Thoughts on using a smart plug on intergrated amp.


I listen to music mostly at night before bed. My intergrated amp doesn't have a signal sense and doesn't turn off after music stops playing so when I wake up in the middle of the night I shut it off. What are your thoughts of using a smart plug on the amp so I can set a sleep timer? What effect if any will it have on the audio? Will it cause any issues to the amp by turning power on/off this way?

rbull11

Is your system a high end audio system or a good sounding audio system. If the later... using a switched plug is probably OK. But I feel very comfortable in going out on a limb and saying it is definitely going to compromise the sound quality of a high end audio system. 

 

Provided it is not a tube amp, there probably isn't any downside to leaving it on unless it is a monster Class A amp. 

I think they are small and cheap and if you can’t hear it you can’t hear it.

This is the brand I use. You can even schedule it to turn itself off at specific times or events like sunrise/sunset.

I don't have one on my listening gear per se, but I have about 14 switches and smart plugs around the house and I definitely can't hear them degrade the sound.  If anything, compared to the old school dimmer switches I think they are a lot quieter physically and electrically.

I don’t know what amp/system you have but if your music stops playing and your amp goes into standby mode, what’s to fix? worry about it the next day. Some leave their amps on 24/7.  OTOH, if you have a class A amp, it won't go into any standby mode.

if you still want to try it, the question will be does it change the sound? i certainly would’t do it as i am a bit of a fanatic about good power. but if it has good contacts and conductors, it may not make a difference. If your amp has a power supply that does’t need bursts of high current to handle bass and dynamics, it may be fine.

The problem is, it won’t be easy to do A/B testing.

Jerry

I have a Micromega M-100 with AE 509 speakers. The reason I like the amp turnned off is so the display / lights turn off. My previous Rotel intergrated amp and my Arcam both had signal sense so when my music stopped they’d shut off 10 to 15 minutes later. I use an Alexa device to control my streamer and I have a Geeni  smart plug that is also Alexa controlled and can be used as a sleep timer..