Help w/speaker thump + RLC 1040

[Club1820]

I need some help. Hoping someone has an idea as to what is going on.

I have the RLC-1040 with everything connected to it. 1095, 1068, 1060, & 1055 cd changer + M&K Sub. All units are connected to the appropriate input on the 1040.

I power up the 1040, everything but the amp & sub turn on first, then the amp & sub are turned on after a delay. But I get a speaker thump when the amp & sub power up. Why is this happening? Its not supposed to happen because of the delayed turn on. I have even extended the delay up to the max on the 1040 of 12 secs.

I contacted Rotel and they cant explain it. They said if the amps are delayed, there shouldnt be a thump.

Anyone else with a 1040 have this experience?

Thanks in advance!

[Kevin D]

Do you have the 1068 set to to come on when power is applied, not go into standby?

Try running a 12v trigger cable from the 1068 to the 1040, leave the power turned on on the 1040 and turn the 1068 on/off.. Do you still get a pop when the 1068 controls the delayed outlets?

Kevin D.

[Club1820]

Kevin, the 1068 has the power button pushed in. When I power up the 1040 the 1068 goes into standby. Is there a way to set it to power on? Would this fix the problem?

12v trigger - Actually you just reminded me that I had originally set it up this way. I had a 12v trigger to the 1040 from the 1068. I would power on the 1040, which powered on the 1068, which would control the delayed switches on the 1040 (1095 amp & sub). Yes, this caused a thump.

I think I recall also just leaving the 1040 on with this same 12v trigger set up and then hitting the power button on the 1068 as you suggest. If I "DID" try this at the time - still got a thump. I can try that again I guess to be sure.

In reality - is the 12v trigger from the 1068 to the 1040 even necessary? Since the 1040 already peforms the delayed turn on of the amps?

Tonight while messing around with it - only once did it not thump. I think it was when the 1068 powered on and didnt go into standby after hitting the power button on the 1040. ??? I don't know how I accomplished this because I dont think I did anything different. I basically stood there powering on & off the 1040 over & over again until ONE TIME the speakers didnt pop. Thought I hit pay dirt but couldnt do it again?

So perhaps your first question to me is the key?

[ICEMAN70]

My question is. Why don't you just leave the RLC 1040 ON 24/7? I think in the manual it recommends that you leave the unit on and leave it ON when everything is hooked up to it. To be honest with you, i had my unit for almost 7 months now and i never used the 12v trigger. I dont know why you find it necessary to have it hooked up?

[Kevin D]

Setup up menu, OTHER, POWER, ALWAYS ON.

This sets the 1068 to come on when power is applied. The whole point of the delay is so the preamp turns on before the amps. If it comes on in standby, the preamp is still off. I imagine you're kicking the 1040 on, waiting until the amps come on, and then turning on the 1068 which will give you a thump. In this situation you shouldn't need the 12v trigger as the lack of it makes the 1040 control the delayed outlets.

Kevin D.

[Club1820]

My question is. Why don't you just leave the RLC 1040 ON 24/7? I think in the manual it recommends that you leave the unit on and leave it ON when everything is hooked up to it. To be honest with you, i had my unit for almost 7 months now and i never used the 12v trigger. I dont know why you find it necessary to have it hooked up?

Iceman, I have been leaving it on since I hooked it up 2 months ago. And I dont have the 12v trigger connected. I just tried it initially (because the manual says you can), but it produced a pop. So I disconnected it.

When speaking to Rotel, they said there was no benefit to having it on all the time other than convenience. But, come to think of it, if you leave it on all the time - then yes the 12v trigger would make sense because you would then power up the 1068 - which then via 12v trigger powers up the amps.

Honestly, the only reason I'm thinking about not having the 1040 on all the time now is because my local utility company just jacked up their rates 23%! I know, how much power does the 1040 draw?

Kevin, your suggestion makes sense. The way I have it set up now is the 1068 in standby. So I power up the 1040. It powers up the 1068 to "standby" not "on". Then the delayed on of the amps - thus the thump because the 1068 is not "On" but in "standby".

I will try it and let you know.

Apart from the increase in "juice" rates, really I am looking for the least amount of "ON" buttons I need to push to turn on my system.

Thanks again.

[Club1820]

Kevin, as always - you were right. I changed the 1068 to "always on" and it then didnt produce a speaker pop. So simple.

This then leads me to my original speaker pop issue when I first hooked it up. Hope you dont mind further discussion about this.?

As Iceman70 indicated the manual says "We recommend the unit be left "on" at all times. Control power to your system and components using their own controls as you normally would".

Well I tried this as I mentioned before. 1040 always on. Everything else in standby including my amp button pushed in. 12v trigger from 1068 to 1040 to control the delayed outlets of the 1040.

I hit the remote of the 1068 to bring it out of standby. It then, via 12v, sends signal to 1040 to turn on its delayed outlets to the amps.

So now the 1068 is "ON". The 1040 turns on my amps. Then POP!

WHY???

[ICEMAN70]

I wonder if it could be a ground loop issue. Did you try to ground your system to the 1040? I think there is a system ground Plug in the back of the 1040 for you to ground everything. Maybe try that to see if the problem is still there. Also what is your volume on the 1068 when it first starts up, the default should be 45, mabe lower that to 30 to see what happens? Another suggestion would be to plug your amp into the wall outlet instead of 1040. Try these and see what happens.

[Kevin D]

So now the 1068 is "ON". The 1040 turns on my amps. Then POP!

WHY???

Hmmm.. Can you recreate that without the trigger? IE, if you have everything on (amps too) and toggle the power switch on the 1095, do you get a pop? How about removing and inserting the power plug with the 1095's switch on?

Next lets isolate the sub and 1095. Test with each one plugged in individually. Does only one or both produce the pop?

Kevin D.