Amp switcher

Dhoff01

I saw the 100wpc on the Niles at a reseller's website. it's obviously in error according to your note on the Niles website saying otherwise.

I probably will try to pick up a Niles as well for I have a similar situation of joining 2 rigs onto one pair of mains.

I posted on this several months back and got far fewer results. google wasn't any help either.

Hopefully the Niles unit is good stuff... now which speaker cables to use and where to put it.

The main issue I have is a tube amp must have a speaker load on its outputs anytime it is on.If your listening to music and decide to watch tv and switch over from the tube amp to your SS amp without shutting the tube amp down first way in advance is an accident waiting to happen.If a show comes on and you jump the gun on switching the speakers from the tube amp,there is a good risk of blowing you tube amp output transformers by taking the speaker load off of the tube amp.Also speaker switches sometimes make poor connections.Some tube gear in the 50's and 60's had speaker switches and once in a while they would make a poor connection and fry the outputs.It looks like a A/B switch to me.I just don't want you to damage your tube amp.LINK[http://www.nilesaudio.com/images/PDF/DPS-1_Cutsheet.pdf]

Hifitime

I sure do appreciate the concern, I must say I've some reservations... with my mono blocks at least.

My butler TDB 5150 apparently has some built in safeguards so that amps which are energized yet not connected to a speaker load are safe.... well so far anyhow. I use it as a 3 ch amp for HT and use the other two ch as a 'change of pace' amp for stereo listening with a better preamp being attached to it. In each case though, I’ve got to move two pair of spkr wires from either the Butler to the Dodds or vice versa… and it’s pretty tight back in behind that rach and gear.

As all the electronics I use are in an adjacent room, save for the speakers, sub and projector & screen, I’d have to go into that room to push the button to make the switch over from one set of amps to another set… so there’s that… I suspect if prior to that procedure I energize the Dodds I could be in trouble…

so I’d wait… push the Niles button and THEN energize the Dodds.

The obvious concern then, is the switching mechanism inside the Niles box of course, and if theres’ any chance at all of some shorting or feeding back, taking place.

Sounds like the safe approach is as Blindjim suggests. Blindjim - if you do decide to get the Niles, please post an update with your thoughts.

Thanks again!

Dhoff01

I'll make a note of doing just that. But some back ground researching first with both niles and my tube amp maker.

The default path for no possible issues would be of course to shut down or have alrady shut down each amp being switched. That way poses me no problems and I'd feel safer doing just that.... shut down the in use amp, make the shift on the Niles, and then start up the other amp (s)... as I'd suspect in most cases the Niles box would be in close proximity to the amps anyhow..

The only short coming then is the warm up time for the then chosen amps to rise up properly for playing, which could be forgone if the Niles box is foolproof with it's switching mechanism with any amp topology attached to it.

My fail safe method does at least alieviate the need for switching around speaker cables and in my case that would be really nice all by itself. Once I get past having to buy more speaker cables of course!