Powering on and off Amps

[the1rmdman]

In my theater I have a rack of 5 Crown stereo amps that have a push button to turn them on and off. Can I just plug them into a power strip and use that to turn them all on at the same time?

[Les]

You probably wouldn't want to do that. I'm kind of out of my league on this one, but I suspect that button to be part of a very common system that turns your gear on one component at a time (usually at about a 1sec delay between each). This is very important and keeps you from tripping breakers from a sudden surge of power being requested by the amp rack(s).

[JohnHartman]

You also have to consider the power draw of each amplifier. Are they all plugged into the same outlet? Most consumer power strips are only rated for 15 amps and are only UL rated for "temporary" install.
You also risk the power strip's breaker choosing to trip at the worst time.

[museav]

Do you mean that each amp has a power switch or that there is one pushbutton that turns them all on? Which amps are they? Crown makes quite a few with a very wide range of power draw, including variations in inrush current during power on. How are the amps used? Do you run them all hard? Are they all amplifying the same signal or are some monitors and others mains or some sub and others mains?

On the positive side, most Crown amps have an integrated delay that varies from amp to amp so you can often put multiple amps on one switch and there will be some delay in when they power on. At the same time, depending upon the amps and how hard you run them, it would typically require more than a single 15A or 20A circuit to power five amps.

[Blah067]

Originally Posted by JohnHartman

You also risk the power strip's breaker choosing to trip at the worst time.

Been there done that...not fun.
Opening song for a band, and as they go into the chorus for the last time. BAM. Circuit breaker on the first power strip goes, dropped everything. Band had to go acapella...we joked with the other sound guy saying "If you wanted us to be quieter you could have just told us". Still embarrassing none the less...

[howlingwolf487]

Originally Posted by the1rmdman

In my theater I have a rack of 5 Crown stereo amps that have a push button to turn them on and off. Can I just plug them into a power strip and use that to turn them all on at the same time?

Could you possibly go into more detail?

Do the amps get switched on one-by-one OR do they all power on at the same time?

If they power on sequentially (one-after-the-other), then that button ensures that each amp has enough time to draw "X" amount of amps before another begins to, therefore averting a tripped breaker.

If they all power on simultaneously, then that button is essentially an "ON" button. Keep in mind, however, that the "power strip" they are plugged into now might also have cost hundreds/thousands of dollars so as to protect them better than the MOVs found in pretty much every other sub-$300 power distribution system out there. (The price range was an estimate, so don't jump on me for being incorrect there).

Let us know more info so we can help you out.

[the1rmdman]

The amps are all plugged into the same power strip. They get turned on by pressing the power button on each amp itself. When turned on they go thru a warm up and take a few seconds to get to full power. My question is would it be fine to just flip the switch on the power strip. I think they would still go thru the start up cycle so it would not overload the circuit but not sure.

[KeepOnTruckin]

in my expirence, if you have more than say 2 amps plugged into 1 circuit that probly has other stuff plugged into it as well, you will trip the breaker if you power them all on at once. So better to just turn them all on indevidually with like a 3 second pause in between each

[museav]

Knowing which amps, specific model and not just the manufacturer, would help. So would knowing what each amp powers, at least in a functional sense. There are not many situations where I would want five Crown amps run off one power strip or even one circuit.

The problem with just throwing the switch is likely to be inrush current, there is a sort of initial surge when the amp powers up and if multiple amps experience that at the same time it could trip a breaker. Many Crown amps have a slightly random delay on the power switching to help avoid this, but five of them may be pushing it.

[djclint]

Originally Posted by the1rmdman

The amps are all plugged into the same power strip. They get turned on by pressing the power button on each amp itself.

This is a 'power strip' and not a 'cheap power conditioner.' You need to start by investing in a cheap power conditioner ($100ish) to handle the consumption and then upgrade when you have more to play with later. My friend related a story where he saw a power strip glowing and pulsing to the beat. If you can afford 5 Crown amps, you can afford a PwrCond.

Originally Posted by the1rmdman

When turned on they go thru a warm up and take a few seconds to get to full power. My question is would it be fine to just flip the switch on the power strip. I think they would still go thru the start up cycle so it would not overload the circuit but not sure.

Why the big hurry? Get your setup done early if you do not have an intelligent shutdown system. I turn all volume to zero and kill each amp individually. On startup, I bring each one on after turning on PwrCond, bringing up volume to noon after the amp is on.