subwoofer always on - OK?

[neckedness]

When the subwoofer is on, but the receiver is off, does it still draw same wattage? Will I use much wasted electricity?

I wish they would design the woofer to turn off or on along with the receiver automatically.

[gearyt]

It is absolutly OK to leave it on. Things break when you turn them on and off. Inrush current / heat expansion, etc. Current consumption will be low and rise with an increased signal

[moviefan]

Originally Posted by neckedness

When the subwoofer is on, but the receiver is off, does it still draw same wattage? Will I use much wasted electricity?

I wish they would design the woofer to turn off or on along with the receiver automatically.

Most subwoofers are in "standby mode" whenever they are plugged in.
When it receives an audio signal from the receiver, it goes to full-on.
Standby power consumption is very low.
Yours may have this feature or not ... check the owners manual.

[richteer]

Originally Posted by neckedness

When the subwoofer is on, but the receiver is off, does it still draw same wattage? Will I use much wasted electricity?

I wish they would design the woofer to turn off or on along with the receiver automatically.

Yes, the sub will always draw some power when it is turned on, even when it is quiescent. I think some subs go into sleep mode after a certain amount of inactivity, so that might help.

[clyon]

Originally Posted by richteer

Yes, the sub will always draw some power when it is turned on, even when it is quiescent. I think some subs go into sleep mode after a certain amount of inactivity, so that might help.

It is also not good to unplug them for long times, I found out the hard way. I had a sub that I rarly used, so I ununpluged it, 3 months later, I pluged it in & now the 2 main transformers will not hold a charge any more, so it is mostly worthless now.

[gearyt]

Originally Posted by clyon

It is also not good to unplug them for long times, I found out the hard way. I had a sub that I rarly used, so I ununpluged it, 3 months later, I pluged it in & now the 2 main transformers will not hold a charge any more, so it is mostly worthless now.

HUH ??? transformers are just coils of wire, Unplugging was not the cause of your problem

[clyon]

Originally Posted by gearyt

HUH ??? transformers are just coils of wire, Unplugging was not the cause of your problem

Yes your right, it is the Capacitors that are not holding the charge, it just came too me, I sometimes get the names mixed up

[Joe Redifer]

I leave mine "full on" all the time. I disapprove of the standby mode. It has been "full on" for about 8 years now and it's perfectly fine.

[neckedness]

Thanks for all the replies. I just found out that my subwoofer does not have an auto shutoff/standby mode. I checked service manual and there's no mention of it. Also from this site is another user who also confirms.

http://www.agoraquest.com/viewtopic....d2=electronics

The LED remains green even when reciever is off. So it must be using 100 Watts non stop. I had always left it on since I bought this thing.

This is not good, anybody have a good woofer to replace this Sony SA-WM250 with that have standby mode?

[powersfoss]

Originally Posted by neckedness

When the subwoofer is on, but the receiver is off, does it still draw same wattage? Will I use much wasted electricity?

I wish they would design the woofer to turn off or on along with the receiver automatically.

Many receivers have a power outlet built into the back of them so that you can leave your sub "on" and plugged into the back of your receiver and it will only get power when you turn on your receiver. I was thankful mine has this feature as I found it a pain in the ass to have to manually turn it on every time with my old setup.

[neckedness]

Originally Posted by powersfoss

Many receivers have a power outlet built into the back of them so that you can leave your sub "on" and plugged into the back of your receiver and it will only get power when you turn on your receiver. I was thankful mine has this feature as I found it a pain in the ass to have to manually turn it on every time with my old setup.

Hey you right! I might have to check my receiver, the 605.
Nope it dont' have it.

[ClaytonMG]

Originally Posted by powersfoss

Many receivers have a power outlet built into the back of them so that you can leave your sub "on" and plugged into the back of your receiver and it will only get power when you turn on your receiver. I was thankful mine has this feature as I found it a pain in the ass to have to manually turn it on every time with my old setup.

Uhhh, that's the same thing as hard cutting off the power to the subwoofer. That'd be like unplugging it and plugging it back in when it's turned on. Probably not the best idea.

[neckedness]

Originally Posted by ClaytonMG

Uhhh, that's the same thing as hard cutting off the power to the subwoofer. That'd be like unplugging it and plugging it back in when it's turned on. Probably not the best idea.

You also right. Wouldn't that make the popping sound from woofer? Set reciever to start low volume would fix that right.

[RBFC]

If you plug your sub into your receiver, be sure that the rated wattage draw for the receiver's convenience AC outlet is more than sufficient for the sub.

Lee

[powersfoss]

Originally Posted by RBFC

If you plug your sub into your receiver, be sure that the rated wattage draw for the receiver's convenience AC outlet is more than sufficient for the sub.

Lee

Mine all fall within tolerances and I don't believe it does any harm. But, yes, check your ratings allowances first.

[Canada]

Why would it not be OK? The only thing I can see that happens with having a sub on all the time does is it will eat a tiny bit of electricity.

[MaleManGuy]

Originally Posted by neckedness

When the subwoofer is on, but the receiver is off, does it still draw same wattage? Will I use much wasted electricity?

I wish they would design the woofer to turn off or on along with the receiver automatically.

yup, in fact this is normally normal ;-)

[MouseRider]

Originally Posted by neckedness

The LED remains green even when reciever is off. So it must be using 100 Watts non stop. I had always left it on since I bought this thing.

No, that should not be the case.

If it is not amplifying anything, it would not be drawing anywhere near what the faceplate wattage rating specifies unless something is seriously wrong with your sub.

Wattage is equals to Voltage multiplied by Amperes.

Voltage from the wall doesn't or at least shouldn't change.

Amperes or current is drawn when your sub is doing work, the more work it does, the more current it will draw so the wattage goes up. Current isn't a constant, your sub will pull only as much as it needs when it is working correctly.

If your sub's power supply is rated at 100W, it means that it could draw up to a maximum of 0.91A probably 1A of current, if it isn't doing anything, i.e. no signal sent to it, it should only be drawing a trickle amount of current to power the electronics.

[ClaytonMG]

Originally Posted by neckedness

You also right. Wouldn't that make the popping sound from woofer? Set reciever to start low volume would fix that right.

No, it'd be just as bad. You'd basically be taking a subwoofer that's turned on, completely unplugging it, and then plugging it back in while it's still on. From the things I've read, you can very easily damage your subs that way. It'd be like a shock to the system. Hence the big thud that sometimes happens when you do that.