FTC may end amplifier rule! ACTION NEEDED


Sharing an important issue you all may or may not already be aware of. Gene from audioholics did a full video on this linked below. The FTC may end the amplifier rule so that companies can go back to making misleading claims on power output of their amplifiers. We should all get on the govt website and comment to try to stop this from happening!

https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FTC-2020-0087-0001

https://youtu.be/VJMD3h-h8fk
jwl244

Showing 4 responses by russ69

I have an idea, why doesn't the IEEE or UL write up a voluntary standard and let manufactures voluntarily agree or not agree to advertise their compliance.   
"...Or conversely, the positives if the rule was terminated?..."

Well the manufacturers do the testing and make their power claims. The FTC only has the ability to enforce the rule but not sure they ever have used this particular rule. Responsible manufactures do the testing per the FTC rules and that costs time and money for very dubious results. Even with the current rule I've had 100 watt amps that seem weak and 25 watt amps that had plenty of power. It is a useless specification that is no help to the consumer.    
"...   but do you think the future is well made class D amps?..."

The advantages of low heat and low power consumption will always be in demand. For most applications that might make it the dominant design but I'm not ready to write off the other class amps quite yet.  
"... The only reason I can quote the 64 wpc is because someone bothered to measure it..."

I can't remember the requirements of the FTC method exactly but the FTC measurement only requires two driven channels. So multi channel amps are exempt from testing that might be more telling. So there is another reason the FTC requirement is obsolete and doesn't help the consumer. Frankly, I go by weight. Big iron and big toroid transformers weigh a lot and tell you more about power capabilities. So I say the weight per channel measurement is what consumers need to know. Perhaps with a class D correction factor, LOL.