# Remote Controlled outlets



## memarcus (Jan 28, 2010)

Anyone used a remote controlled outlet for their pro amps such as Insteon or X10? I'm planning for my HT and will likely use a pro amp for the subs but they have no 12V trigger and I am extremely lazy. It would be nice to turn everything on in the closet with the remote. I planned on having a repeater system so things can be operated with the closet door closed so I don't have to worry with extraneous lights and fan noices.

Would a setup like this produce on/off thumps or other harmful effects? Plan is to use an insteon controlled outlet on the dedicated circuit for the sub amp.


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## mechman (Feb 8, 2007)

My hunch is that you would get the thumps. :huh:


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work, as long as the amplifier current demands don’t exceed the outlet rating. However, if you do get some turn-on thump you’d need a delayed turn-on and power-down for the sub amp. That would probably require and external power sequencer. You can get them from companies like Furman, Adcom, Panamax and Atlas Sound.

Regards,
Wayne


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## grinthock (Dec 17, 2010)

Generally the "cheap" ones have thump issues. There are some higher end ones that don't.

Plus consider that these things may also cause electrical noise in your equipment. 

Most of these amp's have a soft-off capability and draw so little power when they are off, do you really need to disconnect them from the wall? 

Regarding the thump - a good way to figure out if you will get it is -- just plug the amp into the socket while it's on and connected -- if you get a thump, then you will probably get one no matter what.

All my equipment (even the cheap stuff) have "soft-on" capability so if you plug it in, it powers up, but waits 5 seconds before it powers up the amp stage to avoid that thump.


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## memarcus (Jan 28, 2010)

My understanding of the insteon system is that it communicates above 100kHz range so if there is noise I can't imagine it would be altered into the audible range. I understand little about EMI so there's no telling what will really happen.

What actually causes the thump? It seems that for the speaker to make a thump the cones have to move of course so when the thing powers up does it just dump a bunch of power, like caps discharging or something like that or is it caused by a similar dump on the input to the amp? If the latter I should be able to sequence things appropriately in the remote macro to turn it on at the right time. So does the amp need to come on before the AVR or vice versa?

Also I'll prolly use a behringer, so not the best quality but no too bad. I was hoping to find someone who has one and might plug it in with the switch on to see what happens....?


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## Wayne A. Pflughaupt (Apr 13, 2006)

> What actually causes the thump? It seems that for the speaker to make a thump the cones have to move of course so when the thing powers up does it just dump a bunch of power, like caps discharging or something like that or is it caused by a similar dump on the input to the amp?


You can get a minor thump from the amps, but most power amps these days have built-in relays that delay the power going out to the speakers – at least pro amps do. The thump can be caused by upstream components. For instanced, the BFD is notorious for causing thump when it’s turned off and on.




> If the latter I should be able to sequence things appropriately in the remote macro to turn it on at the right time. So does the amp need to come on before the AVR or vice versa?


The generally accepted sequence is amps on last when the system is powered up, and amps off first on power-down.

Regards,
Wayne


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