Whats the downside of leaving ones amps on allways


I have Lp12 table/Arcom CD front--Naim guts--Linn loudspeakers. Is leaving my amps warm(I know they sound best) make for more problems over the long term?
What caps?--How often? Please talk to real tech freaks that have no axe to grind!
gbarwick
I shut my SS amps off. They do indeed sound better after being on for awhile and if I know I will be listening later on I try to turn them on several hours earlier but I can't in good conscience keep them on. They are hi current amps and I feel materialistic enough already having these monsters let alone using up the power that they take while not listening.
That doesn't mean I think everyone should do like me. For different people there are different things that bother us and this happens to be something I am concious of.
I wonder if it is also irresponsble for a manufacturer not to take this into account when he makes this gear.
A for instance would be my own Spectral gear which lacks any kind of standby mode whatsoever. They say right in the manual that it will not stabilize until about 24 hours. Would it really have affected the sonics that much to have built in some kind of standby mode even if it is only partially useful? Would the same manufacturer have made it the same way if we were living in Europe let's say where power is more expensive?
I say to manufacturers who do produce wasteful products that have do not take into account their effect on the environment that we do not own the earth.
Jerry, now climbs down from the soapbox....
Having said that, does anyone have any estimates about how much it actually cost to run our gear?
Jdwek - when I bought my first Bryston amp back in 1989 I remember reading something (in the manual) about leaving the amp on all the time as it ensured that the amp was in its optimal operating condition when "warmed up" - they advised that when the amp was sitting idle it was drawing the equivalent power to that of a 100 watt light bulb. Is that alot - I guess it depends on what one pays for power...
The downside, is the wear on your amps occur, even when, you are not listening, and the cost of electricity. The wear, is minimal, with solid state gear, but with tube power amps, it will reduce the time, of tube replacement, to approx. 1/4. If the tubes lasted 2 years, listening 6 hours a day, then they will last only 6 months, listening 24 hours a day.
The electricity costs, will vary, with type, of amp. Class A, will definitely add considerablely, to the costs.
The cycling on, and off, is definitely hard, on gear, both solid state, and tube. Manufacturers, had added a lot of features, to minimize this, such as "softstart", to gently apply the inrush currents.
I use tubes, on the midrange, and high frequency, and solid state, on the bottom. I shut the tubes down, whenever I am not listening. I leave the solid state on, continuously. Lightning strikes, is the only reason, I shut it down, and unplug it. I even use, a little trick, of coiling the last 2 feet, so if a huge surge hits it, while I'm not home, it will melt the cord away, at the coil, and hopefully prevent the juice, from getting to the amp.
I hate to leave any piece of electronics on for an extended period - especially if I'm gone - I have a McIntosh MC-2100 amp and it gets fairly hot(enough that you can only touch the hot spot for a few seconds) - it doesn't have a power switch, so I plug it in to a power strip and shut it down every day - I don't think it makes a difference in the sound that much - but heck, I'm over 50, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.