Mike Newt

Receiver power testing

Where could I find information on the true power output by various manufacturer's receivers. Each manufacturer claims some amount of power per channel, but I am interested in power when all channles are driven, not a sales ploy to overstate the true capabilities of the amplifiers.

Don_Teel

Here's a start. Its a page of the sound and vision magazine test reports on receivers they've reviewed. Hope his helps out some.

http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Holl...1/ratevsac.htm

Mike Newt

Yes it did help, thanks for youu reply. Is this site maintained with new test results?

DanaA

Yes, as S & V reviews new receivers, the test results are upgraded. What I'd do is look at companies and try and establish a track record.

Mike Newt

Thanks to all. It does look like there are some manufacturers who use significantly different methods to measure output as compared to the S&V lab. I also noticed the one comment about one receiver not designed to deliver full power to all channels simeultaneously. Enlightening.

Bob McElfresh

Yes you have to read the fine print.

The Yamah site used to report BOTH 2-channel and 5-channel power specs into 8 ohms, with both/all channels driven.

Some brands use 6 or 4 ohm loads to appear more powerful, or they test at 1 Khz rather than 20-20,000 hz.

Oh, the other trick: some brand report "PP" or "Peak to Peak" power. This measures the top of the sine wave and reports this as max power. The better brands use "RMS" (Root Mean Square) which is like an average of the power under the sine wave.

Also look at the distortion value. A receiver rated at 100 wpc can actually pump 140 watts, and hold this with proper ventilation. But the distortion jumps from something like "0.04% THD" to 1-2%.

Mike Newt

I was trying to read the fine print, but many times I didn't catch the implications of the terminology. I think I will have to re-think my list of potential receivers. Unfortunately my budget precludes me from some candidates. Thanks to all for your timely and appreciated advise.