Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater 5.1/7.1 Power Requirements

Bernard, I linked that paper because as I said it "touches" on the average power point that you're interested in(although it only covered two-channel CDs, rather than the average for multi-channel discs). Note however that its main thrust is the heat sinking required to run continuously for very long periods at 1/8th, 1/3rd or full power. If a unit designed with heat sinking adequate for running full time at an average of 1/8th of full power wasn't adequate for some particular disc, the result would be eventually overheating and a shut-down by the protective circuit. This wouldn't have any relevance to claims of better sound somehow resulting from a more powerful amp, even when operating at moderate levels easily handled by the original amp. There appears to be no technologically plausible basis for that.

John: Maybe, then again, maybe not. I think that you are oversimplifying the situation. Neither you nor I know how all of these power supplies are designed. It could be that their voltage regulation suffers as their design limit is approached. This, in turn, could result in audio distortion.

I would also be surprised if "cheap" components weren't used in the 1/8 power supply. Hard to say how this may effect distortion as they heat up and reach their limits.

One other aspect is that they simply may NOT be able to handle the peak power requirements of a 5 or 7 channel receiver under some music conditions.