The irony relating to published official power ratings is that this is the only area in audio which is governed by relatively strict regulations and where we can be confident of getting what's claimed, yet it's an area where many suspect "exaggeration" "inflation", etc. , which no manufacturer would risk. Some of those voicing such suspicions are also the same individuals who have no problem with believing in magical sound properties in various items, even pieces of wire, despite the lack of solid evidence.
Since I resemble that remark I'll respond for all the popcorn fans: I love irony, but really don’t see it in your example. I'm reading test reports from an AV magazine where someone was put in charge of running test in their "lab". They routinely show amps clipping the signal - to some extent - before the rated power. As Chris mentions, perhaps that is because the FTC does not require it to be run 20 to 20, I don't know?
But it seems consistent to believe the better components and better designs lead to better sound. And thus, that a $329 dollar 105 wpc amp is not telling the truth, or the whole story perhaps, about the fidelity of their amps as compared to 105 wpc McIntosh.
And don't be so naive as to think all companies comply with the FTC rule just because it is there. I have spent my entire career litigating antitrust claims (the FTC's primary charge) and I can assure you companies often calculate that violation of the law is much more profitable than compliance, because enforcement is weak, and fines are a small fraction of the profits earned. I presume that is even more true in this area since the FTC is not known for its strong hand in the areas of wpc.
Finally, I'll note that a search for irony is not fruitless. I find it very ironic that some here demand that emotional responses and perception are worthless as compared to science and math. Yet, when presented with lab tests that do not conform to their view, they cite the well accepted theory of poppy-cock and biased journalism. Pretty hard to test those.
I don't know who is right, but frankly I find it less likely that every HT magazine could slander the likes of Denon, Sony, Yamaha, etc., etc., etc., year after year with crazy test results claiming they are violating a federal law, than the likely hood that there might not be as much uniformity in products across the price scale as some assume.
Now where is the damn popcorn!
