Chris PC

Product to get rid of on/off spikes?

If you have a Mirage BPS-400 subwoofer connected to an AC toggle switch on the wall. Essentially a fully wired AC line "light switch ". I turn the subwoofer on and off via the switch. I imagine there is risk of a spike going through the AC line to the subwoofer each time you turn it on or off. I have sometimes heard a small spike at the sub on turn off, I don't recall hearing it upon turn on. Regardless, I would like to see if there is anything that could be installed on my line to eliminate the spikes. Looking for the least expensive unit. Is there anything you can use that would eliminate any on/off spikes and still allow proper, full voltage and current to the subwoofer?

Failing this, I may leave the subwoofer "on" in standby mode 24/7, but I would prefer not to. Sometimes I go without using the subwoofer for days. Sometimes longer if I'm busy. I don't see the point in leaving something powered for no reason. Also, I like having ALL of my equipment completely free from the AC line when not using it. Free from power surges, spikes and possibly some protection from lightening, although I imagine lightening could probably jump a light switch like it was nothing.

I know it doesn't take much power in stand-by, and if I have to, I will do it that way, but its nice to not have anything using any power at all. I am partial to using less electricity rather than more. I wish the product was able to be turned on and off. My subwoofer recently blew some output transistors after 3 years. I wouldn't be surprised if the turning it on and off repeatedly was what did it. I just don't think that should be the way it works. It should have a built-in spike absorber.

Anyhow, I'll look into line conditioners and the like.

thanx for any info

Chris PC

Curious about AC line conditioners or anything like that.

Chu Gai

Well you could try something fairly inexpensive to mitigate that spike like a ceramic capacitor wired across the AC line. Try a 0.01 uF, 500 volt one from Radio Shack. A more expensive solution would be to go to an electrical supply house and ask them about non-bouncing wall switches.

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

My Equipment List
“A nice mid-fi system,” according to an audiophile acquaintance.

See my reviews
SVS SBS/SCS-01 5.0 Home Theater Speaker Ensemble / SVS SB12-Plus: The Mouse that Roars
Four Subwoofers Face Off: SVS PB10-ISD Takes On A Few Competitors / Mini Review: Yamaha YST-MS50 Computer Speakers

See my tech articles
On Minimal EQ, Target Levels, and a Hard-Knee House Curve / In-Wall Wiring for your Home Theater
A Comprehensive Guide to Splicing Speaker Wire / House Curve: What it is, why you need it, how to do it

Chris PC

Hence the end of that sentence. Yeah, I figured as much I just sometimes think that if lightening hit something on the street and the transformer took most of the hit, if a residual voltage spike got through, it might not make it across. I'm sure an actual lightening hit that entered house AC could jump several feet. It travels hundreds from the clouds! Luckily so far, (knock on wood) we've never been hit

I'm going to turn the volume down alot on my subwoofer and compensate by setting the receiver level up when I calibrate. This way the subwoofer volume is low, and from now on, I won't turn off the power to my subwoofer until the light is red. I think that should do it. Also, hopefully setting the receivers sub pre-out level higher will prevent it from "automatically" turning off as it sometimes does. I'll also look into those capacitors and the non-bouncing wall switches.

I got my subwoofer back, fixed for $69.00 CDN (25% off is what Mirage did for me). I'll test it out and report about that in my Mirage subwoofer blew-up thread

Wayne A. Pflughaupt

My Equipment List
“A nice mid-fi system,” according to an audiophile acquaintance.

See my reviews
SVS SBS/SCS-01 5.0 Home Theater Speaker Ensemble / SVS SB12-Plus: The Mouse that Roars
Four Subwoofers Face Off: SVS PB10-ISD Takes On A Few Competitors / Mini Review: Yamaha YST-MS50 Computer Speakers

See my tech articles
On Minimal EQ, Target Levels, and a Hard-Knee House Curve / In-Wall Wiring for your Home Theater
A Comprehensive Guide to Splicing Speaker Wire / House Curve: What it is, why you need it, how to do it

Chris PC

True. I wasn't trying to be a smarty pantz with my quote and bold type. I just meant I was disappointed. I realize the risk. At least they are free from most voltage spikes for sure. I turned down my subwoofer volume control and of course, once the receiver is off (via remote) and the subwoofer light goes red, turning off the wall switch to my subwoofer does not results in any "spike" or faint "whump" sound from the subwoofer. I have some calibrating to do and some decisions to make concering sound quality though. My mains alone sound better than using the subwoofer, but I'm not sure if this is because of the receivers crossover, the fact that not using source direct means my analog CD player output goes through too many a to d and d to a conversions, or simply because subwoofer placement and calibration is not maximized yet. I'll ask elsewhere. Here in this thread I was curious about preventing AC line spikes from reaching my subwoofer when I cut power to it. For now, turning the sub volume down AND only cutting power to the sub when its light is red appears to work perfectly.

thanx