Power Meter

[tony3d]

Do you know of any unit I could buy for a reasonable price that could give my a good idea of how many peak watts my amp is putting out? I'm really curious to know.

[Resident Loser]

Do you know of any unit I could buy for a reasonable price that could give my a good idea of how many peak watts my amp is putting out? I'm really curious to know.

...Google on the subject and there isn't much out there...McIntosh may have one but it seems to be for auto use (req 12vdc) and is for 4 Ohm loads...

http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/mcprod/..%5Cdata%5Cmanuals%5CMPM4000om.pdf

you may be able to DIY it, here's a link I stumbled on:

http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/ligh/ck1005.pdf

You will need Adobe to read both .pdfs

Radio Shack used to sell an outboard unit, but...maybe on eBay...0dB was 100 Wpc and had a 4/8 Ohm switch...

Problem with any add-on is that it really has to be calibrated to the max output of your amp and the speaker load presented...everything outside the correct parameters will be at best a guesstimate...

Your best bet would be to go for an amp that comes equipped with them. but I'd hazard a guess that's probably not an option...

I have fairly inefficient speakers and cruise at 3-5 W at normal listening levels...crescendos in classical pieces maybe around 3-4X that? I'll hafta' check...

jimHJJ(...not much else to add...)

[kexodusc]

This is a really cool unit I use all over the house:
http://www.smarthome.com/9034.html
Problem is it reads consumption, not output, so you may need to know a bit about class efficiency to make it useful for audio purposes. Still, the number might surprise you.

[Glen B]

Do you know of any unit I could buy for a reasonable price that could give my a good idea of how many peak watts my amp is putting out? I'm really curious to know.

Try the Velleman RMS power meter kit available from Parts Express if you are up to assembling it yourself. Its not difficult if you have decent soldering skills. It can be configured for either 4 or 8 ohm loads and has separate scales for both. I bought and assembled two kits a few years ago out of the same curiosity you now have.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=320-222

[poweredamp]

Expand your search. There sure are lots of other units out there that will give you the most power at the wisest deal.

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McIntosh MA6900 Integrated Amplifier (http://www.who-sells-it.com/cy/mcintosh-laboratory-inc-1500/ma6900-integrated-amplifier-5970.html) - Download the MA6900 Integrated Amplifier Catalog by McIntosh Laboratory, Inc.