Sadly this is the case for most receivers these days that sell for less than $800. You can pretty much look at the weight of the unit and if it weighs less than 35lbs dont expect it to output more than about half or even less of its rated power output all 5 or 7 channels driven.

 

Maybe I should just buy another Harman Kardon like my 635...now that is a beast that actually tested to deliver more than it is rated for .

 

Its really sad that receiver manufacturers cant seem to build a receiver that outputs close to what its rated for. I know for a fact that the Onkyo 609 was bench tested and did very well all channels driven (Think is was about 95watts) you can get one here for $329. Thats a hard deal to pass up.

 

http://www.hometheater.com/content/onkyo-tx-nr609-av-receiver-ht-labs-measures

Five channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 81.0 watts
1% distortion at 95.1 watts

Seven channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 77.7 watts
1% distortion at 88.9 watts

Not quite 95W, but not bad and a lot better than most. I would still recommend getting an AVR with full preouts though

 

Indeed. I mean some times its easy to catch their like checking the energy used by the amp..for example my HK peask at 1000W so that makes sense considering the power it needs from the wall to generate the wattage...on the opposite you see units stating they do 100 x 7 channels but using 500W from the wall.... that is efficiency..! lol more like shame on you for lying and testing one channel at a time...all specs should be given all channels driven by law!

 

Over all Onkyo seems to be the leader in actual output all channels driven, I know that my 805 does 110 watts all 7 channels driven but it also weighs 55lbs so that says a lot.

 

I know my old way of testing the amps was to read the fine print on their power supplies. I was amazed at how many 100Wx5 amps only had a supply that could delivery maybe 150W max. Even when you factor in peak versus average power, that's still weak.

That's why I went separates. For whatever reason, standalone amps get called out to meet their power specs (by reviewers, the internet, magazines, etc) more than all-in-one receivers.

 

^^^. Were are you looking? I haven't seen any fine print on my power supplies. Or are you getting it from the tech documents. ( thanks just curious)
If you are calculating it how are you doing it.

 

Usually I go by the amperage rating (which is sometimes by where the IEC power connector is). So the quick and dirty is that if it says 120V, 3A max -- you've got a peak of 360W (3x120). I haven't bought a receiver in a long time, so I haven't checked any recent ones, but that information was usually there.

Actually, now that I think about it, I think UL requires it to be there so that someone plugging it in knows the load on the circuit.

Regardless, if they claim 7x100W all channels driven and the power supply is only rated for 3A draw from the power cord, there is no way that is accurate. Now to avoid legal action, sometimes they test with a single sine wave on each channel (which is an easy load to play). If they really wanted to show off, they'd blast full bandwidth pink noise to all channels and measure the output.

Weight is also a good measure. If it says 7x100W and doesn't weigh at least 50 pounds (probably more like 80), then it isn't going to live up to the hype.

 

That receiver has pre-outs and has fairly good processing. Why not go with the addition of a separate amplifier? The receiver should be just fine for the occasional need for surrounds when gaming.

I'm sorry but these receivers do make their rated power, its just that the FTC allows them to report power with only two channels driven. The promotional materials for the SR7200 may state 6 x 105 watts, but the actual specifications will reveal that 105 wpc is only achieved with only two channels driven, not six. The SR7400 is not much different than the SR7200, it has one more channel (7.1) but the power rating for two channels driven is the same. These companies are not stupid. They will only put in a power supply sufficient to make FTC power ratings (two channels driven).