Since the strongest quake I experienced was 5.6 in New Jersey, I'd say 7.8-8.1 is closer to Indonesian standards by my estimation.
It depends where you are. I've been in a 6.2 and a 5.6 and the latter felt stronger.
I'm not denying that a 7.8 is not a big quake, I'm just saying it's still very different to a 9.1...