I wouldn't say NEVER a time when I would need 100W+/speaker, I was watching Cloverfield at 5db on my Yamaha RX-Z11 today on my 7.1 Revel setup and according to my APC H15 I was pulling 960VA during peaks
Idle is about 260-280VA on my H15 so I got pretty close to 100W/channel there, and this isn't including my subs which are on a separate outlet.
Uh, I think I made it clear that FOR OP's PURPOSES. Like I said, I have a Crown XLS1500 Amplifier that pushes 300 watts to my speakers. After blowing my tweeters twice on my Floorstanding Speakers I learned my lesson and just got an external amplifier with enough power to push em. Most likely though, given OP's current setup, he's NEVER tried to get close to as loud as would be necessary to worry about power. I was throwing parties each time I blew my speakers from having too little power.
Also, 5DB is passed reference level (unless you meant -5DB). That's over 105 dbs of sound if you have your system calibrated correctly(Dunno if you did the setup with the microphone. I did not calibrate my system like that so -8 dB is extremely loud, it's actually the point where it hurts to listen). I doubt OP is trying to listen at a level that loud.
We worry about power because we actually have Home Theater builds. We're attempting to create a movie theater like experience with what we can afford. OP, who is cobbling together a system, and has been using computer speakers, isn't worried about that. A Home Theater in a Box system is really all he needs currently but if he would answer my post with the questions I asked we'd have more direct idea of his needs.
I regularly use 100+ Watts but I also like listening to music as loud as I can stand it. If OP was looking for such a system in which he actually had to worry about power usage, then he's still going about the whole thing backwards. He'd STILL need an AVR first either way.
Anyway, this whole conversation has reached way past what the OP needs. That's usually what happens when a person needs an entry level solution, but comes to a forum in which people have far more complex setups. He usually gets information (such as worrying about receiver power), that most likely won't pertain to him. But if he is looking for a system that will reach reference levels well, then he's going to need to pony up a lot more cash. It's just ridiculous to worry about power usage when OP doesn't have decent speakers first. You worry about power usage when you're trying to drive your speakers to a certain level of loudness. Last time I checked in this thread, OP isn't trying to make his system sound as loud as a nightclub.
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