jzoz01 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 I'm running a Sunfire Cinema Grand 400 Seven. It has a signal sensing auto on, but even in standby mode, it still draws almost half an amp. Not a big deal as far as I'm concerned, but my roommate is having a hissy fit over it. My power center has a 12 volt trigger in, that is assignable to certain outlets. If I were to run the 12volt trigger from the preamp to the power center, so it turns off power to the amp when the preamp is off will this hurt the amp at all? The amp would still be "on" and not in standby when the power gets killed to it. Any chance of long term side effects to turning on and shutting off the amp in this way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 "Any chance of long term side effects to turning on and shutting off the amp in this way? " Absolutely! It may last longer! And with a bit of dry wit....(well, that is the intention![] ) As the unit will not be powered when 'off', this generally means that at least a portion of the components will last longer (provided of course that the manufacturer has not made some all too common magical claims regarding the performance of their product![]) Others can more knowledgeably comment on the specific design, but generally the powering off should also reset/initialize the unit for the power on. And may I suggest a similar solution and precaution too for items such as your expensive 'instant on' television! It too is powered continuously! After all, we all require the picture to instantly appear when we push the 'on' button! The alternative might be a 3-10 second period where we might miss whatever pearl of wisdom Oprah, Dr.Phil or Jerry Springer have to impart! And not having this feature might lose them the nickname of "toaster" that fireman have very affectionately tagged them, as they are a primary source of fires in the event that the power supply should short! (and the house circuit breakers react too slowly to prevent a local fire.) Of course you could always use the time productively bu going and getting a drink! Although I am sure many purists may object, but for items such as these, a simple solution is to use a high quality switched and 'fused/CB' power strip such as is made by APC. They provide a fast acting circuit breaker as well as easily controlled on/off functions. Of course, and even simpler method would be to unplug them, although that is more complex than a simple switch (especially if the AC outlet is not easily accessible). A good question! It is surprising how many convenience features are assumed to be mandatory. And how many of you have ever stopped to think twice about the "Do not remove under penalty of law" tags on a mattress!?[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 lol, on what basis is your roommate complaining about the half amp of current draw at idle? If he's worried about the electric bill you can just pay him the extra dollar or two every month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzoz01 Posted August 23, 2006 Author Share Posted August 23, 2006 Yeah i couldn't understand it either. He freaked out at first when I had everything hooked up. Can we turn that off at night? How long does it stay on? Can we change the amount of time it takes for auto off? At this point I explained to him that it is signal sensing and shuts itself off after about 15 mins. He seemed content. Then last night he had a big fit that everything was still drawing 1.7 amps (although most was his TV in standby) and freaked out that he wanted to have everything on switched outlets. I guess he's worried about the extra $2 or so that the amp draws a month in standby. Anyway, back to the origional post.... My power center (Monster HTPS 7000SS) has outlets that can be switched on or off via 12 volt trigger. If I shut off the amp by killing power to the outlet is that going to be a problem in the longrun? I'd rather just shut it down with the 12 volt trigger and let it sit in standby, but he won't shut up about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Again, what is your roommate's side of the argument? I'm never comfortable just killing the power on an amplifier as it usually results in loud pops on the speakers - which definetly can cause speaker damage. Amplifiers have soft on and soft off ciruitry for a reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xdetroitx Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Did you explain to your roommate that half an amp is equal to a night light in the bathroom? I have decided long ago to never have another roommate. Id start limiting his shower time to two minutes because of the electricity it takes to heat the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 You can always tell him your willing to cut off his enjoyment of YOUR SYSTEM to compensate.. Besides the Sunfire runs cooler.. more efficiently than most. So your actually saving LOTS of money, by running a efficient clean system, rather than a heat sinking moster of sub grade gear that sounds like crap!!!!! hehehehehehehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mas Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Oh oh, but have you factored in the increased cooling demand produced by the waste heat of the SW during standby as well as during runtime? Depending upon your locale there is a good chance that it will not be offset by an accompanying decrease in heat required during the cool season...[][] The potential to carry this to absurd levels is enormous! On the other hand, that point has probably already been reached. [][] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 The potential to carry this to absurd levels is enormous! On the other hand, that point has probably already been reached. [] Naw here on the BB forum it is always that way. hahahahahahahahahahaha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted August 23, 2006 Share Posted August 23, 2006 Change the lightbulbs to Flourencent and tell him that I just saved 80% in energy when the lights are on. Also remind him standby tvs drain more power than most. Also tell him to shut off the computer also as that drains around 200 watts. Then tell him at nights to flip the fuse just to make him happy! Oh and tell him to stop buying 6 dollar cups of coffee at starbucks daily to afford monthly utility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Charge him for the time hes wasting bitching about pennies. I dont know about you, but my time is worth more than .00134408 an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Charge him for the time hes wasting bitching about pennies. I dont know about you, but my time is worth more than .00134408 an hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Get your own place..............[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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