Summit standby power draw

18000rpm · Apr 22, 2023

According to the manual, a pair of Summits consume "less than 5 watts" when in standby.

I measured power consumption using a digital power consumption meter and it measured about 10 watts each or 20 watts a pair in standby. That's quite a lot for standby.

ttocs · Apr 22, 2023

Consider the era in which they were designed. That's very low power for that time.

My Krell S-1500, designed just before 2010 - later than the Summits, while in standby consumed about 70 Watts, and 130 Watts when Idle. When it was sent in for a repair about 7 years ago that circuit was updated by Krell so it only consumed 16 Watts in standby when I got it back, and still 130 Watts when Idle.

When I look at the manual for Summit it states:
Mains Power Draw
Idle: 20W each
Max: 350W each

I don't see where it states what the power draw is in Standby, but is probably less than idle. Idle circuits have improved a lot in the last 18 years. Heck, my first LED alarm clock from the 1970's used 30 Watts and got very warm, and I used that until it began malfunctioning about 7 years ago.

Robert D · Apr 22, 2023

My balanced force 210 manual says 30 watts I think, in standby. Not sure how much it is if it's on all of the time.

Robert D · Apr 22, 2023

18000rpm · Apr 23, 2023

ttocs said:
When I look at the manual for Summit it states:
Mains Power Draw
Idle: 20W each
Max: 350W each

I don't see where it states what the power draw is in Standby, but is probably less than idle. Idle circuits have improved a lot in the last 18 years. Heck, my first LED alarm clock from the 1970's used 30 Watts and got very warm, and I used that until it began malfunctioning about 7 years ago.

In the FAQ section of the Summit manual it says:

20W all year round is roughly $50-60/year. I have a pair of Summits that I only use a few times a year so now I'll probably turn off the power between uses.

Jules_S · Apr 26, 2023

@18000rpm I did a very crude measurement of consumption of my Summits and found the same as you, around 10W each, which is why they are turned off at the outlet each night. Yes, so they take a while to come back to their best after switching them on but I can live with that.

All my kit is physically turned off when not in use. I'm a bit obsessive about it to be honest, but it saves quite a lot overall. Even chargers (laptops, cellphones, headphones etc) get unplugged. I have 5 older Sonos connect units and they draw around 6W each when doing nothing, so the cumulative effect of turning them all off is significant. And with the energy costs here in the UK at the moment, the saving probably pays for a week's vacation! (slight exaggeration, but you get the point....)