petetherock Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 Friends I toyed with adding the ATI to either my stereo or HT system, the trouble I find is that it is a bother (yes, I am lazy...) to remember to turn it off, as it is a hard on/off switch, with no means of trigger or remote control. Unless someone has another idea, what would be the consequences of leaving this behemoth on? BTW some basic info on this. If the Emotivas impress at 200W per channel and weigh about 60 lbs for the 5 channel models, this beast weighs 120 lbs, and has 250W per channel times 5 with 28 000 mF per channel. I am concerned about the power consumption, and of course the possible wear and tear or loss of capacitance to the amp in leaving it on all the time. Cheers.
petetherock Posted May 23, 2010 Author Posted May 23, 2010 Thanks mate, any ideas on an auto - trigger solution? My SR 12 has a DC 12 trigger, but the amp does not.
pgdownload Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 The amps won't consume 250W all the time. If they're just sitting there it will be much less. Try the following: Note the electricity meter at 8am and go to work. Come home and see what it reads. Next day turn on the amp and do the same (you need the long time as the fridge has variable power consumption through the day) Compare. As to wear and tear and loss of capacitance. This is a $3000 unit. It is over engineered to the nth degree. you could probably bequeath this unit to your grand daughter and she'd find it A1. Of course there's also lots of remote power boards that you could use to put a device in standby: http://www.todae.com.au/Products/standbypo...trolpowerboard/ Regards Peter Gillespie
garryrg1503559771 Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 I had the same problem so I bought a Jaycar powerboard (master/slave type) and run my Yamaha 3800 as a preamp as the master and my Adcom poweramp as a slave and then switching the Yammy also switches the poweramp off or on .Works perfectly for me.
M&K Freak Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 I bought a master/slave switched powerboard, mainly for protection purposes, but find it really handy for turning on/off other components, not just the power amps (which have 12v triggers anyway).
betty boop Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 like pg says most power amps if designed well will go about 20 to 30 years before the caps go. cheaper ones will have caps go after the 10 year plus mark. and yes it will only consume a small fraction in standby to not worth worrying about. as with most electrical things most actually have a higher chance of failure on switch on / switch off than if left. if really want to switch on/off you can just run it off a slave board as been suggested. I wouldnt worry about it too much. a lot of hifi gear comes with no standby and actually designed to be left on. some even with a standby still have all circuits left powered on, brands like primare, musical fidelity, arcam & nad to name a few
petetherock Posted May 23, 2010 Author Posted May 23, 2010 Thanks everyone, I just aqcuired a Belkin PF 50 which has a DC trigger input, I was wondering if I can use the DC out of the SR 12 to the Belkin, which then switches on the amp. However it is wise to switch the amp on via such a method instead of the hard on/off switch? Cheers.
pgdownload Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 A switch is a gate. It stops the electrical power reaching the amp. If you leave that gate open but instead put another gate in place what matter? Regards Peter Gillespie
rudra Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 my amp consumes about 45W at no load. I usually turn it off
cwt Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 my amp consumes about 45W at no load. I usually turn it off My class d is 3watts @ standby . Wouldnt worry me too much if it was a class d amp but I would do the same if it were a class a/b behemoth like Petes and get a remote switcher like pg said http://www.greentopia.com.au/Future-Switch...FST2R2400-2.htm
Alfred Smee Posted May 23, 2010 Posted May 23, 2010 I made a relay operated 6 way power board. My AVR has a 240V switched outlet that is only powered when the AVR is ON. When the AVR is on it powers the relay coil and the power board is live. The following are hooked up to the power board and switch on only when the AVR is switched on via the remote: 3 Power amplifiers Subwoofer Display bias lighting
spewka Posted May 24, 2010 Posted May 24, 2010 I had the same problem with a sub & older valve power amp. Solution, go to jaycar and buy: 1 box 1 relay 1 double power point a few other bits & pieces If you can't put it together I'm sure somebody there can for a small fee. Whole thing cost < $20
rudra Posted May 24, 2010 Posted May 24, 2010 (edited) My class d is 3watts @ standby . Wouldnt worry me too much if it was a class d amp but I would do the same if it were a class a/b behemoth like Petes and get a remote switcher like pg said http://www.greentopia.com.au/Future-Switch...FST2R2400-2.htm My amp is a class A/B behemoth, weighs about 160lbs. I tried a 12V trigger. I had to use a DC adaptor since it needs about 300mA to trigger. The first time I tested it it gave me such a fright when the relays clicked in. I haven't since tried it. I should give the remote trigger a try again considering that I recenty added a upgraded power board. Edited May 24, 2010 by rockyvj
Gior Posted May 24, 2010 Posted May 24, 2010 My amp is a class A/B behemoth, weighs about 160lbs. I tried a 12V trigger. I had to use a DC adaptor since it needs about 300mA to trigger. The first time I tested it it gave me such a fright when the relays clicked in. I haven't since tried it. I should give the remote trigger a try again considering that I recenty added a upgraded power board. The Cinenova works fine with the 12v trigger. Have had mine switched that way since day 1 with no issues. I think it's wired tip positive from memory. The funny thing is though watching the voltage sag on the line as the caps charge up when it turns on.
