Can one daisy chain mono amps power cords? (1 Viewer)

[Ron Boster]

As the title states, can I daisy chain the power cords in a series of Marantz MA-700 monoblock amps. Meaning run the power cord from amp #1 into the rear outlet on monoblock #2, then run monoblock #2 into the rear outlet of monoblock #3 etc.

Will this set-up damage the amps, or lessen their performance?

Thanks

Ron

 

[Miles_W]

Ron,

are the outlets switched or unswitched and what is the maximum draw on the outlet. I would probably not recommend doing this since you will probably limit current to all subsequent amps, unless it is specifically designed for this. Sorry I could not be more help!

Miles

 

[Jagan Seshadri]

Ron, I wouldn't do that, as the outlets on the back of electronics (i.e. pass-through outlets) are usually rated for lower current draw than your wall outlet. Also, the first monoblock from the wall outlet will have to pass through enough current to power all subsequent amplifiers on the chain, which would probably put you over the pass-through outlet's rating during peak demands in a movie/music recording.

However, daisy-chaining amplifiers would not degrade performance greatly unless the pass-through outlet limited current, which they normally don't do. But power distribution is always better done with a properly-rated power bar.

It's more because of degraded safety than degraded performance that you should stay away from daisy-chaining amplifier power lines.

-JNS

 

[GarryW]

I know that there have been articles in Stereophile Magazine about this, and you can do a search of Robert Fowkes postings to come up with more info, as he has asked about this before too.

I daisy chain 5 MA-500's Monoblocks and see little difference in performance.

 

[Allan Jayne]

You are probably daisy chaining the power cords of the amps so the switch on one amp can turn them all on and off.
But note that the power switch itself is probably the weak link when it comes to current handling capability! Too much current and the switch contacts could spark and overheat, possibly causing a fire.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Ron Boster]

Actually, I trigger the amps "on" or back to "stand by" with the Lexicon trigger output into amp one, then they are daisy chained through in and outs per the owner's manual.

The reason for the question is I'm looking at a balance power conditioner and wanted to conserve on the available outlets. The other option is to buy two BPC's to accomodate each amps power cord.

Thanks for all the input

Ron