Oil heater switching mutes the kemper for a couple of seconds

    This is a weird one. (And my first post!)

    I have a oil heated radiator in my little home studio. (Garage conversion)

    It is plugged into the same socket as the Kemper.

    It has a built in thermostat that turns the heater on when it gets below a certain temperature.

    When it comes on I lose my sound for a couple of seconds.

    I have my kemper connected to my focusrite 8i6 via SPIDIF. And that to my Mac mini running logic X.

    Any ideas??


    cheers

    Hi, Mandalorian.


    Welcome.


    What else is on the same electrical circuit? Have you checked the output from the AC power outlet?


    "I have my kemper connected to my focusrite 8i6 via SPIDIF. And that to my Mac mini running logic X."


    How does the sound from the Kemper reach your ears? (Headphones, powered speakers, or something else?)


    What model Kemper Profiler do you have?


    Unrelated to your question - here are some resources for you.

    Kemper Manuals and Quick Start guides

    Rig Manager Download and Documentation

    Kemper Tutorials & Demos


     Cheers,

    ST

    Thankyou for helping. I am using powered focal speakers to monitor.
    I have the power rack Kemper.
    All I have on that circuit is the mac/monitors/monitor speakers/focusrite. Kemper and the Oil radiator.


    Regarding call an electrician I am one lol.

    Its on a 32 amp ring that only powers that room and items.

    So plenty of power.


    These sort of issues arent what I usually deal with.

    The kemper doesnt actually go off. Its just the audio sound. So wondered if it was some kind of interference.

    Im considering splitting the ring into two separate radial circuits so that the heater can be on its own socket. But I wanted to check if anyone had this issue before I try it.

    Thankyou again

    Hi, Mandalorian.


    The sound interruption could be happening after the Kemper Profiler.


    If you use headphones connected directly to the Kemper Profiler, does the sound mute when the heater switches on?

    Oil radiator or not , there´s nothing wrong to have a Furman™ power conditioner

    or / and a UPS for you recording gear :thumbup:

    Better safe than sorrow .......


    Cheers !

    The adjective for metal is metallic. But not so for iron ... which is ironic.

    Like 3

    I tried a few things today.


    First up I plugged all my equipment in a Monster HTS800 power conditioning extension lead.


    Logic without Kemper attached and on internal clock. No problems


    Logic with Kemper connected via SPDIF. The issue happens - mutes the sound only for about 2 seconds when the heater is turned on. ( turning the thermostat round until the heater comes on)


    Kemper on its own with guitar through headphones (Logic and Mac not connected) No issue


    Plugged the heater into another socket on a different circuit still has the problem

    Brought in another oil heater (smaller one) and it did the same.


    Took the heater into the house and plugged in, with the Kemper attached to Logic via SPIDIF in the outbuilding. No problem


    I found someone online who had the same problem with SPDIF and another piece of sound equipment. But no resolution to the problem.

    My SPIDIF cables are less than 2 metres long, so its not like they are huge. I wonder if they are picking up interference?

    Hi, Mandalorian.


    I doubt the Monster HTS800 is doing anything to prevent transient voltage or current drops. Can you put a meter on the AC outlet to see what happens when the heater comes on? What is the change in voltage and current?


    Are you powering the Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 via USB? Have you tried using an external power supply?

    Quote from Mandalorian

    It has a built in thermostat that turns the heater on when it gets below a certain temperature.

    When it comes on I lose my sound for a couple of seconds.

    I have my kemper connected to my focusrite 8i6 via SPIDIF. And that to my Mac mini running logic X.

    Two possible causes for your issue:

    a) power drop - the heater pulling so much power in its switching-on phase (starting the oil fire may require significant electrical power initially) that the voltage in the segment drops for a moment. That could possibly cause issues, with the S/PDIF connection getting confused and needing some time to re-establish sync. I'm not sure about that one - such a power drop would probably create issues with other parts of your equipment as well, not only the S/PDIF connection. A power drop like this is difficult to fix with a simple conditioning plugbox like the Monster HTS800 or a power conditioner like a Furman - these only smooth out peaks and transients in your power supply. For voltage drops, you'll probably need something battery-buffered like a UPS.


    b) interference - the switching-on phase of the heater creating electrical interference that messes up your S/PDIF connection. Are you using genuine S/PDIF cables or are you simply re-using cinch-type audio cables for the S/PDIF connection? In this case, getting dedicated S/PDIF cables could help - they're usually shielded better than simple audio cables. The alternative could simply be to connect your Kemper to your audio interface via an audio connection from its XLR out. TBH, I wouldn't be worried about that little bit of noise from the two conversions - especially when we're talking cranked amps. I find all this fiddling with S/PDIF far more time-consuming and error-prone than simply connecting audio cables - and I challenge anyone to hear the difference in a mix ;)


    Cheers,


    Torsten

    Thankyou both for you replies and help in finding the issue. I will get my fluke tester out and check the voltage.

    I do use the external power supply on the 8i6 already.

    I also bought genuine SPIDIF cables.


    I will also look into using audio cables too.


    Really appreciate your help and the time you have put into helping me.


    Cheers

    When the heater turns on, the voltage is dropping by 2 volts.
    The voltage at my place is 250v and its dropping to 248v. I wouldnt have thought that was significant enough, but I’m open to being corrected.


    I have a feeling its the interference that is causing the problem.

    I will try recording the through the balanced outputs this weekend.


    Thanks again.

    Hi,


    Are you sure it's not your audio interface that's causing the problem? I had the same thing with my Apogee Ensemble years ago, it would lose its firewire connection to my Mac for a couple of seconds when any other electrical device (lights, water cooker) got turned on that was connected to the same voltage group.

    Quote from KnoxHarrington

    Hi,


    Are you sure it's not your audio interface that's causing the problem? I had the same thing with my Apogee Ensemble years ago, it would lose its firewire connection to my Mac for a couple of seconds when any other electrical device (lights, water cooker) got turned on that was connected to the same voltage group.

    Funnily enough it did a couple of days ago without the oil radiator plugged in! So you may be right. It only happens when I have connected the kemper via spidif . But not with kemper disconnected at the kemper or mac end.