Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Is it bad that I left my sub on for a few days

Hi there...I left my EP500 on for a few days...amp was pretty hot in the back... was that bad?

Only for your pocket via increased hydro bill. It will not hurt your amp, just waste power.

Try using the auto-on feature so that the sub automatically turns on and off when you turn your receiver on and off. You just need to make sure that the signal coming from your receiver is strong enough to trigger the auto-on.

I don't know that the EP500 has an auto on/off.

You are correct sir! From the manual:

The EP500/EP600 has an instantaneous Standby mode that enables itself whenever there is no signal input from your AV receiver or preamp. The Green LED POWER indicator does NOT change color when the EP500/EP600 enters its idle mode, however power consumption is reduced to 10 watts or less.

So the sub is ment to be left on at all times.

Nevertheless, if it's warm, it's still using power. That's why I set up the trigger output on my EP350.

The sub's just hot and bothered because you left it alone.

Unfortunately I have no trigger option on my receiver.

Hehe...

Thanks for the input everyone... I would think in standby it wouldn't be hot like that? Glad it's no biggie though.

Your thinking is correct; although the EP-500 is supposed to be left on in standby mode, it should be only slightly warm to the touch(mine is). If yours is really hot, you might contact Axiom directly for more info.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that the input wire wasn't plugged into the receiver...I was moving it for something, and forgot to plug it back into the receiver. I don't know if that matters.

And I'm slighty more of a moron then I thought... I just noticed I had that wire plugged into the line-out on the sub. Doings things in the dark = bad idea The sub still worked though for the few minutes I had it hooked up like that??

From what I understand either the line-in or the line-out will work. I have done the same thing.

I have an EP600 and two EP350v3's, the 600 is on all the time, the 350's are on Auto Sence mode. None of them are hot to the touch, maybe warm only. Something may be wrong with your sub.

I wouldn't worry about the sub amp plate being hot, it shouldn't cause any issues. The sub is functioning fine correct?

Some signs of amp failure
1) Subwoofer constantly blowing fuses
2) Subwoofer starts making "popping" sounds in standby.

the sub plate should not be hot, I've owned 6 different subs from Axiom, non of them are hot to the touch and left on all the time, I would consult Axiom to be sure.

The beauty of it is, you don't need a trigger out on your receiver if it has a switched outlet.

Will the switched outlet on most AVRs handle the currents needed by a big sub amp? I have no clue, just curious.

Oh, no you put a little 12V wall wart on the switched outlet and hook that up to the trigger port on the sub. You definitely don't run the sub directly off of that outlet.

What is this? Like a surge suppressor that would trip if too much current draw was happened?

Which part?

Let me see if I can clarify.

My EP350 is plugged into a wall outlet, as normal. I have a 12V ac/dc power adapter from Radio Shack plugged into my switched outlet on the receiver. That 12V adapter has a 1/8" (I think?) tip which plugs into the trigger port on the EP350. The power switch on the 350 is off. When the receiver turns on, current goes to the trigger port, which flips a relay (internal to the sub) which turns on the sub. At that point, the auto on/off (based on input level) takes over.

That clears it up very well. I did not realize some subs have a low voltage trigger that that actuates a relay to turn on the 120v circuit. Makes sense now. Thanks

Is this in place of an Auto switch on a sub, or in addition in case a particular amp does not trigger a sub thru the audio cable?

I use it in addition, but I suspect it's supposed to be in place of.

Maybe it's a subjective level of hot. I mean, it feels hot..it does not burn, but I wouldn't say "warm". I do have a second ep500. I will plug that one in, and leave them both on for a bit,not in use..and see if they get to the same temp.

Thanks for all the input

Now that my subs are set to Auto and the little green light is off, I know I'll be saving enough to pay off my new Axioms in, say
40 years. Well at 55, the Axioms have better odds of lasting forty years than I do.

!!

If you are that paranoid about the temperature I think there are devices you can buy that would take the temperature of the amp. I am sure there is somebody on this board would know the name of the device. I believe anything above 123/4/5 degrees (I could be wrong) you should then worry. I would take the bet your subwoofer is not running that hot.

