Weight of A/V Receivers

[j_garcia]

True, but heatsinks are basically all aluminum and that doesn't add nearly as much weight as something like power supply. Heatskinks in most AVRs are not large enough to be a factor. My Marantz PM7200 had massive caps and heatsinks in it, though it was 2ch, but then it was also rated at 95W and bench tested at 105W.

 

[Verdinut]

Neither the total watts advertising nor ACD full bandwith at low distortion point specs really tell you a lot either. Sure be nice if they used dBW instead.

It would be good if audiophile product manufacturers showed the specs as they used to publish them in the 1960's.
However, pro audio product manufacturers are not as reticent about the publishing of the real useful specs. QSC Audio is a good exemple. Apart from the specs which are published with the product features and in the owner's manual, on their website you can even read the figures in BTU/hr, for various power outputs, of Amplifier Heat Loss for several models.
As for the slew rate, which is not considered as important from a sound perspective, QSC does not publish it. However, Electro-Voice were publishing slew rate figures for their amplifiers in the 1990's.

 

[lovinthehd]

It would be good if audiophile product manufacturers showed the specs as they used to publish them in the 1960's.
However, pro audio product manufacturers are not as reticent about the publishing of the real useful specs. QSC Audio is a good exemple. Apart from the specs which are published with the product features and in the owner's manual, on their website you can even read the figures in BTU/hr for various power outputs of Amplifier Heat Loss for several models. As for the slew rate, which is not considered as important from a sound perspective, it is not published.

I wasn't old enough in the 60s, most of the specs I've seen from manufacturers are minimal. The pro guys disseminating more information than for consumer gear is no surprise. The way wattage is rated/advertised for an amp/avr is just not that useful even if it is full band and at a low THD. Not to say I wouldn't appreciate having much more information about specs/testing....as well as repairability, construction, circuits, etc available as being discussed here

 

[PENG]

For those who are interested in bench tests rather that hearsay, below is a comparison table based on S&V review measurements. You can see that while the heavier ones did fine but not always better than the lighter ones. The NAD was the heaviest one but it didn't really do that well in those measurements though I am sure it would have done very well in IHF dynamic power test. I did it in Excel but to post it I had to take a photo.

 

[Verdinut]

Not just different ways of measuring (many now give 1kHz and 20-20K) but also it is pretty much a given that they will report the 2ch rating in their marketing material but the ACD level will always be lower since it is all coming off a single power supply. Compare that to a dedicated amp that normally rates their power ACD because nobody cares what a 5 or 7 ch amp's 2ch rating is. For AVR sales however, it looks better and sells more product.

Some manufacturers have started reporting THD with only one channel driven ("Who listens to monophonic music now, except for old recordings ?") and outputs when clipping with THD at 10%. Some are quoting the power ratings for a 6 ohm load, which of course means a higher wattage than the usual rating which had been traditionally stated at 8 ohms for amplifiers. This is getting ridiculous !
Gene wrote regarding that situation in posts relating to inflated power ratings.

Marketing people should not be the ones who manage a company !