FTC may end amplifier rule! ACTION NEEDED

The FTC rule leveled the playing field between amp manufacturers! This was introduced in the 1970s because there were some pretty outrageous claims being made- get an early 1970s Radio Shack catalog and look at the power claims they were making. It was not uncommon for a 5 watt amp to be rated at 10 watts per channel- or higher, since there was no requirement for both channels to be driven.
The FTC rule is a very good thing.

All good manufacturers take pride in their products and would not start publishing misleading specs even if allowed. I believe that would include all of the brand names that audiophiles love.
If one did decide to cheat, the multiple great minds in the DIY community would test their product and let the results be known soon enough.

Please read the Stereophile article on the issue which is less sensational. AFAIK, they are not doing away with measurements altogether, just the preconditioning requirement which has caused amp makers to overbuild and overspend on heat sinks with little practical value. It also unfairly stigmatizes Class A in favor of Class D.
Kind of curious that I’ve been looking at one specific case of this. The Luxman 590axII integrated amplifier is a great example. Luxman has to list it as a 30W/ch amp due entirely to the preconditioning rule, otherwise it would be a solid 100 Watts.

In order to meet the FTC specs for 100 Watts they would have to build a chassis twice the size with proportionately larger heat sinks.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/ftc-proposes-eliminating-its-amplifier-rule
Personally, I'd love to see amps get lighter and cheaper from all makers. :)

I have an idea, why doesn't the IEEE or UL write up a voluntary standard and let manufactures voluntarily agree or not agree to advertise their compliance.   

Russ. I think we both can agree on this. There's something special about heavy amp. You bitch and complain as you get it into place but a part of you knows it's the real deal. I love 5 channel amps with two toroids. I auditioned the NAD c298 and it was sp clean and pristine. Class D purifi tech at 180 wpc. It was ultimately too neutral for my liking but I'm sure most would love it. 

@eric_squires yes. This is a fair question and I'm not trying to stir any pots... but do you think the future is well made class D amps? I feel like class AB has hit its peak and class A can't get any better. That leaves room for improvement in class D and H.