I am interested in the DS Jr. connected directly to my amplifier (HCA-2), but I am concerned about power consumption when not listening. The DS Jr. doesn’t have a trigger output to turn on the amp, so it seems I would have to leave both the DS Jr. and amp turned on constantly so that I can play music on demand. Is there a recommended way to turn things on via an iPhone app when its time to listen?
No. Just turn the amp and DSJ off manually when you don’t want to listen. Turn them back on when you want to listen. Am I missing something here? Turning these things on and off doesn’t damage them. And the other thing, what you’re needing is a power control centre of some sort to do the power cycling control remotely. PS Audio does have hardware that does that. A web browser on your mobile device would be the control point for that.
My ideal setup would allow me to select a track to stream from the Tidal app (or Roon control app, etc) and the system would ‘wake up’, without me having to go over and manually power things on. If the DS Jr had a trigger output, it would be able to power up the amp on demand.
You do realise the DSJ uses about as much power in STBY mode as it does when in operation? Granted if you wanted to save power then a trigger on the DSJ to remotely power cycle your amplifier would be useful. But my guess that the extra cost of adding trigger support to DSJ would have paid for a lot of standby electricity time for your amp.
I use the method Brodric suggests, using a P5 Power Plant to activate the system (although supplying music or pressing the front panel standby button activates the DSJr).
Not to mention, per the manual, completely deactivating the power to the DSJr requires a three hour “warm up” period for everything to be back at maximum performance levels. (page 5)
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If I understood Ted correctly, its the Bridge II that uses so much power and generates the heat on the DSJ. If you don’t use the Bridge, perhaps it can be removed?
Yes, the bridge module can be removed - just be very careful to align it correctly if you ever put it back in. Obviously remove the power cord before playing inside. If you ever want to use the bridge again, wear an anti-static wristband while handling anything in the box (including the bridge) and store the bridge in a “nickel bag” or press it into (that black) conductive foam. If any of this doesn’t make sense or you don’t have an anti-static wristband you should probably leave it alone.
