Hi again, Octavian! Hope that since Christmas you've been enjoying a lot of the beautiful music available to us in our world. Yes, the 7300 is certainly an excellent performer; my point to Pete was that there was less than a 2dB difference in maximum output between it and the 635, which wasn't likely to be significant.
As to why the HK specs seem relatively conservative(and the same is true of the 635 and its 630 predecessor; I've seen lab measurements on the order of 200 watts into 4ohms), HK(and all other manufacturers) has to use a rating under the FTC regulations which require that the amp be run for at least 5 continuous minutes at the full rated power, which is in effect a laboratory torture test which would never be even remotely duplicated in home use. Bernard(the rat)and I have discussed this in some recent posts that might interest you. Beyond this, HK chooses to give an "all channels driven" rating, which results in a lower number than the 2 channels driven which is the basic requirement under the FTC reg. Still further, it appears that HK uses a number from well before(maybe 10% less power)the point where the distortion curve begins to turn up. The few organizations which actually do lab tests instead of just making silly comments about the "sound" of an amp use different(and probably more realistic for home use)measuring procedures than those required by the FTC and this generally results in higher power numbers, but all manufacturers have to give the numbers according to the protocol in the FTC reg. At least we know that when we're looking to buy, the rated power specs are accurate, if not a bit conservative.
