"Martin H. Eastburn" writes:

Peak to peak numbers and peak values were rampant. Finally standards were done.
Had to be RMS voltage * RMS current. E*I.

Right. And assuming that the load is resistive (it is when testing
amplifiers, but not when driving speakers), then RMS voltage * RMS
current gives you *mean* power, not RMS power.

RMS is the effective heating power into a pure resistance = EMF voltage
for same heating power.

Mean power is heating power. If you have a meter that reads power,
you just average the output. It's only when you're calculating power
from voltage and/or current that you need to use RMS measurements.

Dave