Power consumption of av receivers

All right. The power consumption rating on the back of power amps, receivers, etc., does not have anything to do with true watts RMS output. It is only what it said it is, a maximum power consumption from your wall inlet taken by the ditto electronics.

Some type of amps (class A, B, A/B, D, G, H, etc.) have different degree of efficiency.

Some tube amps will consume (draw) a lot of power (watts or amps) from the wall outlet, and will only deliver 2 watts of true output at the most into your speakers!

And some other type of transistor amps, class D (digital or ICE amp for example), will consume (power consumption) much less than others (class A for example), and deliver huge amouts of true RMS watts in all their channels (Pioneer Elite SC-09TX is a good example).

What comes in is not necessarely what goes out, as you can see now.
The power consumption figure on the back of electronics is becoming more and more superficial as of power output is concern.

Your Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH receiver (class A/B) with 400 watts power consumption figure, is actually delivering about 70 watts RMS into 8-ohm loads at 1khz, with about 1% THD (established clipping THD point) into all seven channels driven continuously (estimation). That is pretty good if you ask me. And there is no way that in true reality, your seven channels will be driven like that from any film soundtracks.
Now, if you like using seven-channel stereo audio mode, then yes, they will be driven at full capability, but that power is mainly on peaks, not constant in actual life.
And if your speakers are very efficient (Klipsch for example), you will need only a couple watts at most to obtain a pretty loud volume level.

* Hope this gives you more understanding.

** Different manufacturers used different values for their power consumption figures, as you probably noticed. Denon, Onkyo, Marantz,... for example used A (Amps). Pioneer, Yamaha,... used Watts. And Yamaha even adds VA. In general...

*** Last, it is the same thing with humans; some people consume a lot less energy to produce more performance. Others consume a lot, and provide almost nothing. The main difference here, is that with humans, the power consumption is not indicated in their backs. :bigsmile: The true ratings are indicated on their hearts and minds, the true measure of the power build.

Hi T,

I've been following you here and at another site. I read what you ask, and what people responded.
This is a question that a lot of people are wondering about. So I just decided to give my personal output to a very general matter.

I even search for the true power figures (7-channel power output) from the three receivers that you mentioned, but there were no reviews on these particular three models. Still, I'm quite familiar to their predecessors, so I got a pretty good idea od their true power capabilities. Out of the three you mentioned, they are very similar in their total power output, and I will be hard pressed to pich one over the other one on that aspect. In the end it comes down more to the features you like most trhat you can truly benefit from, in your own system.
And as for their sound quality, here also, it will be almost futile to pick one over the other one.
But if your speakers are of high quality, with revealing high resolution, then you might perceive better the differences in their tonal character.
Personally, I try to match my amp or receiver to my speakers according to my personal taste.
When I was younger, I was after a very smooth sound, because my hearing was much better.
Now that I'm older & wiser, I'm more into a more open sound, with clear highs and higher resolution all acroos the range. My hearing is not as good anymore, so I have to compensate for that loss, right?

* Moral of the story is that I try to share my own experience according to what I believe others are after. Age is one of the aspect of this puzzle, because it has a great deal to do with the capability of hearing in people. The second aspect is the tonal character of speakers in use. And third is the room in where those speakers are set.
All my life, I experiment at home with different electronics, different speakers, rooms, different speaker's positioning, I listened extensively, at dealer's stores too with all what they had, I read a lot too, and I pick all my gear with these clues that I found.

Audio is a secret journey, that is very personal to each one of us. Because we are all different with various preferences in our sound, and our rooms, speakers, budgets, etc., are different too.
The very best advice I can give to new comers that are after a certain quality of sound with the requisite power for their rooms and speakers, is to experiment at home, try different variables, go to dealer's stores, getting acquainted with their gear, experience, listen to their stuff, getting to know them, becoming friends, reading the right stuff, from the right places, magazines, reviewers with objective experience, honest ones (not bias), knowing their own rooms and the gear they use, becoming familiar with the language they use, finding the real value (monetary) in products, finding the best dealers with the best deals and customer services, and all the stuff you can find on the internet by the smartest people with true honesty and objectivity in their judgement and recommendation.

Most people don't take the time or to listen to people's questions, or to respond to them with what it takes to really enrich them. They rather satisfied themselves first, and feel they have found what it takes to be truly satisfied, but only in their own world. They often forget what others are truly in search of. But, there are a few people out there with genuine and intelligent knowledge, that can be easily comprehend by the normal people.

In the end your best advisor is always yourself, and for obvious reasons.
Other people can help you to become a better judge in your audio search, but they cannot make the final decision for you. And that's why this hobby is quite personal and powerful, right?

Everyone loves music & movies, but not everyone appreciate on the same level.

Hey, have a great day & take care of yourself, and your love ones too, of course...

Bob