Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions PMPO?

Hi,
Can someone tell me what is PMPO? I kinda understand RMS but not PMPO.

Hi,

Peak Music Power Output.

Mostly Marketing Hype. Some Chinese made hifi systems (Sony, Akai, Pioneer make such systems too) have the label of 1400 Watts P.M.P.O. on the actual unit and also it is imprinted on the box (IN BOLD LETTERS).

Guess what their amplifier output is : 2 X 10 Watts or max. 2 X 20 Watts @ 8 Ohms or lower.

Beware of PMPO ratings! They mean nothing especially on Chinese made units.

Cheers

Hey Mahesh,
Thanks for the reply but I still didn't get it.
All I ever hear about PMPO is that its marketing hype but it must have some rational meaning or use.

Yeah, its a way of the companies to say that they have 1400 watts PMPO. average person things WOW. Big deal.

Real companies dont use PMPO they use dynamic power, such as NAD which can be helpfull in showing you what an amplifier can really do. Such as this: taken from the NAD site.

IHF dynamic power (max short term power/channel)

8 ohms 210W (23.2dBW)

4 ohms 340W (25.3dBW)

2 ohms 450W (26.5dBW)
Another thing that can be used to determine an amplifiers power is headroom. This isint displayed on those mass market junk because they probbly dont have any!

Taken from NAD site.

IHF dynamic headroom at 8 ohms 3dB

if you will read this months Axioms Audiofile newsletter you will also see what that means.

Just to neutralize Brandon's apparent claim of unconditional superiority of the NAD products, another way of seeing the same thing is that these specs represent NAD's own strategy of carefully designed marketing. NAD quite consciously chose to disclose the dynamic power or headroom ratings, being fully aware that those numbers would surely impress "well-informed" potential customers. However, without a careful set of third-party measurements available for specifically comparing the dynamic powers between different receiver/amp brands under identical qualifications/conditions, these numbers alone do not at all indicate that the NAD receivers/amps are actually better than the comparably priced offerings from Denon, H/K, Marantz, Onkyo, Pioneer, Rotel, Sony, Yamaha, and many others (brands in alphabetical order).

Don't get me wrong -- I am NOT trying to belittle NAD, which I firmly believe is an excellent, well-respected receiver/amp brands in today's market. Just that unconditionally boasting the maker-published numbers, whatever they are, isn't much different from blindly believing in the silly PMPO numbers. After all, every one of these figures is published solely for the marketing purposes, albeit for different audiences.

well i guess i could go to another manufactures site, except i already know where what im looking for is. But your right. From now on i vow not to mention NAD in every other reciever post lol

There isn't a set standard for specs, so from maker to maker, compontent to component, you can't really compare anything.

Technical specs are pretty much at the VERY bottom of my list of things I look at before making a purchase. Word of mouth, recommendations from message boards, reviews (both online and in print) and finally and ultimately my ears, are what drive my HT purchases.

In reply to:

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From now on i vow not to mention NAD in every other reciever post lol

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Hey, Brandon, I never meant that way -- personally, I do want everyone to keep recommending whatever he/she honestly considers great. Just don't rely too much on the quantitative specs published by the manufacturer themselves.

Just in case you were serious...