amplifier DB meters

All the recent McIntosh and some of the new Cary have them.

You need an amp capable of producing your PEAK power demands and not average power demands. There can be hundreds of Watts difference between the two. Don't forget that power is logarithmic.

To measure Watts, you need to have voltage and current readings. Voltage is easy since it is parallel but current has to be done in series so you must "break" the power path. Nice hand-held meters have current clamp probes that wrap around a wire so you don't have to cut it but those get into some money.

Arthur

Most of us only listen at 1 or 2 watts. Theater is a bit more. Besides the fun factor of watching the meters bounce, what is the use?

Bob,

Music is dynamic. An amplifier meter is only indicative of clipping/power. Power is a function of load (resistance/reactance) and load is a function of frequency. More expensive amplifiers will have a high speed soft clipping circuit to protect speakers (often with a clipping warning light) - this is all that is really necessary to assure good sound. A clipping meter is only a ball park device.

If an amplifier does not have meters can you hook one up or use a test meter to find out how many watts you are using?

You can - but measuring power is quite complex - very few test meters can measure this correctly. A device to measure power accurately would probably cost more than the amplifiers. Yokogawa Power Meters

Most power meters (common in the 70's) are just estimates of power - they measure voltage (easy to do) assume an RMS conversion (using a a fixed load factor and sinusoid waveform type) such as 8 Ohms....all very inaccurate and only indicative). You need to measure current very accurately as well as voltage to get power.