Let's stop calling Class D amplifiers "efficient" when they are not.

[mhardy6647]

Ah, Motor Trend's car of the year in 1980

We had a hand-me-down 1980 Olds Omega four-door X-body with a four-speed manual transmission. Two-tone (silver & grey) exterior and bordello red cloth (velour?!?) upholstery. It was given to us by my in-laws (ca. 1984), and -- don't get me wrong -- greatly appreciated by both of us as we'd recently had a tiny baby human join the family -- but, boy howdy, was it trouble-prone.

Speaking of bad vehicles that were good ideas -- my father-in-law used the birth of our daughter as an excuse to purchase himself a 1984 (AMC) Jeep "Wagoneer". At that time, the Wagoneer badge (sans "Grand") was being applied to an ever-so-slightly upmarket trim version of the then brand new "Cherokee".
The one he bought had a 2.5 L four-cyl engine (GM produced) and a 5-speed manual transmission. It was laughingly, and nigh-on dangerously, underpowered. Not surprisingly, it was not very economical, either.

It also, years later, was passed along to us. It served us for some years (and, again, we were glad to have it!) -- but not exactly with distinction. It used to break in interesting ways with distressing frequency. It also had some eccentricities: e.g., it had cruise control, which would disengage itself sometimes when the vehicle traversed a bump (e.g., a bridge expansion seam) -- which could be interesting.

 

[EJ3]

Ah, Motor Trend's car of the year in 1980

I went through the list from 1966 to now.
There are 7 cars that I would consider having a home at my house (if they were in certain configurations) that were available.
Only 3 would be OK as is (maybe).

 

[EJ3]

Quadri amped here, three Behringer A800, Crown xls 1002. How much watts consumption in idle?

I don't know nor d I much care, like some do.
There is talk of mW. In my use, that would be rare, as I crank the volume fairly good so that I can hear it throughout the house & outside in the yard as well.
Sometimes I walk to the edge of the property to make sure that people walking their dogs down the street can't hear it.
I have done it enough over the years that I can set my volume so that it only goes 1/2 way to the street & 1/4 of the way to the neighbors without going out to check.
When my wife is home (about 7 months of the year) we are a touch less enthusiastic with the volume [it's usually OFF, as she does not care for music, TV, etc at all].

 

[MaxBuck]

Class D "efficiency" is utter and complete bullsh#t.

Is it, really?

I guess one needs to use something like a Kill-a-Watt to know for sure.

Such tests would be a useful addition to the standard amirm suite in these climate-changed times.

 

[killdozzer]

Why is idling the all measurement? I never leave my amp idling.

 

[Chr1]

I guess because, generally speaking, most of the power used is the idle power drawn by the power supply?

Unless you play very loud.
A lot.

 

[EJ3]

I guess because, generally speaking, most of the power used is the idle power drawn by the power supply?

Unless you play very loud.
A lot.

90-112 db if it is on. Don't listen in room, listen all over the house & in the yard.

 

[Chr1]

I play pretty loud for my room but still most of my power usage is still down to power supply and generally not much above idle most of the time, I reckon.
690W RMS per channel in my main system. (2x KH310, 2x BK subs). All class A/B.