To turn off or not to turn off

Your call. I wouldn't worry about failure, but some companies find that thier products prefer to stay on. Except for warm up time, I don't think it matters much.

I agree with sdcampbell. I leave my solid state (HT) system on all the time and turn my tube (music) system off when not in use (out of necessity). I am a big believer in surge protection.

Thanks for the responses.

FYI, my equipment is:
B&K 202 plus amp - silky and clear, but runs hot
Adcom 535 amp for subwoofer- not bad, until you compare it to better equipment.
Adcom GTP-400 preamp - reliable, but would replace it if I could find a better tuner/preamp for $300.
Denon DCM-30 CD changer - includes Avanced multilevel noise shaping
Dahlquist M905 - suprisingly good still. Thought they imaged poorly ... until I got the B&K. Now, it's a different story.

A general rule of thumb about SS amps is that the hotter that they run in normal use, the greater the sound variance when going from off to normal operating temperature. In other words, don't expect the same sound out of a high bias amp when it is stone cold or warming up. It may take several hours of consecutive operaton to come up to operating temperature and fully stabilize.

Amps that run cool i.e. Sunfire, Bel Canto or other "digital" or "switching amps" will not be as noticeable when going from cold to hot. Since they stay relatively cool even when "throttling" them, they don't need as much "warm up" or "operating time" to stabilize. Then again, these amps are so efficient that you can leave them on and they pull less power than a normal light bulb. For the record, the Sunfire 2 ch amps idle at about 40 watts of consumption. The B & K will idle at QUITE a bit more power than that and runs WAY hotter, even at idle.

Like anything else, it all boils down to personal choice. As for me, my house looks like an audio showroom due to all of the lights and displays being lit up all the time. Sean
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What worries me about leaving my equipment on all the time is the possibility of surge damage, as sdcampbell has experienced. I am thinking to buy a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet primarily for surge protection purpose. Could it offer enough protection ? Please comment.