured in ohms (Ω), typically 4, 6 or 8. The lower the impedance, the more demand the speakers place on the amplifier, which is why matching the impedance of your speakers to your amplifier is important. Most home theatre speakers will be 6 or 8Ω, as are most home theatre amplifiers.
Power handling:
An often misunderstood specification. Measured in watts, it is best represented by RMS (root means square.) This figure tells us how much power the speaker can comfortably handle for a sustained period of time. Also referred to as continuous, or nominal power. The other way to measure speaker power handling is PMPO (peak music power output) is essentially the measure of the speaker operating at or near its absolute limits on the verge of serious damage. It is not a useful rating, and easy for manufacturers to inflate - so avoid it completely. So Avoid to buy speaker with PMPO label.
Sensitivity:
Sensitivity is a rating often listed for speakers but not terribly well understood. Measured in decibels (dB), it refers to the speakers ability to turn the power from the amplifier into sound. The higher the rating, the more efficient the speakers are. Anywhere from 87-93 dB is typical of most speakers, but anything 90 dB or above is a good rating.
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