Audio Should I turn off the power supply from wall or just the amp switch is enough (smps power supply and fosi audio amp)

[JMak]

I was reading a few things and got super confused about the right way to use the power on my fosi bt20a pro amplifier... Especially at night or when I am watching TV and not listening to amp for more than an hour..

When not in use should I turn the wall switch off and there by stopping power completely (to the power supply and thereby to amp)
Or
I should rather use the switch provided on the amp yo switch it off (which I Beleive is rather a standby)

The reason I am asking is some people believe that smps power supplies should not be frequently switched off and on as there is a rush of current and build up etc which might ruin it over a period..

I am no specialist hence thought of asking..

Thanks
@blr_p
@greenhorn
@Black_Hawk
Anyone

 

[greenhorn]

I usually don't turn mini off at all. If I do, I use the mains switch. Saves power and wear and tear on the amp power switch

 

[JMak]

I usually don't turn mini off at all. If I do, I use the mains switch. Saves power and wear and tear on the amp power switch

See I don't like keeping the equipments on standby, either they should be used or they should be shutdown..
So is it fine to switch off from wall once I am done listening to music and thereby killing the power to the smps and thereby to the fosi?

 

[superczar]

Un

See I don't like keeping the equipments on standby, either they should be used or they should be shutdown..
So is it fine to switch off from wall once I am done listening to music and thereby killing the power to the smps and thereby to the fosi?

Unless its a transformer powered device, the rule of thumb is to leave equipment in standby for better longevity.

Of course, if you live in an area with bad power/ excessive surges then powering equipment off altogether may be the lesser evil..
But for most normal scenarios, smps powered equipment (which is pretty much everything these days) is better off in standby 24x7 vs repeated power cycles

 

[JMak]

Un

Unless its a transformer powered device, the rule of thumb is to leave equipment in standby for better longevity.

Of course, if you live in an area with bad power/ excessive surges then powering equipment off altogether may be the lesser evil..
But for most normal scenarios, smps powered equipment (which is pretty much everything these days) is better off in standby 24x7 vs repeated power cycles

Wow I should really update myself...
I guess I have no clue now how things are working...
Please forgive my ignorance, can you kindly elaborate a bit..
1.. Sharing pics of the power on and off state of my amp via the switch that is provided on it...

This below pic shows its on and ready to fire music..


This pic shows the switch in off position... So I guess that's what standby is


So acc to you I should keep the power to the smps power supply (32v 5A) always on and instead switch off the amp from its provided switch in the front???

2.. What about the tvs, We have like 3 tvs and obviously all tvs have the smps power supply in them.. So acc to you we should just use the remote and switch off the TV which puts it in standby mode...???

Please consider me a noob as I have been told to switch everything from wall to avoid any power surge that can fry the boards of electronic equipments..
We very rarely get any kind of power outages or power supply issues in Delhi... We have MCB installed for practically every room..
Earthing is patchy I guess but by and large alright...

Thanks in advance

 

[superczar]

Wow I should really update myself...
I guess I have no clue now how things are working...
Please forgive my ignorance, can you kindly elaborate a bit..
1.. Sharing pics of the power on and off state of my amp via the switch that is provided on it...

This below pic shows its on and ready to fire music..
View attachment 179454

This pic shows the switch in off position... So I guess that's what standby is
View attachment 179455

So acc to you I should keep the power to the smps power supply (32v 5A) always on and instead switch off the amp from its provided switch in the front???

2.. What about the tvs, We have like 3 tvs and obviously all tvs have the smps power supply in them.. So acc to you we should just use the remote and switch off the TV which puts it in standby mode...???

Please consider me a noob as I have been told to switch everything from wall to avoid any power surge that can fry the boards of electronic equipments..
We very rarely get any kind of power outages or power supply issues in Delhi... We have MCB installed for practically every room..
Earthing is patchy I guess but by and large alright...

Thanks in advance

1) It’s very hard to say conclusively whether that power switch is cutting off the mains power to the amp or triggering standby. You can definitely leave the smps on and take a subjective call on this power switch. Leaving it on won’t hurt either. I have at least a couple of small class D amps that are always on. And if you think about it, so are the class D amps on all smart speakers and the likes.

2) TVs in general are a whole lot better off left in standby via remote. The primary reason for strain during a full power cycle is the high load from the power supply caps that are fully discharged when fully off and extend a sudden load when switched on. TV Caps can tend to be largish and in general better left in a state of equilibrium at all times.

As for your power supply and earthing, one thing that I recommend to everyone is
A) adding a SPD at the main distribution board where the MCBs are so that any inbound surges can be handled upfront - SPD devices are cheap, can be DIN mounted right next to the MCB

B) Adding a over/under voltage protector - again next to the MCBs at the main distribition board.