You could get a digital meat thermometer for $4 or less, then duct tape it to the base of the heat sink on the back of you sub, if you wanted to put a number on the temperature.

fredk, my newest 500 apparently boasts this auto standby mode feature but my older 500 manual (with slightly different plate) doesn't indicate this feature. But the manual does say to leave it on at all times unless you're leaving for extended periods - making me think it has the same standy feature. Anyone know? Thanks

You should probably email Axiom to be sure. It could be you have an older model that does not have standby.

That would certainly explain the higher temp. I know my EP350 is quite warm when Its on for a while when I am not using it.

My 500 has an on/off switch, no standby, is there any way that I can make it come on when my receiver turns on so I can conserve?

See my multiple posts on trigger outputs. There's a couple in this thread.

Cam, the most recent EP500 has an auto-on circuit that is always engaged so there is no need for a switch.

However, the manual states that the sub uses 10w even in standby, so Ken's solution would reduce power consumption even more.

But then you have to turn it on 10 minutes before use to let the tubes warm up.







(kidding)

Mmmm... forbidden sandwich.

My tubes are always warm baby!

Ken (or anyone), could you please help me with exactly what I would need to set my EP500 up like you have with your EP350. The only thing I've found that looks like what you're talking about is this . You are far more knowledgeable than I am, and I don't know if this is what I require plus something else, or something totally different. If you could provide a link to what you purchased at RadioShack it would be very much appreciated.

Thank you

That's exactly what I have, along with this adapter. You can easily get away with a musch smaller 12V adapter (I think there's a 700mA one), but that'll do. BTW, they should give you the tip free with the adapter, no matter what the website says. I also used a short 2 prong extension cord (Radio Shack sells 1 footers!) to keep the wall wart off of the back of my receiver. Apart from that, follow your EP500 manual for the settings to use the trigger. My EP350 says to have the power switch set to off, but I don't know about the EP500. The tip needs to be positive (as far as I remember).

So if I have the connections right, I would use the small extension cord to go from one of the power outlets on the back of my 3808 to the 12V adapter, then the cable from the 12 V adapter somehow plugs into one end of the secondary adapter (that you linked to) and the other end of that adapter plugs into my EP500?

You got it. The 12V adapter is a universal unit that's sold with many available tips. Be careful with the polarity when you're hooking up the tip; it can go either center (forwardmost point) positive or negative. Make sure it's positive.

Your sub is just what the more technical folks here call "sad." Make it happy!

Cam,
Make sure the plug that inserts into the back of the EP500 is a 1/8" (3.5mm) mini mono plug. This is the plug with one black sleeve, not two. The tip is typically positive by design. Stereo mini plugs are not intended for triggering. The adaptor that is recommended by Ken would work. At Radio Shack, you can pick up a 12V adaptaplug-compatible power adapter and also pick up this adaptaplug.

For those with receivers or pre/pros that have 12V trigger outs, all you need is the trigger wire with these plugs on both ends. Problem is finding these wires at the proper lengths. After searching a while, I found these. I run a 50-ft trigger wire from the pre/pro to one of the two EP500s and then run a second trigger line from the first sub to the second. After you install the trigger wires, you turn the switches on back of the subs on; the indicator lights are red in this setup but turn green when the pre/pro turns both subs on simultaneously.

When relying on the lack of audio signal to put the sub into stanby mode, assuming it is the version with this capability, I agree with Randy that the amp plate should not be hot. I would consult Axiom on that one.

Cam,
I just searched whether the 3808 has trigger outs and it appears to have assignable 2 x 150mA +12v trigger outputs. You only need the trigger wires; no need to use a 12V adapter and switched outlet.

Looks like you got lucky, buddy! Yet another reason to like the 3808.

I leave my EP500 on 24/7 but I just found out that my Yamaha RX-V3800 has dual programmable +12V trigger outputs!
I have no idea how to connect them or program them but I guess it's good to have them.