Powering amp on with powerbar

[Basshead88]

Is it safe to leave my amp on and just turn the powerbar it’s plugged into on and off. I have a orange crush 50 combo amp just curious if this will damage it or is this fine.

 

[abarson]

No difference.

 

[agedhorse]

Probably ok for that amp, BUT there are some amps that have fairly high inrush current and the switches on power strips are not rated for (or protected from) that kind of load and the contacts will either weld closed or will become intermittent. Power switches in amps are rated differently under the safety regulations because of a history of field failures.

 

[Code Brown]

I have a more technical follow-up question:
Is it true that the power switch in amps is generally wired directly to the mains? (Ignoring fuses, EMI/RFI power line filters and other small things that aren't really consequential to this issue.)
If so, then we can say that the power strip switch is effectively in series with the amp's power switch. In that case the amp wouldn't know or care which switch was being used.
I strongly suspect this is the case, but agedhorse will be happy to know I make every effort to avoid opening up the chasses to randomly poke things on the circuit board with a screwdriver so I'm not very familiar with audio equipment power supplies.

 

[agedhorse]

I have a more technical follow-up question:
Is it true that the power switch in amps is generally wired directly to the mains? (Ignoring fuses, EMI/RFI power line filters and other small things that aren't really consequential to this issue.)
If so, then we can say that the power strip switch is effectively in series with the amp's power switch. In that case the amp wouldn't know or care which switch was being used.
I strongly suspect this is the case, but agedhorse will be happy to know I make every effort to avoid opening up the chasses to randomly poke things on the circuit board with a screwdriver so I'm not very familiar with audio equipment power supplies.

Yes, it’s in series with the line side of the AC supply, BUT the rating of the power switch is different on an audio amp. Under the old safety standards (60065), the switch would carry a “TV” rating, now they will carry an IEC 62368 rating meaning that they meet the requirements for a switch used for primary switches in audio devices. IT equipment and audio equipment standards merged several years back, do the same requirements apply to computers (that are safety regulatory approved).

Why are the switches a safety approval part? Because of the number of unapproved general purpose switch failures that were responsible for injury and fire damage.

 

[Obese Chess]

It's probably fine, but this is functionally equivalent to turning your amp off by just unplugging it, which I just don't like.

 

[agedhorse]

It's probably fine

Or maybe not. It really depends on the amp.

 

[Stranger Danger]

There’s no upside to it and a whole lot of possible downside

Nope

 

[Killing Floor]

In my experience there's nothing inherently wrong with using a qood quality convenience strip in front of an amp but I Always power on/off the amp at the amp and use that strip as an easier access to remove or connect power only. My formed opinion is that the inrush from amps can be significant enough that it might pull trouble through the least cost sourced contacts in a convenience strip.

But once that strip is either open or closed I have no hesitation to plug into it as long as it's within rating.

 

[basscooker]

@agedhorse I wonder is this unit pre to the computer /MI power standard you reference?

I have used this so very many years. Would you suggest I stop doing that with this supply and my GBs and Subway?

Thanks

 

[agedhorse]

I don't know, shouldn't be a problem with the Subway series though because the Subway amps have inrush current management.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

I use a power strip for my entire rig. I have a small mixer and a Zoom multi-effects pedal, neither having on/off switches. But they, along with everything else (amps, etc.) are also plugged into that power strip so I only need one extension cord to a sufficient nearby outlet.

But I still power on/off my amps with their own power switches. separate from the power strip. Powering on...it's the strip first., then the amps. Powering off, it's the amps first, then the power strip. No reason really other than doing so out of 45 years of habit.

 

[frankie5string]

@agedhorse I wonder is this unit pre to the computer /MI power standard you reference?

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I have used this so very many years. Would you suggest I stop doing that with this supply and my GBs and Subway?

Thanks

That thing gives me bad memories... Lots of computers and monitors failed on those types of under-monitor power-controllers.
They were banned from my workplace before Y2K.

 

[bottomzone]

Why? I've never done this or thought about doing this. I'd stick with the amp's on/off switch.