Even in places with good power supply, Having A and B above is a good practice and a are super effective low cost insurance for all your equipment

Whether these are effective or not is anybody’s guess but have kept almost all my equipment failure free for a very long time..
Some of the electronics , esp audio equipmet that doesnt tend to age as much as others are quite old (hovering around 15- 20 years) and have been in standby all this time

 

[n1r0]

This pic shows the switch in off position... So I guess that's what standby is
View attachment 179455

This looks like a mechanical toggle switch, which in combo with the DC input on the back, suggests it physically disconnects power from the device. I.e it is not stand-by, it's actually off. Only way to know for sure would be to open it up and check the wiring, or measure the current when the switch is off.

 

[JMak]

Dropped a mesage to fosi
They replied that it can be connected to the power all the time, it doesn't consume much electricity..

 

[JMak]

This looks like a mechanical toggle switch, which in combo with the DC input on the back, suggests it physically disconnects power from the device. I.e it is not stand-by, it's actually off. Only way to know for sure would be to open it up and check the wiring, or measure the current when the switch is off.

Right so it seems there is no standby feature in the amp.. Strangely the company representatives advocate to keep it on all the time, acc to them it doesn't consume much power...
But despite no music streaming when idle the amp tenians pretty warm hence it definitely is consuming enough energy..

 

[n1r0]

Given how cheap and long lasting power supplies are, I wouldn't worry about extending their lives further and just turn off power at the wall.

While standby might make sense on things like TV/AC where it's convenient to just wake it up using the remote from far away, do people leave their monitors on standby all the time?
Don't they turn it off even shutting down the PC?
Do monitor's power supplies fail due to power cycles? The panel on my 14 year old monitor was what failed, not it's power supply
Do you not turn off the switch for your phone's charger once done charging?

I'm genuinely interested to know if it makes a practical difference

 

[JMak]

Given how cheap and long lasting power supplies are, I wouldn't worry about extending their lives further and just turn off power at the wall.

While standby might make sense on things like TV/AC where it's convenient to just wake it up using the remote from far away, do people leave their monitors on standby all the time?
Don't they turn it off even shutting down the PC?
Do monitor's power supplies fail due to power cycles? The panel on my 14 year old monitor was what failed, not it's power supply
Do you not turn off the switch for your phone's charger once done charging?

I'm genuinely interested to know if it makes a practical difference

I agree with you on all of those accounts.. I am also in favor of switching off equipments when not in use .. The main boards of the devices shouldn't be left like that when they aren't being used ...
True the supplies are cheaper.. And i am fine with that..if once a while I ll have to change

 

[superczar]

Given how cheap and long lasting power supplies are, I wouldn't worry about extending their lives further and just turn off power at the wall.

While standby might make sense on things like TV/AC where it's convenient to just wake it up using the remote from far away, do people leave their monitors on standby all the time?
Don't they turn it off even shutting down the PC?
Do monitor's power supplies fail due to power cycles? The panel on my 14 year old monitor was what failed, not it's power supply
Do you not turn off the switch for your phone's charger once done charging?

I'm genuinely interested to know if it makes a practical difference

I dont think there is a definitive right answer.

I for one do not switch off practically anything from the mains . I do check the standby drain on a new device and as long as it's not unusually high (its usually between 0.5-5W ), I leave it as is.
And yes, i leave monitors , desktop , laptop , leave alone phone chargers in standby at all times ((yes, i dont shutdown any of my systems for months at a go unless there is a crash

My reason to do this is:

a) with some experience in electronics, I see a logical reason why it would help with longevity (and not just of the adapter)
b) Anecdotally, this practice has worked out well for me
c) Its a whole lot more convenient

Of course, someone else may have had just the opposite experience anecdotally.
There are way too many variables involved to objectively attribute longevity (or lack thereof) to this single variable.

 

[altair21]

Even in places with good power supply, Having A and B above is a good practice and a are super effective low cost insurance for all your equipment

Whether these are effective or not is anybody’s guess but have kept almost all my equipment failure free for a very long time..
Some of the electronics , esp audio equipmet that doesnt tend to age as much as others are quite old (hovering around 15- 20 years) and have been in standby all this time

we got a 20KVA Servo stabilizer, and that thing has been a god send for longevity though we do use SPDs on our main devices like ACs or Fridges.

 

[n1r0]

Of course, someone else may have had just the opposite experience anecdotally.

Haha I always power down my devices, and they've survived this long, so they probably become obsolete long before they die. Anyone else have a nice collection of chargers/adapters?

I for one do not switch off practically anything from the mains . I do check the standby drain on a new device and as long as it's not unusually high (its usually between 0.5-5W )

The thing is all those tiny numbers add up to a significant amount of heat in the room. If you don't have enough air flow, you will end up with increased fan/AC usage.

That said, electricity is cheap enough to waste, and electronics cheap enough to be replaced, so may be it doesn't really matter.