what's the most power efficient yet quality multizone receiver?

[eblantz]

I'm putting in a new home theater system and considering a multizone receiver to power stereo in a second (and maybe third) area of the house. the thing is, I live in CA in an area without water or gas utilities (yes, the sticks), so we use a lot of power for things like well and pressurization pumps. not very green and on top of that, as a result of PG&Es tiered pricing, I'm paying a huge premium for every extra watt of power I consume. So... in addition to wanting a quality sounding receiver, I'll pay extra now for one that's super power efficient.

I see lots of info about power output of various receivers, but little or nothing about power efficiency. I've read that Class D amps are much more efficient than A/B, however, and note that the newer Pioneer Elite receivers have "ICE" class D amps.

Does anyone have any data on whether this is likely to draw significantly less power?

I found some power draw info on the onkyo site which shows 7.5A for their TX-NR808, or 900W!. I'm hoping that's the total power draw when the thing is running full tilt and not an average power draw.

Other ideas about power-efficient receivers?

Thanks in advance.

Eric

 

[ZeGhostbear]

To give you some more ideas for products to check you could consult Energy Star's section on AV products.

Efficiency for an amplifier of more greater than 55% to qualify for Tier 2 is not exactly a watershed as I believe some A/B amps will be able to exceed that, but it is a starting point.

Judging by how much heat my Onkyo products put out even when idling, they are not of the efficient type and I will look elsewhere for the TV room system as that will run much longer than my home theater system. I miss my old Pioneer Elite VSX-45TX that is Energy Star certified, runs nice and cool. Class D or Class H definitely the way to go for me.

 

[eblantz]

Thanks ZeGhostBear. I find it strange that pioneer doesn't market the efficiency of their AMPs on their site... maybe they're afraid that it'll be misunderstood as "low power"? I had been angling toward the Yamaha RX - A200, but will definitely look at Pioneer more closely. Quick follow up: Do you happen to know anything about Pioneer's web interface? or iPhone app? I'm hoping to find something that is DLNA compliant.

Cheers!

 

[ZeGhostbear]

I find Pioneer's marketing terms a little vague. Those "amplifier design" names mean nothing to me, so I could not tell you quickly which receiver uses what type of amplification.

Tom Andry thinks the Pioneer VSX-1020-K is the sweetspot in the current line-up for Pioneer.

I have chosen a Logitech Squeezbox and a RedEye universal remote and an Apple iPod Touch 4G with iPeng to do what you are after, so I do not know much about DLNA and manufacturer apps.

 

[eblantz]

Thanks again mr ghostbear. funny enough, I just finished reading a review of that pioneer model. crazy cheap for a networked receiver, so if I decide to stick with just 2 zones it could be a great option.

I currently use a squeezebox as well, but the kids broke the remote and i found the iPeng app to be even more painful than the web interface (a while back, so maybe it's better by now). does the universal remote you mentioned also work with the SB? if so, i might just stick with the current setup.

 

[ZeGhostbear]

The Squeezebox communicates by WiFi. The RedEye works with infrared (IR), so the two are not compatible, but as I can control both from my iPod I find it very convenient regardless. I purchased iPeng maybe four or five months ago and the experience is like night and day to me compared to Logitech's own controller. As there are now so many devices that let you stream your music, you have a lot of choices. For me it all comes down to the user experience. I do not think receiver manufacturers have made enough progress here whether they use DLNA or AirPlay. Of course I have not seen many interfaces in action, but here is someone who probably has reviewing the Marantz AV7005.

I would definitely try out the user interface at a store before relying on manufacturer's promises.

 

[eblantz]

sounds like solid advice. thanks again. cheers!