CorOS Version: 4.0
Describe your issue:
I’ve the strangest issue, that could well be my own ignorance - my new QC sounds great, I have none of the ‘known’ noise issues. But my issue relates to when the QC has no power or USB connected, only the XLR outputs - the QC is plugged directly into my Tannoy Gold 7 Monitors - these have an auto-standby function which comes into effect after a few minutes of no activity - this was the case when my Tascam Model 12 mixer was plugged into them. But when my QC is plugged into them, they never go into stand-by mode, even when there’s no power supply/USB attached (the same is true when they are attached) - I’m using the same cables, so I can’t seem to isolate the issue - can anyone advise what I’m doing wrong?
Steps to reproduce your issue:
- per above, using the Tascam Model 12 with the same cables etc, the monitors follow the auto-standby function as expected
I expected this to happen:
the Gold 7 monitors to go into auto-standby appropriately
Thanks in advance.
Hello, and welcome. I’m putting on the electrical engineer hat for this discussion.
Rule Number One of Audio Gear that needs to be repeated until the very end of this age of the earth: ALWAYS shut down your monitors before shutting down what’s going into them.
But to address your concern directly, the QC is composed of a circuit board and wires. Completely unpowered, there’s a possibility that it may be acting as an antenna for EMI, which is being detected by the monitors via the XLR connection.
In other words, imagine attaching a network of metal wires to the input of the monitors while they’re powered on–why wouldn’t the monitors amplify whatever stray signal that wire set may be picking up?
I want to stress that, even if you don’t have this issue when plugging in a separate piece of audio equipment like your Model 12 mixer, that doesn’t mean that the QC is designed poorly. [i.e. it’s not a “bug”.] It just means that some pieces of equipment do this, and some don’t. That may also depend on little things like the electricity in your recording environment, what type of cables used and their length, whether or not equipment is grounded, etc.
…And that’s the reason for the rule. Same applies for large live venue systems as well as small recording desk scenarios. I get that the auto-standby feature on the Tannoy Gold 7 monitors is a selling point and meant for convenience, but it’s based on a misunderstanding of audio workflow.
I hope this helps, though it’s inconvenient. If I come off a little strong in this post, I’m sorry. We have had this discussion many times in the forum.
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No, that’s really helpful. I appreciate the reply.