How long daes it take your gear to warm up?

It really depends on the gear. Solid state gear takes far more time than tube gear, one reason why most people leave solid state gear on all the time.

My CD player, in particular, takes a long time to sound good. The manufacturer says that it should be powered up all the time (they claim it takes at least 24 hours to be fully on song).

I have found, in the past, that solid state amps take a good half hour to forty-five minutes to sound decent whereas my tube amps take about ten to twenty minutes to sound good.

Jmcgrogan2,

I suppose it depends on the particular components and the particular environment based on the specific implementation. If you look at specification sheets for capacitors, transistors, diodes there is always a difference in life expectancy based on the exposure to heat. Heat shortens life considerably. If one has equipment that runs hot, it is best not to keep it on continuously.

You do have a good point about relay and switches--life time is specified for the the number of on off cycles.

I keep my cd player on all the time because that is what the manufacturer recommends. I am sure that is based on sound quality and NOT a recommendation for extended life (the separate power supply stays fairly warm all the time). The manufacturer says it takes more than a day for the equipment to sound its best if it has been turned off for any significant amount of time. I do, however, turn things off and unplug them from the wall when I am away or when there is an electrical storm in the area. I turn off all tube gear when not in use (everything has a rectifier which means no great inrush current or a soft start cicuit).