question for all those SVS experts out there... (1 Viewer)

[Bri~A]

OK... with all the people on this board who are SVS afficianados, I figure this is the best place to direct this question. On the PC+ series, the BASH amp is rated as 525 Watts. Is this an average or peak wattage? If average, what is the peak power output of this amp? Thanks.

 

[SVS-Ron]

Bri,

There are a number of ways amps can be rated, we're still waiting on the latest most rigorous numbers (FTC rating) but the 525 watts RMS "continuous" has been validated by our own labs and the factory in Canada.

Peak? Figure about a kilowatt, very roughly, but again there are so many variables and ways to measure this that you can and should take that as a rough order of magnitude.

Ron

 

[Bri~A]

Thanks for the info. I guess that's as "official" an answer as you can fet huh? Ron, you're keeping the SVS rep alive. Good job to all of you guys over there.

 

[Edward J M]

This is definitely an area where I think all sub manufacturers need to adhere to a single standard, analogous to the FTC standard for rating consumer power amplifiers and receivers for home use.

Some manufacturers (like SVS and HSU) have been doing it right all along, and some have recently come on board (like Klipsch) and changed their sub amp power ratings.

The FTC method requires the use of a sine wave input (which is by definition continuous). There are several voltage values which can be pulled off the sine wave - average, RMS, and peak. For FTC, the RMS value is used to calculate the watts delivered.

The way we all like to see amps rated is something like: 750 watts continuous into a 4 ohm load at no more than 0.1% THD as calculated using the RMS value of the voltage peak of the sine wave. Of course that's a mouthful, so we soldier on with a shortcut like "750 watts, RMS".

Peak power is calculated by using the peak voltage value of the sinewave, usually at a higher distortion limit. Peak power is usually provided as a time-limited function, say for 40 ms. The time limit always yields the most impressive results, and is usually listed as "dynamic power". The Klipsch website is a good example, where they rate the continuous power of their sub amps, and then the dynamic power under transient conditions.

Regards,

Ed