2. amps-preamps
  3. 1143525327

Which to turn on first...Amp or preamp?

Hoping someone can help me out. I have a tube preamp and solid state amp. I'm very new to tube equipment and have discovered that regardless of which unit I turn on first, be it the amp or the preamp, there is always some "electrical noise" from the speakers when I turn the second device on. If I turn the amp on first, followed by the preamp, I hear a slight buzz (I'm assuming this is the tubes warming up...?) followed by a low frequency noise that makes the woofers on my speakers push out and pull back to a large degree. If I reverse the order of turning the equipment on, I no longer hear the buzz, but the speakers still display the push/pull effect. This never occurred with my solid state preamp. Two questions....Is this normal? ...and....If it is normal, which unit should I be turning on first to do the least amount of damage to my speakers or equipment?

Any advice would be appreciated!
Tony
calgarian5355

Showing 1 response by stevecham

stevecham
3,340 posts
 
It has been well stated by my esteemed colleagues above, but another way to approach this is:

When powering up, work your way from source to end of the audio chain (speakers). Start tuning on at the beginning of the signal chain, i.e., the source (CD, tuner, phono pre) and then power on in the direction the signal will follow (the preamp next) and finally the last in the electronic chain (the amp).

When powering down, work your way back from the destination (speakers) to the source (next the preamp) and then the sources.

Power on from beginning to end.
Power off from end to beginning.
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