Kit switched on continuously?

Hello

I would appreciate opinions on whether to keep kit switched on all the time or not?

I have read about the following advantages of keeping kit switched on continously:
-components will always be warm, so will sound good from the beginning
-constantly switching on/off can reduce the lifespan of certain electronic components

However on purchasing my kit, I was advised not to keep it switched on continuously.

If one keeps valve components switched on continuously, does this reduce the lifespan of the valves?

If this has been discussed before on the forum, please send me a link.

Thank you.

 

I used to leave my kit switched on all the time for the reasons you quote; now I have a valve power amp I switch it off after listening for safety/longevity reasons. I can't honestly say I've noticed any difference.

 

I don't have valves but I always switch off at the wall. The system sounds very good from stone cold and spellbinding when warmed a little.

 

Mainly electrolytic capacitors, but this is entirely true.

Yes, it does.

Just goes to show that there's no one-size-fits-all solution.

 

But keep it in perspective. I listen maybe three or four times a week, for several hours at a time, so I'm not 'constantly' switching equipment on and off. This 'keeping stuff powered up all the time' idea seems to be one of those 'audio nervosa' things.

 

Hi

Thanks for your help!

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/4929594.stm

 

I’m all for energy efficacy but I’m afraid all that good work of switching stuff off rather than using standby (or even just leaving on) is probably all lost when you accidentally leave the electric oven on for a few hours.

So, if it sounds better warmed up and as long as it isn’t power hungry I will leave it on.

By the way I think with low voltage valve stuff like pre-amps it is alright to leave it on as they don’t wear out very fast.

 

My flatmate drives me f*cking mad, switching my gear off all the time - he's one of those tree-hugger types that drives a car everywhere but thinks recycling and turning my hifi off will save the planet. Stupid ****.

Anyway, where & when possible, I keep everything on - this includes my Pathos integrated and BAT pre, as both are hybrid designs that use transistors in various places around the circuit. Both definitely sound much better after 45 minutes (especially the BAT, which is a night & day difference IMO).

At the end of the day, it does waste a bit of energy, and shortens the tube life, but they're only Sovtek 6922's and are cheap to replace.

DT

Oh, and the article is talking complete codswallop about standby power usage - 10-15w? I don't think so - my Wega uses 1w.

 

Its not completely mad, my old 15" Trinitron monitor when on standby used 8watts. However, a monitor on standby seems to be pretty different from a TV. TV's generally turn everything off apart from a remote control sensor. Of course TFT things will use barley a drop of power, even when on!

I would say though, if you have a class A amp I’d turn it off. All that heat is a dead give away it is using a lot of power.

 

I leave my E.A.R 834P on all the time as it still improves after 24 hours of being on.
For the cost of a few valves a few times a year i find its worth it.

Amp is Naim so that stays on all the time as they take ages to warm up. Only thing i keep off when not in use is the turntable as it only takes a few minutes to warm up and reach a stable speed on the strobe.

 

I always switch mine off My two Monarchy Audio SM70Pros generate so much heat its almost equivalent to another radiator in the house - If they were left on Id be the only person on Shetland with Air Conditioning - Seriously tho I find the sound improves markedly in the first 20 minutes then plateaus out after about an hour - I do believe we should be responsible citizens with our use of power and especially if you use class A amps it is really best to power down when you are not playing music

 

Or else you might boil to death

 

Does anyone know of a toy that detects how much juice an eletrical item is using? I am curious to know about my PC. graphics cards and processors gurgle juice more faster than a camel on an E trip when running fast, no idea what they do on slow!

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=38343&TabID=1&C=SEO&U=SEOsearchPages&doy=search



Something like that?

 

All in the head folks

Switch the kit on 15-20 minutes before you intend to listen critically or start listening immediately after switch on if you want some background music.

Anything that takes hours, days or weeks to come on song is poor design.

All IMHO of course.

 

Sorry Rob, not true.

 

In your opinion Isaac.

I believe it to be yet another audiophile myth with little in the way of facts so back it up. It ranks along with some of the daft cable theories IMO.

 

I have done the measurements...

https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=5937

 

Not just caps, but speakers too. They are moving mechanical things that need to warm up to work optimally. The inside of a speaker driver can easily reach over 100°C. In passive speakers this will hugely effect how the crossover works.

I'm not sure what the cause was, but when Kev and I took his AA DAC to my place we plugged it in and I thought my system was broken. The bass was really resonant sounding. We listened for 15min then changed to the TACT RCS. 1-hour of being left on and the AA was fine. I mean seriously, the difference was night and day. Even a non-Hi-Fi person would have noticed.

I agree though that as long as the kit is already at room temp, it shouldn't take more than about 1 hour of good use to warm up fully.