To turn off or not to turn off

Good posts ... interesting subject. I leave my equipment (amp, CD, DAC) on all of the time. The DAC has no power switch, the amp's switch is hidden around the back (hint hint) and the CD player has such low idle power consumption I don't worry. I think it sounds better, and I think that the lack of thermal cycling will help extend its life. I have also heard that electrolytic caps like to be left powered.

During an electrical storm I not only switch off I also unplug the equipment from the outlets, since a little on-off switch may not protect against the sort of surge a lightning strike can deliver. If any storms are in the forecast then I leave the equipment this way and revert to the portable CD player. If you have an FM tuner and an outdoor antenna I would also unplug the antenna during a storm ... even if it's not struck it can still reach high voltages and damage the tuner due to the electrical potential differences in the atmosphere. Paranoid ? Perhaps, but I have lost a TV to lightning, and I'm a lot more attached to my hifi than my TV.

My electricity bills had just increased by very vast amount since I've started to live my VTL Deluxe 100 always on along with the rest of my equipment. I'm thinking about just living them on for the weekend since this is the only listening time I have.

This is a good qustion,I have a NAD C-370 and turn it off everytime i am done listening, this may be on and off again 3-4 times a day. is it true that turning it on and off will shorted the lifespan?. it does have standby mode, But nad says in the manual to completely turn it off when not going to be used for more than 2 days. Also i am not home most of the day. What do you guys think i should do??

Thanks

Whether or not you find it "audible", most digital circuitry and / or items using crystals require several hours of warm up time to stabilize. You might want to think about at least leaving your CD Player / transport & DAC on. I would also suggest using some type of "good" PLC, etc... Sean
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I think the longer you leave your equipment on the better it sounds. I use to leave my equipment on all the time but not only did my electric bill go through the roof but my room heats up to much from my amps.