Trigger Sequence Help Request

[derekj]

Greetings. I have an Emotiva XDA-1 DAC that I have been using with some vintage Yamaha gear, but I recently picked up an XSP-1 preamp, XPA-2 amp, and an ERC-2 CD player. I want to link them all with the 12v trigger cables and I'm not sure what order to do that in. I know I want the amp to turn on last, and turn off first, but beyond that, does it matter? Once hooked up, do I power-on with the standby button on the "first" component (whatever that ends up being), and then power-off witih the standby butotn on the amp? or would I select on/off from the same component all the time (I'm not sure if the amp is "smart" enough to turn off first when in a chain like that, unless you directly click it off first).

Lastly, I assume I don't want to complete the loop back from the last component to the first with an additionl trigger wire so that it is actually a loop, right? That seems like a bad idea, but I just want to confirm. The ports are labeled "in" and "out", which might imply that the signal only runs in one direction but I'm not sure, and the owners manuals are not clear on the subject.

thanks!

Derek

[AudioHTIT]

Assuming you’ll now use the XDA as a fixed level DAC into probably a balanced input on the XSP, I would run:
XSP-1 (out) —Trigger Cable —> (in) XDA-1 (out) —Trigger Cable —> (in) ERC-2 (out) —Trigger Cable —> (in) XPA-2 (no output)

You would then use the XSP-1 remote or standby button to power on the chain. There are probably other paths that would accomplish your goal, but this should meet it.

... and welcome to the Lounge Derek, I hope you enjoy you’re time here and your Emo gear! 👋

[stiehl11]

The easiest way is to daisy chain them: XSP-1, XDA-1, ERC-2, to XPA-2. If you turn on the XSP-1 then all your gear will turn on. If you turn on your XDA-1 then the only unit that won't turn on is the XSP-1.

[derekj]

Thanks. I am using the XDA as a fixed level DAC for the CD player and a Logitech Transporter streaming audio server, and the whole rig pushes a pair of recapped Polk RTA-12B speakers.

Last question - to power it all off, would I turn off the XPA Amp first and let it shut off "backwards", or do I still power it off from the first component in the chain?


thanks,
Derek

[mshump]

Whatever you use for the first in the ppower on chain, it is normally used for power off chain also.

Mark

[derekj]

thanks,
Derek

[KeithL]

First off... you definitely do not want to loop the last component back to the first one.

Here's the thing...

Equipment triggers are not generally what we would consider "intelligent".

The trigger signal itself is simply a 12 VDC voltage - and it is either there or not.

However, the exact sequence of events that occurs when a trigger signal is received is different for different equipment.

On our gear, each unit basically turns on when it receives a trigger signal, and starts sending out a trigger output as soon as it turns on.

As a result, if you chain multiple amplifiers, they will switch on one after the other, but other equipment (like the XSP-1) may have additional delays programmed.

(Turning the amp on last, and off first, makes sense with a lot of gear - but is not a big deal with our gear.)

You have.....

XSP-1

XPA-2

ERC-2

XDA-1

I'm assuming you have the signal outputs on XDA-1 and the ERC-2 connected to inputs on the XSP-1...

And that you have the main outputs on the XSP-1 connected to the inputs on the XPA-2...

(And I'm assuming you normally leave everything in Standby.)

(The preamp is normally considered to be the control center of things.)

You want to connect the trigger output from the XSP-1 to the trigger input on the XPA-2 (amp).

And you then want to chain the trigger output of the amp to the trigger inputs on the two source components.

This will turn the amplifier on when you turn the preamp on.

Then the amplifier will turn on the two source components.

It doesn't actually matter which wakes up more quickly.

Our amplifiers actually wake up rather quickly - and the amp won't make any nasty pops or anything like that when it wakes up.

The output of the XSP-1 preamp is actually muted until it finishes waking up - so, if the amp wakes up before the preamp, it will still be silent until the preamp un-mutes.

You don't have to worry about the source components because their outputs are connected to the preamp.

(So nothing from either source is going to reach the amplifier until the preamp wakes up - and then only if it is the selected source and is already playing something.)

It's also worth noting that, while a lot of people use the trigger output from the preamp to turn on the amp...

You really don't have to use the triggers on the two source components.

(You can simply turn on whichever one you want to use at the moment with its front panel Standby button.)

Nov 19, 2019 9:40:16 GMT -5 derekj said:

Greetings. I have an Emotiva XDA-1 DAC that I have been using with some vintage Yamaha gear, but I recently picked up an XSP-1 preamp, XPA-2 amp, and an ERC-2 CD player. I want to link them all with the 12v trigger cables and I'm not sure what order to do that in. I know I want the amp to turn on last, and turn off first, but beyond that, does it matter? Once hooked up, do I power-on with the standby button on the "first" component (whatever that ends up being), and then power-off witih the standby butotn on the amp? or would I select on/off from the same component all the time (I'm not sure if the amp is "smart" enough to turn off first when in a chain like that, unless you directly click it off first).

Lastly, I assume I don't want to complete the loop back from the last component to the first with an additionl trigger wire so that it is actually a loop, right? That seems like a bad idea, but I just want to confirm. The ports are labeled "in" and "out", which might imply that the signal only runs in one direction but I'm not sure, and the owners manuals are not clear on the subject.

thanks!

Derek