First, you have to understand what the amp manufacturer means when they say 500 watts. They could mean watts per channel, or they could mean total watts. They could mean watts peak, or they could mean watts RMS. And then you have to know whether the spec they have is for 2 ohm speakers, 4 ohm, or 8 ohm.
Next, you need to know whether the wattage spec on the speakers is RMS, peak, program, or continuous. And you have to know whether the speakers are 8 ohm, 4 ohm or whatever, so you can decide on which spec for the amp is appropriate.
Finally... you need to know the rule... once all the specs have been converted to RMS, the amp should ideally be able to put out at least as many watts as the speakers are rated at, and ideally twice as much. Yes, the amp should put out more than what the speakers are rated at.
If anyone is interested, I have a quite lengthy blog describing what the specs mean, how you determine the specs you have, and how to convert to the ones that you need (if you can), along with numerous examples of systems. I tried to cut and paste the blog, but it would not fit. Let me know if you would like a link.
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