Which that post only covers Class AB amps. (But it is very well written) Not any other class. ie Class D amps that are becoming way more common these days.
Its based off of peak possible output, so for say half a second at one certain frequency at say 4 or 2 ohm load it could put out 1000watts.
I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but wattage has not meant anything for at least 10 years. If you are buying one of these all in one units, it will do its job wonderfully for what it is designed for, which is a simple set up and go system.
As for amps with lots of wattage/vs current drawn, I play with amps that put out 8000 watts from a 20amp circuit on the weekend with my band. and the science behind such beasts are quite interesting.
I could go further into this nerdy subject but I fear it would only end with Home Theater Fanatics attacking Pro Audio Fanatics… and that is NEVER pretty.
Nope. ‘step up transformers’ change voltage, not power. You can’t have more power on output than on input, you can only change the way you measure/report the power.
Once upon a time, (before republican deregulation)amplifier manufacturers were required to specify wattage more accurately. The specification would’ve read, as an example:
1000 watts RMS, from 20-20k, + or - 1 db, with no more than 1% THD.
Modern amplifier specs are meaningless. Audio output specs are now some mythical SPL reading.
Higher voltage output than input - not more power (those pesky laws of physics again!). The “I” in the equation is current, and VI (power, or wattage) will always be lower in the output, because no device is 100% efficient.
No, you can not. Never. Not under any circumstances, ever.
To suggest otherwise is to completely lack understanding of basic physics and electrical theory.
The line voltage is fixed. So the (maximum continuous) power input is dependent only on the (maximum continuous) current draw of the device, which is known as the (maximum continuous) power draw is known.
If you have a step up transformer, you can increase the voltage, yes. But it’s in violation of the first law of thermodynamics for the output current not to decrease in such a transformer. Therefore, you still have the same amount of power (less the heat loss from the transformer).
Basically, the additional channels for HT receivers are not expected to ever be operated at or near their maximum output power for extended periods of time at the same time as the other channels, so the FTC decided that extending the output rule that applies to stereo (and by association, the defunct quadraphonic) amplifiers was not necessary.
Multichannel amplifiers are still required to abide by the Rule for at least the two primary channels. After that, it’s all up to the manufacturers as to how they specify their amps. Low-end products such as this tend to use the most virulent of specifications.
Since Blu-Rays are region-coded, and the powers that be decided to split the English-speaking world roughly in half between two regions, and I’m in a multi-cultural dwelling (I’m English, wife is American, boy is some kind of hybrid), I have to ask:
Can this be hacked to play region-coded disks from the UK and beyond?
On the plus side, apparently content providers use the region coding more sparingly on Blu-Rays than on DVDs, so perhaps this won’t be as much of a problem as we’ve had with DVDs.
But the only functional difference between amp classes is the power efficiency… Thus the article holds just fine.
I beg to differ. Read my previous post - it’s a stereo amp vs. multichannel amp thing.
What about stereo fanatics? Why do we get left out?
I have to admit, especially with amplifiers, pro audio equipment often is an excellent value. Budget pro amps are usually much better than budget stereo amps.
It doesn’t look like it. With limited inputs (if any, its hard to tell looking at the pic), you’re better off spending a few hundred bucks on a Home Theater in a Box to hook up your PS3 & 360 via HDMI or Optical Audio. With Black Friday and the holidays coming up, you should be able to find a HTIB at a decent price.
Generally, if there is a region code hack for a player, it can be found here. There aren’t too many Blu-Ray players listed (at least as of now), and this model has none.
Why do we have to have annoying regional limitations in the first place. Why can’t everything be “region free”?
'I’m no expert on this, but I turn to a man who knows more than I do. Robert Silva from About.com had this to say about the subject.
"Movies are released in theaters in different parts of the world at different times throughout the year. That Summer blockbuster in the U.S. may end up being the Christmas blockbuster overseas. If that occurs, the DVD version of the movie may be out in the U.S. while it is still showing in theaters overseas.
In order to preserve the financial integrity of the theatrical distribution of a particular film, it is not possible (under normal conditions) to have a friend in the U.S. send a DVD copy of the film to the country where it is in theatrical release and be able to play the DVD on a player there."’
This is a really good deal if you are on a budget.
Philips makes reliable hardware and their sound systems are quite a bit above average. I’d actually put them in the pretty good category.
Also, this set runs about $300 retail. Even on Amazon it’s about $290.
Ignore the negativity, unless you’re uptight and like your sound systems costing thousands, you’ll be happy to have 1080p Blu-ray and a good sound system cheap.
