Hampden desktop speakers - any way to disable sleep mode?

awdboxer

I have a minor annoyance with these Hampden desktop speakers. Whenever there is no sound for 15-20 minutes, or however long, they go into a "power saving" mode. They're supposed to wake up if any sound is detected. However, I've noticed you have to usually play music for a few seconds before they kick back on. Any short sounds, like IM's, email/calendar alerts, go unnoticed.
Is there any way to disable the power saving mode and have the speakers always on?

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I'm not sure, but I'll ask for you.
Regards, Ken

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I received a rely from Polk CS that the power saving mode can't be switched off, sorry.
This is art of the guidelines necessary for the Energy Star certification.
Cheers, Ken

WilliamM2

Bummer, I was thinking of getting a pair to replace my aging computer speakers. But if I won't actually hear sounds from the computer when they go to sleep, they won't work well as desktop speakers.

Isn't that what they were designed for?

awdboxer

Yeah seems like a design flaw to me. It takes around 10 seconds of constant sound for the speakers to kick on after being in power save mode. Having to continuously play music all day to make sure you hear all your alerts etc seems a little silly.
Don't get me wrong, they're awesome speakers, but you would think there would be an option to either disable power save or extend the time it takes them to go to sleep.

[Deleted User]

Usually any "auto/on" function just takes a fraction of a second, let me check with Polk.

Orange

awdBoxer, the set I have also take longer than one would think they should. It has not really bothered me, though I can see why it might for some.

Mystery

Is there a schematics to disconnect the auto sensing thingy?
That will void the warranty though.

awdboxer

You would think there would be an app or something where you could control the timing, en/disable power saving, etc. It takes about 8 seconds of music playing for the speakers to kick on. Again, not a huge deal... but any notification/alert/IM/etc that have a short sound go unnoticed.

Mystery

awdboxer wrote: »

You would think there would be an app or something where you could control the timing, en/disable power saving, etc. It takes about 8 seconds of music playing for the speakers to kick on. Again, not a huge deal... but any notification/alert/IM/etc that have a short sound go unnoticed.

I meant, if you have the schematics, you may be able to disconnect that part by opening it up.

jmundo1217

I've been looking for a way to disable this option. I love the sound from these speakers but I am a week into using them and I am overly frustrated by the fact that they even go into standby mode in the middle of playing a youtube video. For you to wake them up sometimes you have to move the volume up or down. Does anyone really care about energy consumption on a pair of speakers? It takes too long to have them turn on, 1/3 of a song goes by before they come back on some times. We need to have the option of whether we want to save that energy or not vs the frustrating annoyance.

notnathan

I've got the same issue. Speakers go to sleep right in the middle of playing music from Spotify. I understand sleep after not using them for a few minutes, but not when there's obviously audio coming through.

notnathan

This fixed my issue with speakers going to sleep while playing audio (Mac, USB hookup): Audio Midi Setup app, select the USB DAC device for your Hampdens, make sure Master is not muted.

Mute doesn't stop the music from playing, but it does apparently stop the speakers from knowing any audio is active, so they go to sleep after 20 minutes or so. This also made them wake up more reliably when audio started playing, even via Airfoil on a network. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

mikefas

Makes answering Skype calls a pain. It's bad design.

awdboxer

They definitely didn't give the design as much thought as they should have. I get the power save feature, but at least give us the option to turn it off.
I have these plugged into my PS4 at times... they work great until they turn off after 20 minutes of constant sound
For whatever reason I guess they somehow don't register that they're active? It's very annoying having to turn them off/on every 20minutes.

lidorg

Folks,

Being a software engineer in my profession, I set out to devise a solution to this problem, and I'm happy to say that it looks like I found one - I was able, with the help of the mighty internet, to write a small windows program that runs in the background and plays a 10-second sound file every 15 minutes, preventing the speakers from ever going to sleep.

At this point you might ask - but doesn't it annoy you to have to hear that sound every 15 minutes ? It WOULD, except I used an audio software to create a single, very soft, 20Hz tone that is completely inaudible to you or me, but still registers as a valid signal for the speakers.

