In the past, this was quite simple: we are in Germany, so there was a DIN standard (45500) in which everything was precisely regulated. The measurement procedures were exactly prescribed, and this resulted in comparability when devices were measured under the same conditions.
Today things are completely different. If you look at the specifications of PC speakers — without exception of Chinese origin — you would never stop being amazed if you had not long since become accustomed to the nonsense.
There are small active "screech cubes" that are supposed to deliver 500 watts. Do you remember your physics lessons? There was the concept of efficiency. You put a certain amount of energy into an electrical device and — in the case of a loudspeaker — acoustic energy comes out in the form of sound. As is well known, loudspeakers have an extremely poor efficiency of just a few percent, so the 500 watt speaker in question would draw a power of about 16000 watts from the wall socket if the 500 watts were true.
In fact, the 500 watt speaker comes with only a small power supply of about 5 watts, which very quickly reduces the claimed output power to absurdity.
The manufacturers state the power as P.M.P.O. (Peak Music Power Output). This power rating, which has no definition but rather stems from the realm of fairy tales, is mostly used for devices with very little power, so that they look impressive in the brochure.
If the power were measured according to the good old DIN standard, only a few milliwatts would remain. If you take such a speaker apart, the truth often reveals itself very quickly. The power rating can quite often be read on the cheap built-in drivers. And that is usually no more than one watt.
Our practical tip: do not believe dubious brochure claims. It is not important how many watts a device has in the brochure. This figure says nothing about the sound quality, nor about how loud you can really listen with a device.
What matters more is careful construction and good materials. If you have doubts, give us a call. We are happy to pass our experience on to you!