STA-100 Question. Any owners here?

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Genez

STA-100 Question. Any owners here?
« on: 21 Sep 2014, 12:25 am »
My STA-100 amp has been in my system for several months.  I also have the HAP-100 preamp.  The Nuforce remote turns off both the amp and preamp.  The power switches in the back of the units remain turned on when shutting down with the remote.

When the equipment is turned off by the remote it places the equipment into what some refer to as a "soft off."  Its a type of standby that is done to give longevity to digital section of the components.  Just the other day I noticed after being turned off all day that the STA-100 amp still was warm to touch.  Anyone else notice this with theirs?

Other than that concern, the combination sounds superb! 

Thanks,  Gene

ricardojoa

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Re: STA-100 Question. Any owners here?
« Reply #1 on: 21 Sep 2014, 04:17 am »
Are you sure that the STA amp turns off as well? Does the light goes off?
Im not aware of that feature though. Maybe all you are turning off is the preamp?

Genez

Re: STA-100 Question. Any owners here?
« Reply #2 on: 21 Sep 2014, 05:36 am »
Yes, the light does go off on the STA-100.  The remote is designed to control an internal on-off feature of both pieces. When turned off with the remote it actually places them in a standby mode.   

Do you have a STA-100?  If you switch it off from the back its called a hard switching.   All current is stopped.   With the remote, it switches the equipment into a standby mode even though the light goes off.  NuForce support once explained the following to me when I asked about always turning off the my audio equipment via my power conditioner's main switch.   When turning the power back on the HAP-100's light would switch instantly on, then back off again. I would then need to turn it on via the remote.  I asked why.  Here is what I was told...


"This is the appropriate operation of the device. Nearly all digital equipment operate with a power supply main on switch, and a soft switch. The circuit is activated with a tiny amount of power when the hard switch is on, and then the soft switch in front of the device simply activates a series of power stages to more smoothly fully power on the system.

Hard switches were eliminated because they are very hard on digital circuits and frequent turning on and turning off causes them to wear out much sooner. Thus, most devices are never really off, but rather in standby mode. The brief flash is what you see when the device first powers on and then goes to standby mode.

It is highly advisable that you refrain from using the main power switch to turn off the device."

... I just never noticed the STA staying warm in the off mode before.  That is why I was asking my question. The HAP gets cold.

Thanks,   Gene

John Casler

Re: STA-100 Question. Any owners here?
« Reply #3 on: 21 Sep 2014, 07:45 pm »
I checked with Casey and here is what he said:

Yes, the remote of HAP-100 or DAC-80/100 will turn off the STA-100 into
stand-by and bring up to active as well. This is a design feature for
seamless integration.

The 'slight warm' is because the STA-100 switching power supply remains
on, while the amp itself is off, it is probably consuming 1W or power at
that time, and contributing to the warm.

When you do a 'hard AC on off' via the back switch it will overwrite the
remote on/off.

Casey

Genez

Re: STA-100 Question. Any owners here?
« Reply #4 on: 21 Sep 2014, 09:26 pm »
Casey,

Thanks for your response..


To me it seems a little more than slightly warm.  That is why I am trying to find out if anyone else here owns one.   

Oddly,  I have noticed after playing it for some time, that right after shutting it off it can actually feel less warm. Like it drains off heat while playing.   :scratch:

I think it may have to do with the nature of the switching supply.  It likes to be working, not idling.

Otherwise... this is one excellent sounding combination!