Surround sound Question (subwoofer power on/off feature)?

[Denvers Dawgs]

I have a sony STR-K840P receiver that has a powered subwoofer that has it's own power button. Inorder to turn on my subwoofer I need to press the power button. My question is, would there somehow be a way to have the sub turn on when I turn on the receiver itself, with out havingto hit the power button? I also don't want the subwoofer to be on 24/7, just when I turn the receiver on......

[BJ_M]

plug it into the switched outlets on the back

[Denvers Dawgs]

I don't remember it having a plug(outlet) in the back?

[BJ_M]

you are right - it doesnt ....

then you would need a power sense device or a audio sense power relay ...

both are about $100

[Denvers Dawgs]

eeeee!!! Are those actually what they are called or just what you know them by? I only ask so when searching google, I actually know what I'm looking for.

[Denvers Dawgs]

I just saw this X-10 appliance module. Do you think that this may work if I program my logitech 628 to shut it off?

[BJ_M]

no - that will not work , as you need another piece to receive the IR commands ,,


but you got me thinking - lutron makes a 'plug in' like that - that works off IR ... they sell them at big building centers and they work off most universal controls

[TooLFooL]

just leave it on....!

[enstg8er]

just leave it on....!

agreed. most powered subs have a sleep type mode and shut down on their own and go to work when needed....

[VideoTechMan]

My sub has the sleep mode...whenever it detects the sub-channel it will turn itself on automatically, and if there's no signal going to it after awhile it cuts off to sleep mode. I have the Infinity surround system and it works great. Only time I physically turn off the sub is when I am gone out of town for over a week so as to save energy.

[Denvers Dawgs]

just leave it on....!

agreed. most powered subs have a sleep type mode and shut down on their own and go to work when needed....

I don't think mine has a sleep mode. Hit has a green light when on, and it just stays green the whole time. So i would have no idea if it were to go into sleep mode?

[enstg8er]

what model is it? even the cheapest subs do this. they are not designed to move around to turn on/off. the green light lets you know it is on and will work when called upon. when the receiver is off the amp powers down.

[VideoTechMan]

In my case, when my sub is active my light turns green, and when the receiver is off or the sub is not getting a sub signal for a short while it goes into sleep mode and it turns red.

VTM

[Denvers Dawgs]

Well here is what I got


and it came with this remote


It's the Wireless Command Indoor Plug-in Lamp Control Model#SL-6008-WH5 for $25 at home depot. I haven't installed yet or tired to set my logitech to turn on/off the outlet.

[Denvers Dawgs]

haha....well what I hadn't noticed is that it is an RF (radio frequency remote)......back to the depot it is.....now if I can only find an IR remote for one of these things I'm golden....

[Xylob the Destroyer]

get "The Clapper"!

[enstg8er]

even the cheapest subs have an auto selection. subs that don't require careful consideration before purchasing. it signals inherant poor design. here is the data on a cheapo sub amp-
http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&SO=2&&DID=7&CATID=43&ObjectGroup_ID=505
page 2 covers the power options.

if you need to move the sub or add aux power options you may have additional design limitations...

[TooLFooL]

the thing is, as is with 95% of all new electronics, whether you turn it off or not, it is still consuming electricity. the power switch is ALWAYS after the transformer, which (often) consumes most of the power. unless you unplug it, it won't make a difference sitting there on or off...

[BJ_M]

with amps - like subwoofers - the power switch is first - the same with cd players or anything with a mech power switch ....

there are often two switches - a power switch and a standby switch ..

[Denvers Dawgs]

So if I were to jsut leve it on 24/7 would that shorten the life of the subwoofer? Casue fire (because it got to hot being on all the time?), etc...

[BJ_M]

who is to say -- sometimes turning things on and off cause more damage than just leaving it on ...

[Denvers Dawgs]

maybe I'm just being to anal now....

[enstg8er]

So if I were to jsut leve it on 24/7 would that shorten the life of the subwoofer? Casue fire (because it got to hot being on all the time?), etc...

no. it's designed to work that way...

[TooLFooL]

BJ_M, i highly respect you, but only crazy canadian electronics could have a power switch before a transformer!! the ac plug ALWAYS enters the component and goes DIRECTLY to the transformer. (reasonably new equipment, of course)... can you imagine the "POP" you would hear every time you clicked that 120v power switch on and off? c'mon now!....

[BJ_M]

BJ_M, i highly respect you, but only crazy canadian electronics could have a power switch before a transformer!! the ac plug ALWAYS enters the component and goes DIRECTLY to the transformer. (reasonably new equipment, of course)... can you imagine the "POP" you would hear every time you clicked that 120v power switch on and off? c'mon now!....

not true -- take apart 100's of things and you will see what i mean ..... in fact - for many things it is against electrical code -- fuses (mains) and mains switch (in most cases) are the first thing , then power supply ,,,,,

all denons, yamahas , nads, are built this way as just a few examples (they have a power switch and a standby switch on the front (power on rear OR on front depending on model) .... bose is not (power switch on sub is though) .....

if it uses a external switching power supply - then of course not ...


i really dont know where you get the idea the mains goes directly to the transformer -- even on older AT power supplies it wasnt this way .... go into best buy or something and rip apart everything on display and you will see what i mean ....

a good point is that if the mains went direct to the power supply (now mostly switching power supplys in a lot of things - which dont even require a transformer) , the switching power supply would always be on as they work even with no load and would just dissipate lots of heat ...

[TooLFooL]

so how do you explain why is everything so warm even though it is turned off??!!

[yoda313]

Heat build up?? Do they still have capacitors or something??

[BJ_M]

so how do you explain why is everything so warm even though it is turned off??!!

what is so warm ?

use an amp meter to check current draw or rip everything apart -- i do both ... a lot -- on everything