Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions AV receivers for music?

I thought the same as Jay when I read your post last night John.

Has anybody ever investigated and written about real world power usage in a 5.1 system? I have no idea how much power any of the speakers draw at any given point during use.

Even when it comes to dynamic peaks. Do those peaks appear across all speakers at the same time? If this is the case, I would imagine a modest receiver could run out of power very quickly, even at lower volumes.

FOr most uses, there is usually very little demand on ALL channels driven but if you are one that likes to listen to 5/6/7 channel stereo and crank it up, a modest receiver will run out of power very quickly. I would think even during loud battle scenes and such a modest receiver could run low on power.

I see that written a lot, but I have never seen a reference to empirical data.

I listen to everything 5.1 and my receiver delivers 90wpc 2 channels driven.

By the way, it took me a long time to figure out why my receiver is rated at 100w x 5 but only delivers 90w, 2 channels driven AND how those statements are not contradictory.

...and? Don't keep us in suspense.

Does FTC testing require 20 to 20? I thought it only required 1 frequency, which is what caused the BS wattage arms race to begin years ago. Everybody had a 1000 watt amp when run at 15,000 hz.
If FTC means 20-20 then ok, I'm coming around. Now a dumb [dumber?] question: does your comment only apply when they cite "FTC" or any time they claim 20 to 20? I don't want to assume FTC if that is not the case.

Finally, yes I meant CEA, not CES. Good catch. I think to get CES certified, you have to have neon lights hooked up to the amp, and the sub must spin. Still working on that in my HT - wires keep getting tangled.

No, the regs don't require that the manufacturers test at any specific frequency or range of frequencies, but the frequency has to be specifically stated in conjunction with the power number. Typically the 20Hz-20KHz range is used for the testing and the published specs, with a 1KHz number(typically 5-10% higher)sometimes listed as a supplementary figure, or as the basic rating for some less expensive units.

For example, I'll quote the spec for a receiver that cost $151 delivered as a factory refurb: "75 watts minimum continuous power per channel, 8 ohm loads, 2 channels driven from 20Hz to 20 kHz, with a maximum total harmonic distortion of 0.08%. 100 watts minimum continuous power per channel, 6 ohm loads, 2 channels driven at 1 kHz, with a maximum total harmonic distortion of 0.1%" These are the specs from the measurements pursuant to the FTC regs(at least 5 continuous minutes at the full rated power). Additional numbers(higher)follow, under standards suggested by industry groups in various countries.