Powering on Stagesource speakers safely/correctly.

[JLondon]

Is it safe to leave the Stagesource speaker's switch on with at a previously set volume and power them on/off from a common switch in the studio? 

 

Nothing else would be turned on with the speakers.  In other words when turned on, there would be no outside load on the speakers.  Only the previously set vol level of the speaker itself.

 

Or do I have to power them on with the vol at 0 and turn them up individually (which is what I've been doing)?

 

I'm a newbie to P.A. system so please don't laugh if this a really stupid question.  It's just that long ago and far away I managed a bar/club that would have a band occasionally.  So one time when I came in to open up and I turned on all the power switches I blew something in the band's system that was very expensive.  Something about having to turn things on in a certain order and the speakers not being under load.  I'm sure technology has come a long was since but I just wanted to make sure. 

[SiWatts69]

I *try* to always reduce volume to min prior to power down. FOr power up, I switch on, wait for the click of the switching power supply, then up the volume to the 12o'clock click.

 

Every now and then though, we manage to not follow the full routine and if (in error) the M20d gets powered down first, it *sometimes* yields a hefty "crack"/"pop" through the speaker chain.

[silverhead]

I don't turn volume levels down at power up/down. I leave the volume on the speakers notched.

 

However, I am careful about the order in which I power the speakers up/down vis-a-vis the M20d mixer. When powering up I work from the inside out, making sure the M20d is powered on and all inputs muted before I power up the speakers. Then I unmute the inputs. When powering down I do the reverse; first Mute All on the mixer, then the speakers go off, then the mixer. This sequence avoids the nasty pops that SiWatts69 describes.

[SiWatts69]

Silverhead describes the same routine (in full) I use, but every now and then, someone forgets and goes to switch off the M20d first. I've noticed no discernible difference or gain from turning the speakers down, but do so for good practise... as it means it becomes habit to switch on then turn up, rather than assuming that the volume is still on its notched position.

 

When it's just me doing a pa hire job, the routine is always followed. It only ever goes awry when it's our band playing and the rest of the lads are trying to be helpful!