power amp remote turn-on

[wayne325]

Hello,

It seems that the large caps used in power supplies have a limited
lifetime and this problem is made worse by turning the amp on and
off each time it is used. Since I have Aleph 2s, leaving them on all the
time is not an option.

So, it seems there is the option of remote turn-on, whereby the amp
itself is not powered but the power supply is always energized.

I want to change the switch wiring and in parallel add a relay to do the
amp turn-on; the power supply would be energized whenever the
amps are plugged in. Of course I would retain the fuse as the primary
safety that can shut the whole thing down in case of problem.

I have a couple questions:

1) for an aleph 2, does one just power off the entire amp (ie everything
after the PS caps) with the
switch/relay, basically cutting all the amp from the PS? Or does one
just power off the output stage transistors - the voltage amp stays
powered up all the time.

2) is there a preferred relay for this purpose? I have 24V DC supply in
my preamp already so I would use 24V relays and wire the power amps
up to the preamp switch. I was looking at 8A relays but there are 20A
and 30A relays also and I prefer more overhead but want to have
high quality relays, I only need 2 so a couple extra dollars each does
not bother me.

3) Has anyone had bad experience with large turn-on/off pops
at the speakers as a result of this mod?

THanks for any replies!!!

 

[Nelson Pass]

The concern about the reliability of the big electrolytics is
not worth sleepless nights.

Over 35 years my experience is that they take a lot of abuse
and heat and last 15 to 30 years. I make no effort to extend
the life of capacitors, and when they die of old age I stick new
ones in.

 

[wayne325]

Nelson -

Always a thrill to read your musings, even more so when it's an answer
to a question I posed !!!!

Thanks for the info.

Given this I may still do the remote turn-on one day, just for the
"coolness" factor !!! But I will probably wait longer now, I have other
things on the go.

Cheers!!!

W.