Do you leave your SS amp on all the time?

Unless your amp has an "idle" feature, leave it on all the time. For the rear channels of my system, I use an old Marantz PM94 integrated amp, which is left on all the time. Everyone who I've ever spoken to who owns one of these things has found that they blow up after a period of time--the result of heat cycling. Not my PM94. It's been working continuously for nearly 8 years. Heat cycling is bad news for solid-state equipment.

Sean, thanks for the post. You make some valid points. I may try leaving it on. Ventilation is not a problem. My system sits on Lovan Sovereign AVR rack, which is 43" wide. The Threshold shares the top shelf with my turntable. So there is about 4+ feet of clearance between it and the ceiling. I always wondered what could cause those amp heatsinks to discolor so much. I thought it was being left on all the time or being run beyond their capabilities. I hadn't thought of poor ventilation, although that very well could have caused it.

Regards,
John

Stand by. Why pay the extra dough?

I keep mine on 24/7.

I put the NAD components into "standby" and the Plinius just stays on (per Plinius' recommendation and my listening pleasure). If I turn off the NAD stuff completely for a couple of days, they warm up in a few hours. However, the Plinius takes a frikkin' week! I'll never turn it off, unless I absolutely must (e.g., storm)!

Jeff Rowland told me that leaving my model 10 on uses as much energy as a 70 watt bulb. He didn't beleive it would effect the sound quality, though.