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From: gt4586c@prism.gatech.edu (WILLETT,THOMAS CARTER)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
Subject: Power Hog Class A Amps
Message-ID: <6434@uwm.edu>
Date: 19 Sep 90 18:21:21 GMT
Sender: news@uwm.edu
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Approved: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu


I was recently perusing this month's Stereophile, and listed among the
specs for the Audio Research Classic 60 power amplifier was its idle power
consumption.  This 60 Wpc amp draws 370W at idle.  That's far more than your
refrigerator draws when its running.  At this rate, you can expect to pay
about $20 per month just to keep your amp warm and ready to go.  Since I see
this as a needless waste of resources and a contribution to the contamination
of our planet, I must ask if it is really necessary for a class A amp to draw
this much power at idle?  Is it not possible for it to have an idle mode
during which it draws just enough current to keep the tubes happy and warm?
By way of comparison, my class AB Adcom GFA-555 (200 Wpc) draws "only"
78W at idle.

Would anyone care to comment on the ecological unsoundness of Class A amps  
and any possible remedies?


-- 
thomas willett 
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta  
gt4586c@prism.gatech.edu
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." - Salvor Hardin (Foundation)