petetherock Posted May 24, 2010 Author Posted May 24, 2010 (edited) Thanks everyone, I just aqcuired a Belkin PF 50 which has a DC trigger input, I was wondering if I can use the DC out of the SR 12 to the Belkin, which then switches on the amp.However it is wise to switch the amp on via such a method instead of the hard on/off switch? Cheers. Ok, so here is how I plan to do it: SR 12 AV amp as pre- DC out to the Belkin PF 50 DC input, which should turn on the ATI? Then for the items which I do not wish to be switched - I connect them to the unswitched inputs on the PF 50? Edit - is this DC cable a special one? Edited May 24, 2010 by petetherock
petetherock Posted June 3, 2010 Author Posted June 3, 2010 I have yet to try the DC trigger, but when I switched on the ATI power amp recently, the current draw on my Belkin went up by 1A immediately... the caps in the amp were drawing massive energy even in idle mode... I reckon thats 235W just at idle... wow...
Zorbaru Posted June 10, 2010 Posted June 10, 2010 Can't you get one of those remote controled power point things. They plug in to the wall behind the power cord (like double adapter but only one output) and comes with a control that turns it off
mr-happy-pants Posted June 11, 2010 Posted June 11, 2010 Leaving any electronics item on all the time will reduce its life End of story Don't increase your chance of a problem occuring Find a way to turn it off
ninkasi Posted June 13, 2010 Posted June 13, 2010 Leaving it on all the time will cause it to wear out. There is also the concern that whilst it's on, then (unless it's connected to a true UPS) it's subjected more to the surges/brown outs of the grid power supply. On the other hand, turning the thing on/off all the time also stresses electronic equipment. Putting it on an auto-switch that effectively cuts power to the unit itself is an option, but I'd want to be certain that doing that doesn't cause any issues - the switch on the unit itself will cut the power the way the unit expects it - whilst chopping the power going to the device might be like a brownout and stress it.... some devices might have fans, for example, that run for a few minutes after switching off the unit via the switch - but of course the fans won't work if the power has been cut from the source. in addition some switches don't cut the power cleanly/instantly and cause sparks..... It's all a balance, really, and there's no right/wrong way of doing it. My paranoid $0.05, though, would be to turn the thing off with the switch if it's not being used for a while and you can be bothered doing it. If you can't be bothered to do this all the time and/or forget to do it every now and then, well I wouldn't be too fussed. Cheers.
wheelz Posted June 14, 2010 Posted June 14, 2010 Have you thought of a remote controlled power board? http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=MS6150
lonewolf1503560131 Posted June 15, 2010 Posted June 15, 2010 Leaving it on all the time will cause it to wear out. There is also the concern that whilst it's on, then (unless it's connected to a true UPS) it's subjected more to the surges/brown outs of the grid power supply. On the other hand, turning the thing on/off all the time also stresses electronic equipment. Putting it on an auto-switch that effectively cuts power to the unit itself is an option, but I'd want to be certain that doing that doesn't cause any issues - the switch on the unit itself will cut the power the way the unit expects it - whilst chopping the power going to the device might be like a brownout and stress it.... some devices might have fans, for example, that run for a few minutes after switching off the unit via the switch - but of course the fans won't work if the power has been cut from the source. in addition some switches don't cut the power cleanly/instantly and cause sparks.....It's all a balance, really, and there's no right/wrong way of doing it. My paranoid $0.05, though, would be to turn the thing off with the switch if it's not being used for a while and you can be bothered doing it. If you can't be bothered to do this all the time and/or forget to do it every now and then, well I wouldn't be too fussed. Cheers. This is what i was always worried about with the remote controlled power sockers or any other solution that involves switching off at the power and not on the amp. But i am not sure how much chance or damage can occur, i was just always worried about doing it.
betty boop Posted June 15, 2010 Posted June 15, 2010 This is what i was always worried about with the remote controlled power sockers or any other solution that involves switching off at the power and not on the amp. But i am not sure how much chance or damage can occur, i was just always worried about doing it. the thing with most electrical things they tend to fail on switch on, switch off. As far as wear out. its not a mechanical device. the only mechanical device you utilise on a power amplifier is the on/off switch ! or relays if remotely switched utilising a 12v trigger. capacitors do have a life, but in most quality amps use 85 degc caps and better amps typically use 105 degc caps. that is ofcourse temp related if the amps always on the boil with poor heatsink design the caps arent going to last long are they ! . The type of caps matter too, garden variety electrolytics used in their operating range your goign to see 10 years plus out of them. higher spec better quality caps anything like 20 years plus ! yeah be a long long time before they go kaput with the amp left on ! but yeah if can switch them on off, I dont think any harm done really either ! my electkra has been switched on/off and also been switched on for use for good part of nearly last 5 years and still as good as new since day I got it !
petetherock Posted June 15, 2010 Author Posted June 15, 2010 Thanks, I am banging on the fact that ATI amps are over-engineered... although I am not sure if I will use after I secure the MF tonight...
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