Charles, you don't need to hold your breath; the FTC regs governing the power specs of home entertainment amplifiers have been in effect for over 20 years. As I've pointed out previously, this is the one area of audio that's subject to mandatory standards and where we can feel confident that the claims are true. The irony is that many of the same audio enthusiasts who believe or are at least willing to take seriously unsubstantiated claims about the "sound" of players, amplifiers and even pieces of wire view with extreme suspicion the official power rating numbers. When we read, for example, "100 watts, 20Hz-20KHz, maximum 0.08% THD, 8 ohms(FTC)" that's what we get, as the independent lab tests have consistently shown.
"CES" in an audio context usually refers to the Consumer Electronics Show, so you may be referring to the CEA(Consumer Electronics Association)suggested voluntary standard(unlike the mandatory FTC regs)for car amplifier specs that was published about 5-6 years ago, and which some use. Again, stronger mandatory rules for home amplifiers have long been in effect.
