Hey guys,

I'm wondering if it's appropriate to turn my studio monitors on/off by means of a power strip...so instead of powering on/off the left, right and sub monitors individually I could leave them all in the on position and then power them on/off by the power button on a power strip? My concern is, is this harmful to the circuitry? The reason I ask is due to reaching behind the monitors to turn them on/off every time I tend to inadvertently move the volume knobs and this has ended me up with a bad mix or two because I don't find out that the volume is wrong until it's too late....especially concerning the sub monitor. I know that since this is an issue for me that I should be checking the levels on my monitors before I start working.....I'm trying to figure out an easier way to do this so that I don't need reach/look behind my monitors to check and power them on/off every time I'm working....  the power strip seems to be a decent solution.  

I also ran into this thread that recommends not powering down my monitors or anything else in my studio for that matter

http://forum.cakewalk.com/tm.aspx?m=1355851

Feedback appreciated. 
Thanks

The power strip switch should be fine.

Turning gear on and off exposes it to quick changes in temperature which can eventually lead to a part wearing out.

Leaving stuff on all the time means you will waste energy that is currently under valued but will soon be priced beyond most people capability to afford it.

You get to decide how you feel about stuff like that and do what works best for you.


best regards,
mike

That is exactly how I have my setup which consists of powered monitors up front, an amp/PA speakers in rear, and two subs.

I looked at getting a rackmount unit but the powerstrip was here already and it works just fine though not as elegant.

Awesome,...thanks guys!
 

I use a power strip for mine, but what really bothers me about it is the POP when I turn them on and the air pumping out of the ports.  it's strange to me, tho, that sometimes the pop is louder/more air is pumped than at other times.

I wonder if I could build or buy a capacitive circuit which would power them up slowly instead of pumping full current to them all at once?

I was getting the pops before I made some adjustments to powering on/off.

I run all of the monitors/amps/speakers to a powerstrip that plugs in to a power conditioner.  All of my audio devices plug in to the power conditioner and each audio device is on by default.  I turn on the amp/speakers first and then the power conditioner after a moments delay.  Powering off the amp/speakers first then the power conditioner after a brief delay does not cause any pops which as you know can damage gear.

thanks, keebo, that might work.  I don't have a power conditioner, but I have one on order already

You are welcome.

I know what you mean about the pops or thuds being louder sometimes more than others and it frustrated me to no end.

Since you already a conditioner on its way I think it will be less expensive/less time consuming than buying/building a circuit.

Good luck.

I was already hoping that a conditioner would help stop that, that's why I ordered one.  just the low end rack mount furman.

Most devices don't mind at all being powered on and off through an external switch. There may be some designs where the internal power switch also controls e.g. a soft start circuit. I haven't seen anything like that in a long time.
It is simply a myth that it is better to leave electrical devices powered on. The opposite is true: the devices will age must faster if you leave them on. And, it is a waste of energy.

It is true that incandescent light bulbs suffer when you turn them on because the cold filement has a lower resistance than the hot one, i.e. it is drawing a high current during the warm-up phase. Thus, if you want to install low voltage halogen lighting, I would recommend using an electronic transformer with build-in soft start.
Today, all CFLs have electronic transformers. They also don't mind at all being turned on of off. 

There are cases where the order may matter. For example, if your audio interface produces an glitch when you turn it on and your amplifier only turns on the outputs after a few seconds to protect the speakers from its own glitch, then it would be smart to turn on both devices at the same time (rather than turning on the amplifier before the audio interface) so that the glitch form the interface would not matter.

For some cases, a master/slave power strip is a neat thing. My UPS has slave outputs. When I turn on my computer, the UPS also enables power on additional outlets that are not backed up by the battery. I use those outputs for devices that need more power, e.g. my monitors and the printer. When I am done, I turn off the UPS completely. Anything that has power is potentially a fire hazard.

Wilko