Power consumption questions


When you plug an external multi-channel amp in to an audio-video receiver for increasing power output and overall performance, I'm assuming the power supply in the AVR shuts off automatically. Is that correct or does it stay on and work in conjunction with the new separate amp for driving the loudspeakers? Or does it get bypassed but stays on and used for powering the preamp processor?

If it does in fact get bypassed for driving the speakers, how could I then calculate how much of the rated power normally consumed by the AVR would be reduced (in watts) if just used as a preamp processor? I'm talking about Rotel equipment here and this information is not given in the owners manuals or specifications anywhere. In my case, the AVR has a rated power consumption of 450 watts and the multi-channel amp 800 watts.

The reason I'm asking this is that I only have a 15 amp 120VAC circuit available for my system and with the potential addition of this mulit-channel amp, I could be coming close to maxing out considering the other appliances that would be in use on that same circuit. Thanks in advance for the replies.
pdn

Showing 1 response by vett93

I think your Rotel AVR consumes more than just a few watts for your intended application. Its user manual published the power consumptions for standby, idle, and max. However, from my experience, these published specs tend not to be accurate. For example, Rotel's website states that the 1057AVR consumes 6 watts during standby. However, its user manual states 36 watts for standby and 78 watts for idle.

I also think you may have too many equipment on that 15A circuit, if they all plug in the same circuit. It looks that you have a TV, 2 subwoofers, an AVR, a muti-channel amp, etc. If you have a cable or satellite box, it consumes more than just a few watts of power too....