How much amplifier power do you really need?

[RebelMan]

Because de Devialet is fully digital it is a bit different and in particular you can know exactly what is the peak power.

You will never exceed 0dBFS (if you except the pathological situations where the reconstruction filter moves above).

If you look at the configuration file of your Devialet, you find a section like this (in my case this is a D220):

"ADH_CONFIG":{
    "VOLTAGE_0DB":51,
    "PUISSANCE_0DB":220
  }

It tells your you that the peak voltage is 51volt which corresponds exactly to 440W under 6ohms or a pure sinus tone with a RMS power of 220W. (The crest factor of a sinus is 3dB in power).

Jean-Marie

I don't think the meaning of this code has ever been clarified.  @Antoine asked for clarification back when the Pro series debut.  How are we suppose to interpret what this is saying?

I have never seen an amplifier produce more than about 4dB of dynamic headroom to serve signal peaks. Many amplifiers are capable of producing between 1-2dB. The Devialets (all of them) have virtually no dynamic headroom (0dB) according to the tests I have seen.  So how is it the 220 would have a crest factor of 3dB?

I suspect the "VOLTAGE_0DB":51 statement only pertains to the 220 when it is in bridged mode (dual-mono configuration) and that the actual peak voltage it artificial limited somewhere else in the code that is not evident in the snipet above.  Would you agree?