Auto switching surge protector for Amplifier turn on

B

BrianC

Junior Audioholic
Anyone have any success with these? I bought a pro amp to power my Dayton subwoofer, but it has no 12v trigger to power on/off from my Marantz receiver. The reviews are so mixed on every "smart" surge protector I find, I have no idea which brand to trust. Any recommendations?
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
I've used Niles signal sensing ones in the past and worked perfectly. Depending on your amp and idle draw, you might consider leaving it on.
 
B

BrianC

Junior Audioholic
Behringer km750. I'm very pleased with the power output, but the fan noise is a little much to leave on when not in use. Thoughts on unplugging/replacing the fan, or better to switch on/off?
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
Behringer km750. I'm very pleased with the power output, but the fan noise is a little much to leave on when not in use. Thoughts on unplugging/replacing the fan, or better to switch on/off?
Fan mods are easy. Just open it up and check the size and replace with ultra quite PC fan.
 
B

BrianC

Junior Audioholic
So you would sooner do the mod (which I've done before, super easy) and leave the amp (which the fan is ALWAYS RUNNING) powered on, til death us part, rather than find a trigger switching fix?
 
B

BrianC

Junior Audioholic
I guess the real question is; what kills an amp faster, leaving in on always, or powering it on/off, daily?
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
I guess the real question is; what kills an amp faster, leaving in on always, or powering it on/off, daily?
Heat. Frequent power cycles do cause some failures, but so much equipment has been turned on/off daily that it can't be seen as the main cause.

One thing that can be caused by constant ON state is damage from surges and lightning strikes. If it's OFF, it's less likely that damage will occur. The best policy is to disconnect power from all devices that aren't on before their power cord.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Anyone have any success with these? I bought a pro amp to power my Dayton subwoofer, but it has no 12v trigger to power on/off from my Marantz receiver. The reviews are so mixed on every "smart" surge protector I find, I have no idea which brand to trust. Any recommendations?
Do you have a universal remote or smart lighting controls? Some of those do work well, like Harmony Hub with Lutron Caseta. Lutron has wall switches and lamp modules that can be turned on or off within the activity command string.

Niles has discontinued a large number of their most useful devices.
 
B

BrianC

Junior Audioholic
Do you have a universal remote or smart lighting controls? Some of those do work well, like Harmony Hub with Lutron Caseta. Lutron has wall switches and lamp modules that can be turned on or off within the activity command string.

Niles has discontinued a large number of their most useful devices.
I'll read up on that option!
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
I'll read up on that option!
I have been using the Harmony hubs on some jobs for a couple of years and one needs a separate trigger for a power amp that isn't used often- the old AVR had the ability to assign the triggers to Main or Zone 2, which was perfect because we weren't using Zone 2 for any AV functions and that let me assign the commands I needed- House ON, House OFF, LivRm ON, LivRm OFF and ALL OFF. I bought a Lutron Caseta switch with Smart Bridge and Pico last week and have been playing with it- the switch works perfectly and I can assign buttons on the remote for it, to turn ON, OFF and use the +/- buttons to dim it. Next step is to get a lamp module and assign it to the LivRm ON/OFF buttons, which can be re-named, too.

This module and Smart Bridge also allows me to add commands to control their Caseta light scene control switches and if I needed another 12V trigger, I could add a lamp module and plug a 12V wall wart into it.

I have read that the WEMO smart switch works with the Harmony hub- I can verify that the TP Link module doesn't, although I read that it can, if additional steps are used but I need it to happen more quickly, it needs to be very reliable and I don't want to make them walk through multiple apps to get everything to work. That's a good way to make people lose interest in using the system.
 
B

BrianC

Junior Audioholic
I hear you. I can
I have been using the Harmony hubs on some jobs for a couple of years and one needs a separate trigger for a power amp that isn't used often- the old AVR had the ability to assign the triggers to Main or Zone 2, which was perfect because we weren't using Zone 2 for any AV functions and that let me assign the commands I needed- House ON, House OFF, LivRm ON, LivRm OFF and ALL OFF. I bought a Lutron Caseta switch with Smart Bridge and Pico last week and have been playing with it- the switch works perfectly and I can assign buttons on the remote for it, to turn ON, OFF and use the +/- buttons to dim it. Next step is to get a lamp module and assign it to the LivRm ON/OFF buttons, which can be re-named, too.

This module and Smart Bridge also allows me to add commands to control their Caseta light scene control switches and if I needed another 12V trigger, I could add a lamp module and plug a 12V wall wart into it.

I have read that the WEMO smart switch works with the Harmony hub- I can verify that the TP Link module doesn't, although I read that it can, if additional steps are used but I need it to happen more quickly, it needs to be very reliable and I don't want to make them walk through multiple apps to get everything to work. That's a good way to make people lose interest in using the system.
See my wife's eyes glazing over at the mere mention of a new remote, let alone multiple apps!

Thanks for the Intel, I'm reading on it now
 
Verdinut

Verdinut

Audioholic Spartan
Anyone have any success with these? I bought a pro amp to power my Dayton subwoofer, but it has no 12v trigger to power on/off from my Marantz receiver. The reviews are so mixed on every "smart" surge protector I find, I have no idea which brand to trust. Any recommendations?
Greetings Brian,

I have been using the following product connected to my Marantz SR5010:

https://www.amazon.ca/Xantech-AC1-Controlled-AC-Outlet/dp/B000NU0T62/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?keywords=Xantech+AC-1&qid=1550162412&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmr0

I know that Amazon in the US are short of it, but you may be able to order from the Canadian branch.
 
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