If there are any A/V equipment energy directives in the works, they'll probably come from the EU.
The EU eco design directive is already impacting consumer product development.
The EU has published energy requirements for set top boxes, home networking equipment, external power supplies, and televisions, among others. There is some concern that these regulations for TV's will limit the sale of 8K and some 4K sets in EU.
We have for many years had rules on standby and off power consumption for audio and AV gear among many other consumer appliances.
This has driven design changes in a lot of audio equipment. One example is non-use power off timers, which are now required in most if not all amplifier products sold in the EU.
None of the external
linear power supplies popular with audiophiles meet the EU requirements today. Not one. Yet they are openly sold. More on this later. **
It would be easy for regulators to set power consumption limits on AV and audio amplifiers and receivers.
These power limits could be written in such a way as to eliminate the sale of all Class A and AB amplifiers using standard linear power supplies. At their tightest, they may allow only Class D amps driven by switchmode power supplies. This would be easy to do as the efficiencies of all these amplifiers are well known in the art.
This, in turn, would cause audiophile heads to spontaneously explode globally, reducing the market for linear class A amplifiers to zero. Problem solved.
** In order to get the attention of regulators, the market has to be big enough to make a dent in consumption. High end audio is a tiny market.
opcorn:
