I leave mine on all the time, unless I'm going to be away from home for several days. My integrated amp sounds better after warm-up and it takes quite a while to get warmed up.
Does anyone leave their amp and preamp on all the time?
I listen most nights after work. I find that the system takes a while to warm up and sounds it's best if it has been shut off. So I leave it on. I always have and this is vintage stuff. The amp is a 25/25 Bedini class A. It stays warm but never hot. It has never caused an issue but recently I've been speaking with others that were stunned that I would do this. So let me know if I'm the only one that lets it run. Do you shut off the equipment after each session?
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I can not think how many times this question has been raised and what heat it generates(sorry about that). I'm a tree hugger and don't leave anything on, even if I'm going to be out for a couple of hours. Why? Well I'm a tree hugger, but also I have valve amps and valves are expensive and have a finite life. Secondly and it's not often raised as an issue, fire risk. There is an awful lot of high voltage kit in a hifi system. It shorts out and your house is toast. You speak to Firemen here in the UK and what is the number one cause of house fires? No, not hifi systems , but TV's on standby. You get the point. I really believe you should not have a HiFi system powered up, if you are'nt in the house. Just my 5cents worth. |
That's all very helpful. I never considered the fire risk. My preamp has been modified and there is no off-switch. I could pull the plug I guess. I am looking for a bigger Bedini to bi-amp with. I have a 100/100. That amp ran very hot and I didn't leave it on when not playing. That was when it was working. I tried to update caps myself and messed something up. Its been sitting for 2 years now. Maybe my next post will be about where I can get it fixed. Thanks for the responses. |
Like others I leave mine on unless I'm leaving for at least a few days. Warm-up time was definitely part of my reason, but I had another reason that may or may not be valid so maybe an engineering type or someone more knowledgeable can chime in here? I noticed that light bulbs and a TV of mine died immediately by turning them on. My uneducated guess was that the initial surge of current puts more strain on a component (maybe the power supply in particular?) along with the continual heating and cooling of all the electronics. So I thought leaving my system on all the time may actually increase its life by cumulatively reducing stress on it rather than turning it on and off almost every day. Was I completely off base? Will prematurely wearing out certain parts (capacitors, etc.) outweigh any benefits from leaving a system on? Always wondered about this, and thanks for any thoughts. |
@david12 "it's not often raised as an issue, fire risk. There is an awful lot of
high voltage kit in a hifi system. It shorts out and your house is
toast." That's actually the one and only reason I turn off my power / integrated amplifiers, and sometimes, my preamplifiers. No concern about the electricity, cost, tube wear, etc., just worry about the potential catastrophe. Well, now that I write this, I have very home insurance, hmmm.... |
david1 You speak to Firemen here in the UK and what is the number one cause of house fires? No, not hifi systems , but TV’s on standby."Smoking, unattended cooking equipment and dirty grill pans are the most likely things to cause a blaze, according to Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS). Overheating microwaves, overloaded electric sockets and in particular phones and laptops left charging for too long are also major causes of household fires." Source is here:https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/most-common-causes-house-fires-13729552 |
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My last 3 systems, I left on all the time. My 2 newest systems, I shut them off. My 2 newest systems are McIntosh which has connections to turn on all their equipment by daisy chaining them together. I flip one switch on the preamp, and the amp and tuner both fire up. I leave it on for 15 minutes or so before I sit down to listen. Since I am not leaving everything on any longer, my electric bill dropped almost 25.00 a month and that is even after the rates have gone up. |
My Job Pre 2 does not have an on/off switch so it is on all the time per design. My power amp (Job 225) is on only when I am playing. Takes about 1 CD album length to warm up. In my previous set up with Hafler 913 pre amp and 9303 power amp, on several occasions I forgot to turn them off for a week or so, after a weekend of play and didn’t realize I forgot to switch them off until the following weekend. The pre-amp sat on top of the power amp and the rubber feet melted over the years. |
@soix Here’s an article about a light bulb that’s been constantly on for 117 years in a California fire station. It’s long life appears to be attributed to the unique design and quality of the parts. https://priceonomics.com/the-mysterious-case-of-the-113-year-old-light-bulb/ |
When there’s a convenient On and Off switch—no. It only takes about 20 seconds for the tubes to warm up where the system is playable even if it’s not "optimal", and I suspect it’s about the same on most systems. If I’m not directly listening, I consider it an unnecessary waste of energy, and I’m paying for it, society is paying for it, with its impact on the power grid, as minor as that might seem—it's cumulative among different households. I also turn out lights in any room I’m not in. I consider expensive high-powered amps a luxury rather than a necessity, and I feel better when using energy responsibly. |
The issues you'll run into are primarily reduced longevity of certain electrical components. Unless it's been upgraded, your Bedini 25/25 has electrolytic capacitors in the circuit, which contain a liquid electrolyte inside that eventually dries out. Lifespan is dependent on usage, operating temperatures and quality of the cap. This person had to replace them in 2013 on his Bedini to fix a humming issue. https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/repair-of-bedini-amp So, if you don't mind the increased costs associated with the convenience of keeping your equipment running all the time, it is really up to you. I keep my stuff on if I am going to be around for a while, turn it off when I know I'll be gone or unable to listen for a while. |
Vitus Integrated amp stays on in Class AB all the time. I listen in class A then switch to class AB after listening. It takes hours to sound at its best from cold if I move it to standby. Vitus CDP/DAC is on all the time too. I leave all the components (pre/power and CDP) on in the the secondary Naim system at all times too. This system has been switched on continually for 20 years! |
I leave SS gear on all the time unless I'm going out of town for a few days. I usually listen every day, so it makes sense to leave it on. When I've had tubes, I would only leave them on when I was home. On a few occasions I left the tube gear on overnight, and I thought it sounded better the next day. But that was probably a placebo effect. Generally, I don't like to waste tube life, so I only power it up an hour or so before playing. |
My Pass PreAmp has no on-off so it is on all the time, the Pass Amps are triggered from standby mode ... Sometimes in the winter I'll leave the Amps on all the time since they run about 106-110 degrees and keep the media room warm ( insert smile here ) ! I too am a firm believer that internal circuits are not fans of on/off current jumps. Shad |
Leaving amps on is fine, just don't tell anyone that you're a self indulgent energy waster. I leave my cars running all the time also...dangerous and wasteful but hey...they're always ready to go...fridge door is always open for easy access to food and kitchen cooling as an added bonus...go ahead...waste resources all day as the environmental downward spiral is likely unstoppable, and you'll likely be dead before the grandkids have to deal with it. Besides, If my tube amps destroy my home I can just get new stuff! |
No. I do not leave my equipment on all the time. I have noticed that my equipment sounds wonderful with about 30-45 minutes of warm up. So, when I come home from work I turn everything on, do my chores or what not and then when its time to sit and listen, I'm good to go. Other reasons why I don't leave them on: 1. Energy waste. 2. potential for fire hazard. Other than my refrigerator and wine coolers, everything else is off. Leaving equipment powered up when not at home is asking for trouble. I have a Krell KBX electronic crossover with internal circuitry specific for my Martin Logan Monolith III speakers. There is no power switch for the crossover or the external power supply. Therefore, unless I unplug it, it is always on. One day I came home to a house filled with a burning smell. It was the crossover. a couple of components failed and were cooking. it was a fire waiting happen. This was a lesson learned for me. All of my low level equipment (crossover, pre-amp, DAC, CD transport, Turn Table power supply, phono stage) are all plugged into my Transparent Audio conditioner, which is in turn plugged into a dedicated line. My amps have their own dedicated lines. So, when I'm done listening, I turn amps off, and unplug the power conditioner. When I leave for more than a few days for a trip/vacation, I unplug everything. Jaw dropping differences for high end equipment are quite rare. subtle differences yes, but jaw dropping, not really. So, when my equipment is warmed up, I am very good. enjoy |
Also, I forgot the other reason.. Tube amps and pre-amps left on will quickly end the life of tubes. Unless the equipment has stand by circuitry that remove load and voltage from the tubes. Typically 2000 hours for the power tubes. Leave the amps on 24/7 and see how long those tubes will last. Too expensive. enjoy |
Please stop with the "fire risk" posts. In the 29 years I was a firefighter and even longer as an audiophile I never saw a fire that was caused by leaving stereo gear on. The one electrical fire I do remember was a young girl left her fan on in her room, the fan possibly fell over, and overheated and shorted out and totally engulfed her room. Incipient, smoldering, and free burning. The three stages of a fire. I leave my CD player and D'Agostino Progression monoblocks on. If I will be away from home more than a week then the amps go into standby. |
I have an Ayre preamp which is always on unless you unplug, they recommend leaving on. I recently asked Harmon Luxury / Levinson tech support about my Mark Levinson 532h amp about leaving on or putting in standby, they recommended leaving if listening to most of the time, only placing it in standby mode if not using for more than a few days. |
Now this is a great post... My Esoteric A-03 sounds best when it's on for 24 hours so if I plan on spending an intimate day with the system I turn it on the day before. And I have no idea why this is, but it definitely is. Other wise I usually shut down completely but do occasionally leave it in standby. I leave my Esoteric CD player on most of the time.. Tube pre gets shut down. Theater amps and prepro stay in standby and again unless I want it sounding its best than I'll let it run some cable music soundscape or soft jazz to get the juices flowing sometime before plopping in a Bluray. |
Long ago and far away, when i was an undergrad studying engineering, i had a professor who was a ww2 whiz kid, and one of the studies he did for DOD was when to change lightbulbs in the Pentagon. Question was, should they change them all at once, or change them as each blew out. He found that they older a light bulb was, (ie, the longer it had been on), the longer life expectancy it had! |
I found that my trusty old ADCOM sounds quite good and will hold it's own against much more expensive amps, but has to be warmed for several hours before it smooths out and starts sounding good. Since I'm retired, I usually listen to my system off and on throughout the day and quite often late at night, so, when using the ADCOM, it gets left on all the time. Since both, my Rouge and Audible Illusions, tube gear, have soft start circuits and only need about 20 or 30 minuets of warm up, to sound good, I turn them off between listening sessions, to save on tubes....Jim |
I leave gear on all the time...with a bit of guilt, I admit. Odyssey amp takes hours to reach its best. Candela too, and since it’s a hybrid with very low plate voltage, tube wear is a very small concern. Jolida phono pre- same story. Btw, even if on 24/7, it takes about an lp side plus for the analog gear to reach full voice...any body else finding that? Any theories why? Cartridge warm up? marantz steamer goes on stand by. |
