Damaging to the headphones

[peekarwe 0]

wow, really interesting take on this, you guys.

 

I leave the stuff on standby, means, I dun switch off the mains, so the CDP still feels warm, not totally cold when I turn it on. The amp, once powered off, stays cold. No standby circuitry I think.

 

Haha....subscription...

 

talk about that.. maybe we can start a local magazine... OT again, sorry! :X

[Mackie 0]

Does ANYONE here actually remove his/her cans before turning on/off??

 

I do. Lesson learnt but luckily for me, the price was a cheap Aiwa clip-on. I used to have a pair of which connected to headphone socket of PC speakers. Having thought little of it despite the constant "pop" during power on/off, I left the clip-on connected pertually until it died on a fateful day. It lasted only one month from day of purchase.

 

Even before this experience, I've always make it a habit to lower the volume of amps and unplug my cans before power on/off albeit the RKV has a power delay function.

 

As for the issue on loading, I don't leave my amp powered on for minutes without a load. Action: <Power on> and <insert plug>; reverse action applies on power down.

Edited June 12, 2004 by Mackie

[av98m 0]

Hmmm.......food for thought.

Do you do the same for your speakers?

[Mackie 0]

Hmmm.......food for thought.

Do you do the same for your speakers?

Most if not all amps have relays to allow power spikes to abate before full operation commences. Speakers can handle power surge better whereas the little drivers on cans are frail by comparison. Henceforth, there's no need to disconnect speakers. However, do not turn "off" and then "on" class A power amps within a brief time difference for the pop can be quite frightening.

[peekarwe 0]

Do you think the POP or the HUM is more frightening?

 

POP : The sound made by on-off switch (especially so in PCs).

 

HUM : When you hold the mini (1/4 or 1/8) plug with your bare fingers (touching the metal contacts) and the resultant hum you hear through the speakers and you can actually see the speakers cones in constant motion for as long as you hold you. And the hum is quite worrying.

[peekarwe 0]

I do. Lesson learnt but luckily for me, the price was a cheap Aiwa clip-on. I used to have a pair of which connected to headphone socket of PC speakers. Having thought little of it despite the constant "pop" during power on/off, I left the clip-on connected pertually until it died on a fateful day. It lasted only one month from day of purchase.

Ok, so I think the conclusion is simple. For cans, just plug them out. I believe it's not that much trouble. The plug is always in front of your equipment. Ain't it?

 

For speakers, just mute it. Or speaker switch off (for amps with A/B or speakers switch). Then power off amp, then power off source.

[av98m 0]

Ok, so I think the conclusion is simple. For cans, just plug them out. I believe it's not that much trouble. The plug is always in front of your equipment. Ain't it? 

 

I think I'll still stick to Mat's don't worry be happy approach.

However, in the event my cans die prematurely because I leave them plugged in I'll be sure to let everyone know.

Edited June 11, 2004 by av98m

[peekarwe 0]

Cheers! To each his own. Anyway, equipment failure is not necessarily always a bad thing... you know, I would never have upgraded my cans otherwise.

[Mackie 0]

Do you think the POP or the HUM is more frightening?

 

To me, POP is the one that reminds me I have a soul living in a body.

[Firefox 0]

There isn't any problem with the thump/ "piak" sound from the amp. Difference opamps behave differently when the voltage on the rails drop (ie. when the power from the transformer is cut).

Burr Brown opamps tend to give the thump whereas Analog Devices opamps generally don't.

 

Most headphones wouldn't be affected as they tend to have tolerance for relatively high power dissipation.

[peekarwe 0]

There isn't any problem with the thump/ "piak" sound from the amp. Difference opamps behave differently when the voltage on the rails drop (ie. when the power from the transformer is cut).

Burr Brown opamps tend to give the thump whereas Analog Devices opamps generally don't.

 

Most headphones wouldn't be affected as they tend to have tolerance for relatively high power dissipation.

Clap clap! Finally a re-assuring post. Thanks dude!

[Rameish 0]

I have 2 headphones one bought in 1989/90 a Beyer DT-311 and A Senn HD-530 MkII (got them a few years later but still a long time ago) that should have been killed by now (or at least damaged) if NOT unpluging before powering off the headphone amp is bad. I have used these 2 headphones with amps like the Headroom Airhead (hmm I see some raised eyebrows - hey it was my first portable headphone amp), Grado RA-1 (the original one), the whole Corda Line or Amps, a couple of Meta 42s built by Mr. FireFox, Cayin/Spark Audio HA-1, MicroZolt, Mapeltree EAR, etc etc and even a Creek. No problems over a 14 year period for the Beyer and almost 10 years for the Senn.

 

So, I think it's safe (of course with DIY amps things could be different as I have seen hacks trying to sell DIY amps when frankly their knowledge is no better than mine and a rare occation or two where it was far less). Always get a DIY amp built by a reputable builder. And all commerical amps that I have come across so far do not cause damage when you leave the headphone plugged in and switch off the amp - use common sense and lower the volume to zero.