We set the meters on our amps for full power full scale and 1 watt full scale. However they are calibrated for an 8 ohm non-inductive load. Any variance in the load will throw the reading off, sometimes quite a bit. They are handy for relative power though.
amplifier DB meters
How come amps no longer have meters? I personally like them, I find it very useful to know how many watts I am using while tuning my system.
If you have a pair of speakers and they require a certain amt of power whether it be 1 watt or 100 watts isn't good to know? Lets say you are only using 4 watts to drive your speakers isn't this the only way to find out that you can use a much "smaller" amp rather than the 200watt behemoth you are currently using? Also vis-a-versa to find out you need more watts as you may be going into clipping or just always using the most you amp can give.
If an amplifier does not have meters can you hook one up or use a test meter to find out how many watts you are using?
Bob.
If you have a pair of speakers and they require a certain amt of power whether it be 1 watt or 100 watts isn't good to know? Lets say you are only using 4 watts to drive your speakers isn't this the only way to find out that you can use a much "smaller" amp rather than the 200watt behemoth you are currently using? Also vis-a-versa to find out you need more watts as you may be going into clipping or just always using the most you amp can give.
If an amplifier does not have meters can you hook one up or use a test meter to find out how many watts you are using?
Bob.