CEA-2006 Power Compliant
All 2006 Sony Xplod amps and head units are Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) 2006 compliant! But what is the CEA-2006 Power Amplifier Standard and should you care?
In November 2004, the Consumer Electronics Association published a set of testing and measurement methods for mobile audio amplifiers. This specification was designed to eliminate the confusion between various "Max" power ratings of amplifiers made by different manufacturers. Specified in a document referred to as CEA-2006-A, this standard offers specifications with which various amplifiers can be compared fairly.
For those who really want to know, the standard defines the primary power output rating with all channels driven, a power supply voltage of 14.4V ±0.2V, into a 4 ohm load ±5% across the bandwidth of the amplifier with no more than 1% THD+N. Some amps are designed for specific frequency ranges only, such as subwoofer or Class D amplifiers, and the CEA standard takes this into account. While many amplifiers will be measured with a bandwidth of 20 - 20,000 Hz, the exceptions will be clearly noted. A typical primary rating will take the form "25 Watts per channel at 4 Ohms with less than 1% THD+N." Secondary rating measurements may also be included in the amplifier's documentation, but will be stated along with frequency, supply voltage, load, and THD+N.
