"Chaining" Audio Interfaces - Good or Bad Idea

upya

New member
Hi everyone and thank for your interest in my question!

I have just purchased my first pair of active studio monitors (new) along with a
2nd-hand Mbox2 Audio Interface. I purchased the interface so that I may specifically run balanced TRS cables rather than unbalanced. I have not yet setup any of it but my question arises from my pondering on how best to do so...

Wanting to protect my monitors & investment I understand it is best practice to turn off each speaker BEFORE anything else; and consequently turn ON each speaker after everything is is already up and running.

However, as I know myself to be OCD-AF until the moment I'm not - haha! I got to thinking perhaps there is benefit in running the monitors from the Mbox2 (Balanced) and in some manner utilize my now redundant Scarlet Solo (Gen.1) Interface as a kind of "buffer" of sorts - Perhaps this may prevent any accidental or unintentional POPS! and BANGS! albeit either from me or due to a blackout, windows auto-update restarts (no-lol) etc.

Can anyone recommend or not recommend if this is a good or bad idea?

Or, if you need more info, etc... I can draw diagrams if req'd...


Thank you very much


FYI, I am new to this forum and knowing enough to have a quick browse at the categories before posting, afterwards I thought this would be the most appropriate place to ask although I'm aware it probably, technically, sits right on the line.

If you know of or consider a different area to be a better spot to ask, please let me know and I'll make the corrections.
 
What monitors did you purchase? If you are OCD, I would think you might have mentioned the most important information? LOL!

Anyway, if you have active 'self powered' monitors, you can just turn them off by their own switches or a power strip feeding them. They will shut down without speaker damage.

If you have passive monitors with an external power amp, you would want to shut down the amp before powering off any input to it.

It is really that simple.

And make sure all of the screws on your outlet covers are facing North! I am a bit OCD myself. :)
 
There is a moral here? Don't buy shit kit! And by that I don't mean you have to buy only top end gear just stuff that is deigned with a modicum of intelligence. In the last ten years or so my setup (well, my son's really) has been a soundcard and budget mixer feeding monitors, a much better A&H mixer, then a Behringer BCA 2000 AI feeding the monitors. Now it is an NI KA6 feeding a BK controller to monitors. In all those permutations ALL the kit turned on from two switches on a 13A double outlet and there were no pops or bangs. The monitors throughout all these changes were Tannoy 5As and THEY turn on and off with the merest 'fufff' Note, none of that is expensive gear by any stretch.

So, if you buy an AI that DOES send a massive transient to your monitors? SEND the Fekker back and TELL them why. Same goes for 'bangin'' speakers, simply should not happen.

One easy and cheap way to control your kit is a wireless mains switch. You can get 3 and 4 way ones and so turn gear on and off in sequence as you like.

Dave.
 
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