[K_19]

Thanks for the answers! Good to know that the hum thing is normal. I'll just stick to what I have been doing until I get more word from Jack telling me otherwise.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nikongod /img/forum/go_quote.gif to echo what was said above, it depends on the amp. on some amps it is harmful to the headphones, on others it dosnt matter, and on others still the headphones must be plugged in at all times when there is power. There are a couple amps I would put into the first camp. most OTL tube amps, and a bunch of SS gear. The 6 is in the middle camp: do whatever you want. The last camp has very few occupants, fewer than most people think.

I think I should clarify this:
The first camp is amps that may damage your headphones
The second one dosnt matter
The third requires that your headphones be plugged in.

 

[atbglenn]

I leave my headphones plugged in when powering my Woo 6 on or off (with the volume control down to minimum). I've been doing this for the past year and a half with no issues. According to Jack, this is fine. The initial turn on hum is normal. It only lasts 5 seconds. I let the amp warm up for a couple of minutes before listening. I find it sounds it's best after about 15 or 20 minutes. I hope that helps..

 

[HeatFan12]

Solid info in this thread. I stated earlier that I turn on amp without headphones and after 5 min. plug them in. Upon turning off, I lower volume, shut down with headphones plugged in, then after about ten minutes unplug and put them away.

It seems with so many different amps around and nikongod mentioning the three camps, and several posters contacting manufacturers in reference to adding longevity to the amps by making sure it is done right...I think it would be a good idea to start a thread (maybe K19) after hearing from Jack and post the amps and different posters add to the list with their amps...

It seems this question rises every year or so and I believe I started one over a year ago with the same question...


nikongod- How about the WA2 and Mapletree Ear+HD?

Thanks

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeatFan12 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It seems this question rises every year or so and I believe I started one over a year ago with the same question... nikongod- How about the WA2 and Mapletree Ear+HD? Thanks

Its been my experience that VERY few amps require a headphone be connected at all times. The few that do give DIRE warnings in their product manuals(and very few people own them anyways), so you would probably know.

That leaves us with the other 2 options of "no different" or "possibly bad" So I tend to leave stuff unplugged when turning on. the idea of short term DC offset, and turn on thumps scares me too much to leave stuff plugged in if I can help it.

I guess the 4'th hidden option is amps which cant have the headphones plugged in/out while playing. again, hopefully you would know about this issue.

 

[OutdoorXplorer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I always turn on my amp (not only tube) and let it warm for half an hour or hour with out headphones pluged in...after an hour I plug the headphones and putting on some music and let it warm up for another two hours with music playing while listening. this is trhe first time I hear that turning on the amp without headphones plugged in can damage it...or let it warm up without headphones plugged in. to tell the truth,it sounds a little rediculous to me..but I am not arguing. if it is true than I hope I didn't damage my earmax pro somehow.

This sounds more like heating up the amp rather than warming it up. Anyway I do allow a period of 15 ~ 30 minutes before any serious listening on my setup. So far I am enjoying this practice.

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OutdoorXplorer /img/forum/go_quote.gif This sounds more like heating up the amp rather than warming it up. Anyway I do allow a period of 15 ~ 30 minutes before any serious listening on my setup. So far I am enjoying this practice.

I found that the earmax pro sounds best only after a few hours of work.
than the tube magic is appearing.

 

[plonter]

I sent an email to TAD about the earmax pro but still got no answer.
anyone know what is the correct way of turning on/off the earmax?

 

[Bengt77]

It's not just tube amps. Jan Meier from Meier-Audio suggests turning his desktop ams on with no headphone plugged in can harm them. Whether it's just a precaution so he can't be sued when something does go wrong, I don't know.

 

[DynaMike]

Hi,

I´d like to add a question to this whole issue:

What about the tube amp (I´m using a WooAudio WA2) when it´s purpose is also being the preamp?

In my case (as the output signal as a preamp is a lot lower than with the phones plugged in) I´ll have to adjust the volume to 12 o´clock most of the time with no headphones plugged in (i.e. no load on the phones plug) as this setting would blow away my HD650s most of the time?

Cheers

Micha

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I sent an email to TAD about the earmax pro but still got no answer. anyone know what is the correct way of turning on/off the earmax?

Keep the headphones unplugged when you turn the amp on and off. About 30 seconds to a minute is plenty of time between when you turn the amp on and plug in (once the tubes are obviously glowing). Plug the headphones in and you can immediately set the amp to your normal listening level. I usually turn the amp on, and then pick what Im going to listen to. Even if I already knew what I wanted to hear it still takes enough time for me to get everything set up.
If you want to wait (however long) before you listen critically why not warm your ears up with some music too? much better.
There is no time requirement between unplugging the headphones and shutting the amp off. Pull the headphone plug and instantly flip the power switch.
Quote:

Originally Posted by DynaMike /img/forum/go_quote.gif What about the tube amp (I´m using a WooAudio WA2) when it´s purpose is also being the preamp? In my case (as the output signal as a preamp is a lot lower than with the phones plugged in) I´ll have to adjust the volume to 12 o´clock most of the time with no headphones plugged in (i.e. no load on the phones plug) as this setting would blow away my HD650s most of the time?

The output level from the back of the amp is the same as from the front of the amp, your power amps just need more voltage swing into them to get equal sound compared to the HD650.

Everyone likes to go on and on about how much voltage swing the 650's need... they really dont need it to run, its just nice to have 40db of voltage overhead/headroom (and the 650's really need lots of headroom).

 

[BIG POPPA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif I found that the earmax pro sounds best only after a few hours of work. than the tube magic is appearing.

Is the Earmax plugged into the wall by itself or is it on a power strip? This makes a huge difference.

 

[Happy Camper]

I turn my amp off with my headphones plugged in and the volume where I was listening. The reason is to drain power off the caps. One of those myths perhaps but no harm.

 

[nikongod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif I turn my amp off with my headphones plugged in and the volume where I was listening. The reason is to drain power off the caps. One of those myths perhaps but no harm.

The myth is that it drains the caps or causes no harm?

Amps should be designed so that the caps bleed themsleves farly quickly after power down. SS amps just keep running until they are out of voltage, Tube gear (is suossed to..) has bleeder resistors across the power supply caps to just bleed it away.

Every amp I have ever seen with cap coupled outputs has leak resistors on the "load" side of the caps. The leak resistors will bleed off any voltage that seeps through the caps, the leak resistor is much more important while running the amp than when the amp is off, but that seems to be besides the point.

It makes no difference on any amp I know of whether the headphones are plugged in or not with regards to whether the various caps in the amp drain. Either they do or they dont, regardless of whether the headphones are plugged in.

The thump you hear on turn on&off is a voltage spike. Depending how good the spike is it could be harmless or it could be seriously huge (and harmful!) why risk it? Can you guarantee that no harm will be done to someone else without knowing what amp they have or anything else about their system?

 

[DynaMike]

I´d like to specify the "preamp question" - is the use of a tube amp which keeps the signal on both the preamp & headphone without a headphone plugged in harmful to the tubes / the amp in any way?