Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater My EP800s are HERE!

Very pretty. That Xbox 360 wants to be an Elite, though, I think.

Beautiful man, simply beautiful setup!!

Color me jealous!!

::runs back into HT cave crying::

Sharing is all about making other people embarrassed.

Steve, great-looking setup. Enjoy your newly monstrous(small m)bass.

IH, this is really a point that should be fairly obvious: power consumption(again if it's one of the few which give a "max" spec)would have to greatly(how greatly varying with amplifier efficiency)exceed maximum power output. As previously stated, most specs are an average rather than maximum consumption spec. The numbers shown in the previous post were of course only to illustrate the principle and come out even, not to represent a particular unit(although all are in the ballpark).

A real-world example can be seen in the Denon 3808 popular here. The power consumption is shown by Denon as 7.2 amperes(note, no "max" specification), equivalent to about 860 watts. The lab tests which have been cited several times here to illustrate the excellence of the unit include all 7 channels continuously driven at 130 plus watts per channel, a total output of a little over 910 watts. With typical class AB 50% full-power efficiency this would consume about 1800 watts. The 3808 is very good, but it doesn't create power out of thin air.

There's no legal requirement(as there is in FTC regs on the power output)that the power consumption be shown as a maximum figure so as to aid the user in "planning" requirements, and most don't include such a number. There's no real disadvantage in this, as full power operation of all channels simultaneously isn't a realistic home scenario.

So, the typical power consumption figure shown may help in estimating the electric bill, but doesn't represent the maximum capacity of the unit.

Hi John,

Thanks for thoughts.

John,

As always, a well thought out and easy to understand explanation.

The Denon amp is a good example. In reviewing my AVR-3806 manual, I see a 7.1A total draw, and each channel is rated 120W. 7.1A x 120V = 852 Watts. 852 Watts / 7 = 121 Watts / Channel. The math works here. The manual also states the amp is capable (dynamic power) of 140W Channel driving 8 ohm loads, and 210W Channel driving 4 ohm loads. This is how I think the EP800 gets rated. The plate on the back of the amp is showing it's 8 ohm load rating, not it's 4 ohm load rating.