Pop

[Pieoftheday]

Afternoon all, can anyone tell me why I hear a slight pop from my speakers when I switch my amp on?quad 306 I've just tried using my LiTE ah DAC and the pop was quite loud,made me jump!! Nothings broken:) should I be worried? Cheers Jim

[Barry]

It's quite normal for there to be a dull 'thump' sound on switch on. I get it with my Quad 405s. Your 306 uses similar circuitry.

[Pieoftheday]

Cheers Barry,why do you think the pop was pretty loud when I introduced the lite DAC? Jim

[struth]

You can get that with some dacs usually just b4 they lock on... Can be noisy... One of mine did it and i always made sure it was on another channel til it locked. If its a thump then thats slightly different and can have differing causes

[Pieoftheday]

Thanks Grant, I may try again, I was a little worried that the speakers might have been damaged as it was quite loud,I was very close to the speakers at the time though

[struth]

If dac has a switch for different inputs you can sometimes avoid it by switching to one thats not being used.. Otherwise have amp on say phono or something the dac isnt connected to. Once it up and running locked etc it will be ok. I kinda got used to doing this with that dac. It can sound loud.. Or just turn volume right down.

[Pieoftheday]

Yes I can switch to the unused input,I'm not sure the pre was switched on,can't recall now:scratch:

[Macca]

Always switch on your pre - then your power. I found that out the hard way. Some kit it doesn't matter and some it does.

[Pieoftheday]

Always switch on your pre - then your power. I found that out the hard way. Some kit it doesn't matter and some it does.

Do you know why this happens Macca? Did you end up damaging some of your gear?

[Macca]

I blew some fuses on some stuff I had on demo. It was no big deal in the end but I was used to Linn amps for a long time and it didn't matter with that equipment. (LK1 and LK100)

Doesn't matter now I use a passive pre. But with an active it is standard practice. When switching off, switch off the power amp first. Pre first on power up.

EDIT as to why it happens I'm not sure. You are supposed to give the pre a couple of seconds to stabilise as well, before switching on the power. But with some kit this doesn't matter - still it is worth getting in the habit if you box-swap.

[Pieoftheday]

I blew some fuses on some stuff I had on demo. It was no big deal in the end but I was used to Linn amps for a long time and it didn't matter with that equipment. (LK1 and LK100)

Doesn't matter now I use a passive pre. But with an active it is standard practice. When switching off, switch off the power amp first. Pre first on power up.

EDIT as to why it happens I'm not sure. You are supposed to give the pre a couple of seconds to stabilise as well, before switching on the power. But with some kit this doesn't matter - still it is worth getting in the habit if you box-swap.

Many thanks for the advice:)

[struth]

I do that with my set up even though i dont have a pre/power. The linear power double goes on first and that powers on the RPI and the Phono stage. Then the Integrated. If I do it the other way I can get the occasional bang through speakers. I also find changing channels with the selector can cause a noise unless VC is turned down, but doesn't happen with the remote, so its related to the switch I guess.

[Macca]

The killer is switching between sources with major level differences. - if I forgot to turn the levels well down when switching from my tuner to CD it would be speaker damage time.

[struth]

The killer is switching between sources with major level differences. - if I forgot to turn the levels well down when switching from my tuner to CD it would be speaker damage time.

Hmm... interesting thought. My cd is inbetween the pi and phono in selection, and is usually off. I wonder if that is reason. must try it when on.

[danilo]

There is a Problem with your Gear. Like it or not :-)
Some equipment Causes all manner of Gross noises.. Some genuinely frightening /worrying noises, creating genuine concerns for the safety of down stream Audio stuff.. Like Speakers :-) Some is dead silent.
Two solutions:
a) Bin the Offending Crap.. and Buy Better gear !
B) Learn the turn on/off sequence Dance.. which works.. until you forget :-)

[Pieoftheday]

Well I've just tried pre on first then power,still a pop albeit its very soft,,the novafodelity x40 is also my DAC/ music server as well as my pre so I can't do the channel switching thing,also just tried turning the quad on without any power to the x40 and the pop still remains,I can live with it like that but really want to try the lite dac again,maybe later if I can be arsed pulling the rack out again

[anthonyTD]

Could be some DC offset on one of the source's, or preamp.:scratch:
Some intergrated amps have a delay circuit, which allows the preamp stage to come on slightly before the power stage, this usualy does the trick, ie; no thumps etc.
But i would do some experimenting, to find which piece of kit is causing the trouble, its always a good idea to switch source equipment first, then, preamp, then power amp, and a reverse when switching off, ie; power amp first, then preamp etc, etc.
Hope this helps.
A...

[Simon_LDT]

Does it pop when the relay disengages? My current Arcam monoblocks make a pop through the speakers as the relay clicks off, although it's very quiet and only audible when near the speaker.

[Pieoftheday]

I think it must be down to the quad,never happened before the quad,its something and nothing with the x40 but was much louder using the lite dac

[Pieoftheday]

There is a Problem with your Gear. Like it or not :-)
Some equipment Causes all manner of Gross noises.. Some genuinely frightening /worrying noises, creating genuine concerns for the safety of down stream Audio stuff.. Like Speakers :-) Some is dead silent.
Two solutions:
a) Bin the Offending Crap.. and Buy Better gear !
B) Learn the turn on/off sequence Dance.. which works.. until you forget :-)

Bin the offending crap? What and buy stuff costing the same price of a car?:ner: