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View Full Version : Leaving your amp/preamp on 24/7?



pyonc
08-28-2013, 01:29 PM
Hi Forum friends,

Do you turn on or off your amp and preamp everytime you use them, or just leave them on all the time 24/7?
I've got vintage preamp and amp to drive my 4343s in bi-amped mode.
When I don't listen, I always turn them off, along with DAC and electric crossover.
In my case, a couple of times a day, or sometimes more I turn them on and off. Any shock to the electric circuits?
I just want to invite your opinion on what's the best way to keep this vintage gear, or generally modern audio gear.
Some say they leave only preamp switch on/off while leaving the amp on all the time.
So, what do you say about leaving both amp and preamp on 365 days, or leaving them just off when you don't use?
What's the correct, or best way to maintain your gear in great condition?

Maron Horonzakz
08-28-2013, 02:33 PM
I have krell equipment,,,Krell states I can leave them on 24/7,,.....But if you are going to leave them for a long time(going on a trip) left unattended,, than turn them off.:bouncy:

4313B
08-28-2013, 02:40 PM
Leave everything on. This guy will dig all the coal required. When he drops dead someone else will take his place.

Fort Knox
08-28-2013, 02:51 PM
Hi Forum friends,

Do you turn on or off your amp and preamp everytime you use them, or just leave them on all the time 24/7?
I've got vintage preamp and amp to drive my 4343s in bi-amped mode.
When I don't listen, I always turn them off, along with DAC and electric crossover.
In my case, a couple of times a day, or sometimes more I turn them on and off. Any shock to the electric circuits?
I just want to invite your opinion on what's the best way to keep this vintage gear, or generally modern audio gear.
Some say they leave only preamp switch on/off while leaving the amp on all the time.
So, what do you say about leaving both amp and preamp on 365 days, or leaving them just off when you don't use?
What's the correct, or best way to maintain your gear in great condition?

I'd at least shut down the main amps..It's kinda like "did you unplug the Iron" sorta thing...ya know ..piece of mind...

pyonc
08-28-2013, 03:01 PM
Looks like you guys agree on leaving them on.
Would you explain about the primary benefits?
Does this hold true for JBL vintages such as SE400S, SE460, SG520, etc?
On googling on this topic, I notice lots of pros and cons.

DavidF
08-28-2013, 08:00 PM
Hi Forum friends,

Do you turn on or off your amp and preamp everytime you use them, or just leave them on all the time 24/7?
I've got vintage preamp and amp to drive my 4343s in bi-amped mode.
When I don't listen, I always turn them off, along with DAC and electric crossover.
In my case, a couple of times a day, or sometimes more I turn them on and off. Any shock to the electric circuits?
I just want to invite your opinion on what's the best way to keep this vintage gear, or generally modern audio gear.
Some say they leave only preamp switch on/off while leaving the amp on all the time.
So, what do you say about leaving both amp and preamp on 365 days, or leaving them just off when you don't use?
What's the correct, or best way to maintain your gear in great condition?

The answer is an unequivocal maybe. Actually there are lot's of pros and cons.

I think basic common sense says you should turn off equipment not in use. Cuts down on your power bill if nothing else.
Common sense and we audio types sometimes don’t always orbit the same sun, however.

If you are like me the system is typically used just at night during the workday but periodically during the day on weekends.

The maker of my amp (Odyssey) says leave the amp on 24/7 as this keeps the components at optimum temp. That assumes components at optimum temp sound better and it takes a while to reach that temp. Haven’t made that determination, not sure I can. The maker of my tube pre amp (Van Alstine) says don’t leave it on if you are away for periods of time. Wasteful in terms of power and tube life.

I like to save on power. I am always going around the house turning off lights.

I am also conditioned to think that the power surges into cold electrical components tends to shorten the lifespan compared to leaving same powered all the time. Picked that from my Grand Dad who worked for GE lighting up through the 50’s. I’m not sure that applies in this modern era.

I turn everything off at night. On weekends I typically leave the system on all day if I am around.

I am currently making an exception with the Odyssey amp. For one thing the power switch is on the back of the chassis. Also, it has huge heat sinking and does not consume much power at idle so it does not stress components heat-wise at idle. I do, however, have reservations about leaving a power amp on when I am not around the house should the amp someday give it up and blow pure DC through the woofer coils.

Allanvh5150
08-29-2013, 12:23 AM
Turn em off. Electronic components have a service life span, especially electrolytic capacitors. Things get messy real quick when the big ones decide to give up...

Allan.

Fort Knox
08-29-2013, 02:55 AM
Turn em off. Electronic components have a service life span, especially electrolytic capacitors. Things get messy real quick when the big ones decide to give up...

Allan.

Speaking of electrolytics, your Amps, above mentioned, are pretty ancient....have they been
ckd out at the shop ..for safety..(I had a Flames Linear 400 go out at 2 AM back in the 80's..)

Mr. Widget
08-29-2013, 08:44 AM
Virtually none of my modern equipment gets fully turned off. When you turn it off it goes into a "stand by" mode and depending on the equipment, this can be only leaving the IR control circuits active to remotely power up the unit to keeping the circuits live but at lower power to reduce the warm up time for optimal audio performance.

My phono preamp has no power switch and is designed to be on 24/7 and has been for many years... still sounds great!


Widget

hjames
08-29-2013, 09:53 AM
I think the TIVO, the OPPOs, and the Integra preamp are the only things that sees the lines 24/7

We get too many powerline glitches and such for me to leave the gear on 24/7, esp when I am away.
I have Adcom power controllers for the B&K amps in the home theater that power them up and down gracefully,
and the SS gear warms up quickly.

Even the tube gear upstairs warms up fairly quickly -
tho for critical listening I do give it some time to stabilize ...

Dave_72
08-29-2013, 12:20 PM
I leave everything on all the time, except during thunderstorms.

martin2395
08-29-2013, 02:15 PM
I always keep the preamp, D/A converter and my Squeezebox Touch turned on.
The amps are never left alone unattended, since they are getting old you never know what might happen - a small cap or resistor, or even the output stage can pop and set the amp (and the house!) on fire...
Not to mention that the Carvers will most probably throw DC on the speakers when the output section goes bust.

sheltiedave
08-29-2013, 03:35 PM
My repair tech says to leave everything on all the time. He needs more business.

SEAWOLF97
08-29-2013, 03:43 PM
Turn em off. Electronic components have a service life span, especially electrolytic capacitors. Things get messy real quick when the big ones decide to give up...

Allan.

agree ..... heck, even Mr. Coffee's in standby mode have combusted.

Maxwelhse
08-29-2013, 07:50 PM
agree ..... heck, even Mr. Coffee's in standby mode have combusted.

Unless you have a power sensing outlet strip....

I don't care what Crown or Sherbourn/Emotiva says, my amps are plugged into auto-sensing outlet strips and are FULLY powered down when I'm done playing them.

Currently my Crown XLS-2500, Sherbourn 5-200, and Sherbourn 12-45 are all completely dead to the world.

I became a convert to that idea when the the first strip on my PC knocked $10/month out of my power bill.

laurie
09-15-2013, 03:53 PM
I have had my amp combination for years. I almost always leave my Linn Kolektor preamp on 24/7 but turn off the Rotel RB850 power amp whenever I don't use it and turn it off every night. Recently I find I turn off the Kolektor overnight about twice a week at least. I only find a real difference in sound if the Kolektor / Rotel is turned off for long periods example if I've being away, it takes a day or two for the sound to blossom again.

Krunchy
09-16-2013, 10:32 AM
Leave everything on. This guy will dig all the coal required. When he drops dead someone else will take his place.

Nice! sad but true, :crying:

Tube amps when not in use for reasons mentioned earlier. SS, if I know I'll be listening to music for extended periods of time (like during the weekend) I keep the Pre & Crossover (ashly) on or I'll turn it (and everything else) on a few hours before I play music, I usually never leave the amps on.

SEAWOLF97
09-16-2013, 10:47 AM
Unless you have a power sensing outlet strip....

I don't care what Crown or Sherbourn/Emotiva says, my amps are plugged into auto-sensing outlet strips and are FULLY powered down when I'm done playing them.

Currently my Crown XLS-2500, Sherbourn 5-200, and Sherbourn 12-45 are all completely dead to the world.




in my main system all major components* are wired into a Furman line conditioner so they are "dead to the world" at power off

*my FM tuner seems to lose the presets if left off too long so yesterday I moved it to wall power.

I have a Panamax conditioner waiting for install in the HT on a poor weather day when I can't go out. They will also be DttW, if not needing current to keep settings.

Maxwelhse
09-18-2013, 07:34 PM
in my main system all major components* are wired into a Furman line conditioner so they are "dead to the world" at power off

*my FM tuner seems to lose the presets if left off too long so yesterday I moved it to wall power.

I have a Panamax conditioner waiting for install in the HT on a poor weather day when I can't go out. They will also be DttW, if not needing current to keep settings.

That's a much nicer solution than my $16 Cyberpower strips ( http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-7050SG-Energy-Suppressor-7-Outlets/dp/B004C1F3FK/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1379557512&sr=8-19&keywords=cyberpower+strip ), but the same principal applies. If I don't want to play it, I see no point in keeping the caps charged. Those little cheap Cyberpower strips are very handy for other applications as well. I have one powering an absolutely huge laptop cooler that my 1st generation Playstation 3 is sitting on... When I hit the "PS" button on my wireless controller, the PS3 and the giant cooler both fire up without a need to leave the Lay-Z-Boy... ;) I also have one on my Crown XLS-2500 since it lacks a 12v trigger, but has a permanent toggle switch power button. Works like a charm!

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I'm not yet able to reach the world of tube amps (and possibly never will, though I do enjoy the sound when I've had the rare chance) so I can't comment on the proper care of such equipment. However... based on "beige" collar income equipment, I'm very happy with my solution and would recommend it to anyone in my budget category (my "good" budget HT is under $1200 with all installation accessories, and 46" HDTV, included)... My amps sound the same from the first 1 minute of power-up to the last 30 hours of playing (yep... I've played them for 30 straight hours... I'm a gamer and sometimes you get reeled in... I played Red Dead Redemption for 40 hours once... but, that was before I bought separates)

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In summary, if you want to save some green by not paying for huge capacitors and transformers to retain charge when you're not playing your amps, but don't have NASA budget equipment that requires NASA level treatment, turn 'em off... The $16 Cyberpower strips make it very easy.

edit: And, of course, you can plug the $16 strips into a $10,000 independent protector if you want... That's what I've done with mine (minus $9966.88... I'm rolling with Belkin... http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-BV112234-08-12-Outlet-Protector-Protection/dp/B0040723AO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1379564082&sr=8-5&keywords=belkin+outlet+surge+ethernet ).