I have a question that's more technical overall so I thought I would post here.

I recently purchaced parts for a Sub project: Dayton Titanic MkIII 15" driver, Velodyne SPL-II amp, Def Tech PF15TL+ case. I can't justify the labor or cost for this reason: 50 watts. That is the max draw I'm getting on the SPL amp no matter how hard I push it according to my watt meter (Kill-a-watt basic, a crappy gadget for this I know, but it reads somewhere in the realm of where the draw is.) I started wondering about this after looking into getting a Crown XLS5000 amp and it only had a theoretical draw capacity of 2200-2400 Watts (110-120V x 20 amps) and that amp is rated for 2500 watts *per side*.

On a side note: the Velodyne amp is positively whimpy compared to the amp in the Def Tech which is double the size & WAY better built. The Velo amp is weighs in a whopping 7 lbs tops (including the plate) and is supposedly double the power. I don't really believe it at all (they seem equally matched power-wise,) hence my question.

So what's the deal? How are these amps "rated"?