Is an amp necessary?

[Rickster71]

.......Now, if you want to buy another box (one not certified as safe by any NRTL-certified independent ratings agency - I looked at and heard a friend's Emo amp earlier this evening, and could not help but notice that it lacked UL or ETL certification badging on the back panel) just to buy another audio box - the reason most people buy external amps, frankly - then perhaps think about it.

There are so many variants of the UL symbol.
I know Emotive has the UL 'Recognized Component Mark,' which is used on component parts or sub-assemblies that are part of a larger product.

 

[DS-21]

I actually used an SPL meter to get those readings, not the control on the receiver itself.

I wonder about the calibration of the meter, then. What does it read with nothing playing?

I know that my flat, with the HVAC off and the system off, has a noise floor of somewhere between 40-44dB, as measured with a calibrated SPL meter.

There are so many variants of the UL symbol.
I know Emotive has the UL 'Recognized Component Mark,' which is used on component parts or sub-assemblies that are part of a larger product.

Because no ratings agency would certify a product designed to draw more power from the wall than the wall can provide.

 

[the_phew]

My amp (Emotiva RPA-2) has VU meters, so I see the power delivery in near real-time. I have 87 dB sensitivity speakers (slightly below-average sensitivity). The speakers are in a huge room (open floor plan, in excess of 10,000ft^3). I do cross over to a powered sub, so the towers are only seeing >80 Hz.

During most music listening, the max power delivery is less than 0.2 watts. If I really crank it up during extremely bass-heavy tracks, I've seen as high as 2 watts, but it's painfully loud at that point.

My amp can deliver 200W, but if I provide more than 1% of that, I feel like I'm damaging my hearing.

Amp power rating is not as important as people make it out to be, especially if you are crossing over to a subwoofer (low frequency reproduction DOES require major power; I've measured >1kW to my Paradigm Sub1 during movies).

Your receiver is probably fine.