If I have the volume levels set the same for all my speakers in a 5.1 setup, will the receiver output the same wattage to all speakers.Seems like the rears get less output than the fronts and center.Tom
wattage depends on what is being produced by those speakers. An explosion coming from the front speakers will require more power (watts) then surround affects in the surrounds. Also, for 5.1 you don't have rears, or should not, you have side surrounds.
When you say volume the same, do you mean you balanced the speakers using an SPL meter?
Tom, as the previous replies indicate, you set the volume levels for the various speakers equal to each other during calibration by using a test tone which sends an equal voltage to each speaker. During actual use with program material however, there's almost never a situation in which all the speakers have to play at the same loudness level, especially the max level(this is why the "all channels driven" power rating used by some manufacturers is less realistic than the standard 2-channels driven rating). The watts needed by a speaker during actual play might vary between the maximum and zero. The surround channels are often lower in level than the main channels.