I've always understood that electronic devices wear out as a result of thermal cycles rather than continual service. If that is so, leave everything on. Products vary but the cost of energy relative to the cost of these toys is minimal. |
This has already been extensively covered in these forums. A quick search should find you more than you really want to know ;~)) |
I am speaking from the viewpoint of an electical engineering consultant who designs audio gear for a living. It is true that thermal cyles will cause electronics to break down. The shock of turn on and turn off is even more dramatic. However, if the equipment is designed properly, neither of these should be a concern. If the gear runs hot, that is warm enough to put your hand on it and say "YO! that is pretty hot!" yet not burn yourself, then it should be off. If you have tube gear, it will sound a lot better the first 30 or 40 minutes if you leave it on, however their lifespand is dictated by hours of on time, regardless of whether they have signal running through them or not.
For my own equipment here at the house, I leave the solid state stuff on all the time playing FM even when I am not at home. I think my two dogs have gotten to love jazz now. For my tube gear, it is off unless I am sitting in front of it. None of my stuff runs excessively warm due to inadequate design.
By the way, if you put your hand on a piece of equipment and it runs so hot you can't hold your hand on it, get rid of it and buy something which is better designed. That piece will fail and there is no big mystery in moving heat away from electronics, they simply just didn't do it. Tube gear, of course, is an exception to this rule.
RobertD |
Thank you for these answers !
And I'll have a look on other topics ;-) |
Sorry, Nsgarch, but I still didn't haven't found anything about taht subject.
So, if you come back here, could you please resume the general opinion about that question, and mainly your's ?
Thank you ! |
Nsgarch is correct this subject has been covered to the point of exhaustion.
Chuck |
ok ! But I haven't found anything about that after 2 hours of research !!!
So... |
Adhoc, here are a few threads to get you started.
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1114405772&read&keyw&zzleaving+equipment+on
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1133545525&read&keyw&zzalways+equipment+turned
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1106474394&read&keyw&zzalways+equipment+turned
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1137436503&read&keyw&zzalways+equipment+turned
If you have more questions, then come back here and ask.
Neil
. |
Thanks a lot, Nsgarch !
With your links I have found all I expected :-)
Jean-Luc |
Thanks for the post RobertD - I do the exact same with tubes and SS. |
I just spoke to nelson Pass about his ss amps,he says you can leave them on all the time, but he powers down his amps to standby when not in use. |
my Accuphase pre takes ~30 hours warmup to sound its' best. The amp seems less sensitive to sonic changes as it warms up, however I leave both pieces powered on full time (as for all solid state). Tubes I do not leave on full time, unless a standby setting is available on the component.
Realize that depending on your geographic location, you are more vulnerable to component lightning damage during a thunderstorm when equipment is powered on; however you do remain vulnerable even when powered off as long as the line cords are plugged in. So use a line conditioner with integral surge protection; alternatively install a whole-house surge protector wired parallel at the distribution panel, along with downstream parallel transient snubbers wired across your AC outlets, or built into them. Still: when storms are in your area the best protection is to power down and unplug everything. |
If you are worried about lightening, then be sure to unplug everything. If your house is hit by lightening, it is unlikely any surge protector will survive to protect your gear. There is simply too much energy in lightening. |
Thank you Bob_bundus for your informations !
Yes, I have a line conditioner with surge protection. But I will turn off and unplug everything in case of thunderstorm or away from home for few days.
Is there any possibility that an amplifier or preamplifier coult burn into flames when on, like it happens more often than some think with tv sets ? |
RobertD
Thanks for the professional input. I have begun doing as you suggested.
John |
Speaking of leaving stuff on, the old Spatial Coherence preamp required 7 days to warm up, per the owners manual. Actually, it really took 6 weeks. If you are thinking this is a design flaw, you are thinking right. Of course, it only drew 4 watts so that wasn't a big deal after you owned it for a month. |
