thermal powering

hi, i was wondering is thermal power handling the same as rms?

Ive had people tell me it is and some tell me it isnt. everysub i have owned has had an rms rating so dont have to worry about thermal. It would make sense that it would be the same i know everyone on CSO rates the RE rms as there thermal rating.

It depends on how the manufacturer decides to rate the sub. Sometimes RMS is thermal power handling, sometimes it's mechanical, and sometimes it's just a "recommended" power.

Manville Smith (JL Audio dude) wrote an article that I meant to copy over here that explained in detail how they rate their speakers. Basically the power matching has a LOT to do with the type of music you listen to.