Speaker 'Pop' when turning Monitor Controller Off

[Rough Slope]

Hello there. I’m on the hunt for some advice if I may on an issue (quite possibly a schoolboy error) that has recently cropped up but that I’d like to resolve before I do some damage to something …

I recently decided to try something different and swap out my pair of KRK Rokit 5 active monitors for a Quad 303 amp/Yamaha NS10M combination. Between my audio interface and the amp is a Palmer Monicon XL monitor controller (I’d posted on the forum previously about the hook up of the controller to a Quad 405 amp), and signal-wise all is working and the combination sounds fine. The issue I have is a troublingly loud ‘pop’, I’m sure from the speakers, whenever I flick the monitor controller power off - even if by that time I have done all of turning volume down, deselecting the output on the controller to the amp and powering off the amp first. Not an issue that I had with the Rokit 5s, which were the first thing to be switched off in my old set-up.

Grateful if anyone can offer any advice – possibly a silly question/issue on my part, but I’d really rather not risk doing the speakers some damage.

Thank you very much.
Neil

[Sam Spoons]

It's convention to switch power amps on first and off last to avoid such pops so turn the Quad off before you switch off the monitor controller.

[Hugh Robjohns]

I think he said he did that.

The Quad will take a good few seconds to die after switch off and it has no muting relay, so any audio 'thumps' from upstream equipment may be heard if turned off too soon after the power amp.

It's also possible that the unbalanced wiring to the quad picks up rf interference from power switch arcing, and that may well be worse if you're deselected the quad destination at the monitor controller, as it probably leaves the cable unterminated and more like an aerial.

Unless the pop is REALLY loud, it's unlikely to do any damage... but I'd give your quad 30 seconds to discharge before turning other gear off to avoid the clicks completely.

[Wonks]

You probably tried (but I'll ask just in case) does using the mute button make any difference?

[Rough Slope]

Thanks all - much appreciated. "Amp on last, off first" has been my practice (and muting didn't make any difference as it happens), but I'll not be so hasty knocking everything else off afterwards next time.

All the best,
Neil

[Sam Spoons]

Apologies, must read more carefully before replying

My next suggestion was going to be how long after switching the Quad off do you turn the controller off but Hugh has already covered that.

[tomas]

It's convention to switch power amps on first and off last

Shirley you mean vice versa.

[Wonks]

It's convention to switch power amps on first and off last

Shirley you mean vice versa.

To be fair he didn’t say whose convention.

[Sam Spoons]

It's convention to switch power amps on first and off last

Shirley you mean vice versa.

To be fair he didn’t say whose convention.