Powering Up, Powering Down, What's The Best Way?

[Brian_74]

Once again I need to call upon the experts in this forum so I don't blow anything up.

I'm starting to get my home theater set up finally, and today I hooked up my newest addition to the setup--a Sunfire TGA5200. My question is more of a general nature. But first some lengthly, but necessary background.

Everything I've read says that when you "Power Up" your system, you should switch on amplifiers after a delay so that your pre-processor/sources can be turned on to avoid any popping sounds that may damage your speakers.

I have a Belkin power conditioner/surge protector that I plug everything into. It has 6 banks of 2 outlets and each bank can be configured to be 'Always On', 'Switched', or 'Switch w/ Delay'. I have my Vantages plugged into one bank and configured for 'Always On'. There are several ways I can power the amp since it has trigger inputs and the Belkin has trigger outputs, plus the ability to switch the outlet itself that the the amp is plugged into.

So, I plugged the amp in and configured the Belkin for the remote trigger use. The remote trigger is activated whenever I switch on my HK receiver (poor man's pre-pro) by means of a remote AC turn on input on the Belkin and a switched accessory outlet on the HK. That part works like a champ. Whenever I switch on the HK, the Amp powers up to 'On' state.

The problem is that I am still getting a popping sound when the amp changes from 'Standby' state to 'On' state. I tried the other route, simply switching the outlet On/Off instead of using the trigger inputs and same thing--A fairly audible popping sound.

Finally, my question The only way I can think of to eliminate the popping sound is to configure the outlet bank that my Logans are plugged into for the 'Switched w/Delay' mode. That way, when I turn on the HK receiver, the Amp will turn on first, and then 5 seconds later the power to the Logans will turn on. I haven't tried this option yet but I think it will solve the popping problem. Oh and the other solution would be to leave the amp in it's 'Always On' mode so it would never go into standby.

Do you guys have any suggestions? Should I be worried about a slight popping when powering the amp? Would it be safe to power the Logans On/Off all the time this way?

 

[risabet]

Mild noise on switching is harmless, OTOH, loud thumps are BAD! The best practice is to switch the components on in the order of signal flow, say CD>preamp>amps, and off in the reverse order. I would leave the speakers on all the time.

 

[SteveInNC]

My Musical Fidelity amp is always on. As a matter of fact, the power switch can't be controlled by the remote - it's a physical switch. I wasn't thrilled with the idea when I got it, but it's grown on me. In general, things like amps don't pull very much wall power when they are in a quiescent state.

As another option, if you have universal remote that sequences-on the assorted devices, something like a Harmony 880, you might want to add something to the startup sequence to "mute" the receiver/preamp before powering the amp, then un-mute as the last step of the turn-on sequence.

 

[theWB]

quiescent

Quiescent: marked by inactivity or repose : tranquilly at rest

In case anyone was lost like myself
Had to look that one up.

 

[Dreamer]

I'd agree with "risabet". Power up components in the direction of signal flow. Sources first, then pream, then amps last. That way, if any of your source components have noisy pops on startup, the signal isn't amplified into the speakers. The only pops you'll have to worry about are from the amps, and if you'r erunning Martin Logan speakers, I'd assume you have amps that are high-wuality enough that they have soft-start circuits, or at least, come online quietly...

Power down in reverse order, for the same reason.

--Richard