Phantom power makes a popping sound

[Bassman Brad]

I haven't used condenser mics very much in quite a long time. But now that I'm trying to put together a home recording setup, I'll be using them a lot. Anyway, whenever I turn the phantom power switch either on or off (on my Presonus MP20), it makes a popping sound. I don't recall any of the live mixers that I've used or even my dbx ProVocal strip doing this when used with a condenser mic. Maybe it's just more noticable with the Presonus. I've noticed that, even if I first turn the gain for the channel all the way down, the pop is still there. And the pre is not plugged into a mixer, so I can't just pull down the fader to stop the sound from going to the speakers.

I don't really think that the popping sound is loud enough to do any damage to my speakers, so I'm not really worried about tearing anything up. But, since it's been so long since I've spent much time using condensers, I want to make sure that I'm following proper procedures. The only condenser mics that I have right now are cheapies, so it wouldn't be a devastating loss even if I did screw something up, but I still don't want to damage my mics. Besides, I'll be buying some higher quality condenser mics in the near future, and I figure that NOW is the time to review the proper procedures, and establish good work habits. I'm aware that you're not supposed to plug in a mic (or unplug one, either) with the phantom power engaged. Turning the power off to the whole preamp might stop the sound from coming through the speakers, although I can't see that this would be the right thing to do. That might be better for the speakers, but probably wouldn't be any better for the mic.

So, help me review some basics here, guys. The procedure would be to power on the preamp, plug in the condenser mic, and THEN turn on the phantom power (even if it makes the popping sound.) Right? Then, to switch to a different mic, I'd leave the main power to the preamp ON, switch the phantom power OFF (which would cause another pop), and then unplug the mic and plug in the next one that I'm going to use. Is this correct? Is there any additional advantage to turning the gain of that channel all the way down before turning the phantom power switch on or off, even though it doesn't seem to affect the loudness of the pop?

Thanks,
Brad

[MOFO Pro]

I've never turned phantom power on or off without hearing a click or a pop... if it's not popping your monitors it's perfectly normal... and plugging a mic into live phantom power will generally not produce devistaing results... but you're right in your statement that it's a bad idea...

Mind you... that's just my experience... there may be other here more enlightened... (I'm sure there are)

[Bassman Brad]

Yeah, I'll bet that there's always been a pop, but I think that I've just gotten into the habit of pulling down the volume to the mains before turning phantom power either on or off. Now that there's no mixer, I'm hearing the pop.

The procedures are correct, though, right? Just want to make sure.