A/V Receiver comparisons

[bluerodent]

I have noticed alot of threads on here about "which receiver should I Buy"

What I think alot of people dont realize is all A/V Receivers are not all measured equally, especially when it comes to power (watts).

For Instance a Sony 5200ES, which specs lists as 130 Watts a channel X7 channels. These measurements are taken with 2 channels amplified NOT with 5 or 7 channels driven . While all 7 channels are driven the watts per channel drop to about 60 watts per channel. That is a big difference than the 130 Watts on the Sony specs. A Yamaha A/V receiver with 95 watts per channel, for instance may have less watts per channel but their specs may have been measured with all channels driven, resulting in a closer representation to their advertised watts per channel. Even though it takes twice the power(watts) to have a +3db in volume losing half of the A/V receivers "rated power" (watts per channel) with 5 or more channels driven will make a noticeable diffrence in sound quality. Of couse there are alot of things to take into consideration when comparing A/V receivers, just make sure the specs you are comparing were taken equally.