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What does it cost to play music on a mid-fi stereo?

Electricity consumption for a 65 watt-per-channel integrated amp plus a pair of bookshelf speakers, as measured with my Kill-a-Watt:

The amp is a Cambridge Audio A500, which claims output of 65 watts per channel @ 8 ohm. (Unfortunately, the Cambridge Audio website does not host specs for anything but their current gear, so I can’t link to a product page.)

The speakers are Polk Audio RT-25i.

Power consumption rose a bit with volume, presumably because the amp draws more power as it works harder. The “playing” value in the table above was measured at a moderately loud volume; in a bigger room, the amp could be made to work harder without deafening the guy with his hand on the volume knob.

It’s nice to see that this amp isn’t burning power when it’s turned off. The same can’t be said for all the components of my stereo; see measurments for the Polk Audio subwoofer.

Tags: kill-a-watt, a500, rt-25i
posted to channel: Conservation
updated: 2007-02-06 05:57:03