Power consumption

[admin_exported]

I am considering purchasing some form of home cinema system and having looked at a few 'all in one' systems v's seperates, i was surprised at how much power consumption the AV amplifiers are rated at.

As an 'all in one' consideration I was looking at the Panasonic SC-BTT370 system, which is rated at 85 watts.

When looking at the seperates route I looked into the Onkyo 609 amp rated at approx 600 watts and some of the Yamaha amps rated at pprox 400 watts.

I expected the seperate amps to consume more power, but was surprised at how much, and the difference between the Onkyo and Yamaha models.

My question is does the actual power consumption vary with the type of use and sound level? For example, if i was to be listening to radio or music from CD or ipod, would it consume less power than if playing a DVD/Blu Ray film or watching TV through attached Virgin box?

I am hoping to use the system as a bit of an all rounder in respect of watching TV/movies from disc and listening to music from the above mentioned sources. In other words a general purpose entertainment centre.

The options I have narrowed it down to on paper are the Panasonic SC-BTT370 'all in one' system v's yamaha RXV667/RXV671/RXV1067 amp with Yamaha BD-S1067 Blu Ray player and maybe

 

[noogle]

There will be a quiescent power consumption even with no sound playing, then as the volume gets louder power consumption will increase proportionately. Most of the time the additional consumption will only be single digit watts, as people only use a fraction of the available power.

If you're looking for a very power-efficient amp, look for "Class D" technology. If you have EDF shares, buy a Class A.

 

[laserman16]

My Yamaha 667 uses between 60 and 85 watts on a BD. About 65 watts with music fed into it.

I think the figure manufacterers give are a peak figure for the PSU.

 

[Anonymous]

My Arcam AVR uses between 60W and 90W (idle vs loud), but it's rated as a 1100W device. So I wouldn't be too worried about amps' peak power rating, and an average power figure is probably hard to come by.

 

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't worry either - my beast of an av amp AX10Ai (35kg, 130W measured across 7 channels)

uses (measured) about 130W at low volumes and about 180W or so max at high volumes !

its rated way above 1000W

 

[Anonymous]

The actual power consumption as the OP noticed is most dependant on the maker's design.

The rated power is pick value and as others pointed the actual consumption is usually arround 1/4-1/3 of the rated.

Couldn't hold myself to jump on this topic for other reason.

Seems some are mistaking amplification power with power consumption. That your VSA-AX10Ai os rated 170W per channel doesn mean you can simply multiply. See your manual - it is rated 725W/0.65W (in use/std by)!