Music Power

[fraserjim]

Can anyone explain 50 Watts per Channel, RMS, Total music Power etc

[sft42]

Speaker and amplifier ratings are a minefield as you have just discovered....RMS stands for Root Mean Square and is a measure of the amp's ability to supply clean power over a continuous period. This rating is important because it is used to indicate the realistic power handling capability of a speaker. Ideally, the RMS ratings for the amp and for the speaker should be similar.

PMPO is another rating often used on cheaper equipment as it stands for Peak Music Power Output and is a higher figure to quote and looks more impressive but really means nothing.

If you can really handle all the technical jargon and diagrams then http://www.doctorproaudio.com/doctor/temas/powerha
ndling.htm is a good page which will explain it more fully.

[Step666]

All that really matters is the RMS power rating. The peak rating is usually twice the RMS rating and the PMPO rating is just a way to try and pass off second-rate equipment as decent. As far as the power-per-channel rating is concerned, it merely tells you the power that each channel (speaker) can output. It's especially important with surround sound speakers, but with stereos the power-per-channel rating tends to be roughly half the total power. If you're looking at specific equipment I might be able to help, but if you just want recommendations then Logitech and Creative both do decent enough 5.1 set-ups at prices that aren't extortionate and they tend to be THX certified as well. As far a streos are concerned, you're probably best off talking to someone in a shop (though a proper hi-fi shop as opposed to Dixons and the like).