My solution is comprised of 3 files in total and I'd be happy to share it with anyone interested.

Cheers !

eastsidephoto

Just bought these Hampton Desktop speakers. awesome sound. but serious issues with random sleep mode! WTH! I have givenup entirely on the wireless option, that goes quiet every 2 seconds...so now I them plugged into macbook air with usb. first 6-8 songs, excellent...then all of a sudden off. If I go manually turn off the speaker, then turn it back on, it powers up. But cannot do that every minute. seems something is very wrong with these. anyone???

[Deleted User]

Hello,
Welcome to Polk's forum. The best place to begin is with Polk's CS department at either 1-800-377-7655 or via email to polkcs@polkaudio.com. They should be back on duty tomorrow morning.
Cheers, Ken

ScooterMan

The mac fix noted above does not help my Mac = mute is not on and my speakers still go to sleep in the middle of playing spotify - connection via usb

tonyb

ScooterMan wrote: »

The mac fix noted above does not help my Mac = mute is not on and my speakers still go to sleep in the middle of playing spotify - connection via usb

That might be your computer going to sleep. Change that in your power settings.

bdh_polk

having this exact problem when i listen to spotify -- shuts down even though there is sound coming out of the speakers. Really frustrating

Stonewater

I'm having the same issue sadly. I would love some way to fix this instead of using the 3.5 jack instead - the USB connection sounds so much better!

lidorg wrote: »

Folks,

Being a software engineer in my profession, I set out to devise a solution to this problem, and I'm happy to say that it looks like I found one - I was able, with the help of the mighty internet, to write a small windows program that runs in the background and plays a 10-second sound file every 15 minutes, preventing the speakers from ever going to sleep.

At this point you might ask - but doesn't it annoy you to have to hear that sound every 15 minutes ? It WOULD, except I used an audio software to create a single, very soft, 20Hz tone that is completely inaudible to you or me, but still registers as a valid signal for the speakers.

My solution is comprised of 3 files in total and I'd be happy to share it with anyone interested.

Cheers !

I would love those files if you are still active on this forum! I'll send you a PM.

lidorg

Folks, if you are running Windows, here's my solution:

Please download zip file from here. To install this solution:

1. Create C:\Tools if it does not already exist.
2. Copy the attached zip file into C:\Tools and extract there.
3. You should now have a file:
   
   C:\Tools\Speaker KeepAlive\install.reg
   
   
4. Double-click on install.reg and accept the changes to your registry.
5. Restart your computer
6. Enjoy :-)

Let me know if you need any help.

Please see my previous post for an explanation of what this does.

Cheers,
Lidor

jwlamorte

notnathan was on the right track. I used his advice but it didn't work. But he was close. Mac users need to open the Audio MIDI Setup application. Next, select USB Audio DAC on the left. Make sure the format is set to 2ch... then uncheck the Mu... checkbox and increase the volume for both channels. I increased my volume for both speakers halfway. They were all the way down and I suspect that this cause the signal to be too weak for the speakers to detect and as a result go to sleep after 20 minutes. So far, I've been listening to music for 50 minutes without touch the volume knob.

I have no idea how to fix this on Windows but I'm sure it the same.

I hope this helps. These speakers are now awesome. I'll try to attach an image below

D2Lo

good pointers here. I have t check my own levels now!

matthew9langton

lidorg wrote: »

Folks, if you are running Windows, here's my solution:

Please download zip file from here. To install this solution:

1. Create C:\Tools if it does not already exist.
2. Copy the attached zip file into C:\Tools and extract there.
3. You should now have a file:
   
   C:\Tools\Speaker KeepAlive\install.reg
   
   
4. Double-click on install.reg and accept the changes to your registry.
5. Restart your computer
6. Enjoy :-)

Let me know if you need any help.

Please see my previous post for an explanation of what this does.

Cheers,
Lidor

This works and I signed up to thank the poster. What a star.