solid state gear- leave on?

I too am forced to respectfully disagree with Pabelson. Turning an SS amp on and off daily is -the- action that shortens its life more than anything else (given the presence of adequate ventilation, of course).

Also in response to Pabelson, SS amps pull differing amounts of current depending on their design. Many pull very, very little, especially when idle. While I agree with you about our obligation to confront global warming and the dependence on Middle Eastern oil, I don't think it should be made into an issue here.

http://greenspin.blogspot.com/2005_01_16_greenspin_archive.html#110624989534938648

My last ss amp was never left on; it lasted 20 years. I finally got tired of it and sold it and it was still working when I sold it. Maybe I was just lucky. Hope all is well.

Chuck

I tried running my amp 24/7 on cow farts. Sounded great, but the damn cow took up most of my listening room. Smelled pretty vile too. I'm going back to the more simple weasel dung conversion system (WDCS™ patent pending). Much easier to live with. Butt steak anyone?

Marco

It'd neither a good idea nor a bad idea. An amp will sound its best when warmed up and ready to go and every second thereafter will not improve things one bit. If the amp requires many hours before being warmed up, then, yes, I'd go for 24/7. If it only takes 20 minutes, what's the point?

There's no problem with leaving the amp on all the time. There's also no problem with turning it on and off as needed. Whether one way or the other results in a shorter life span has, to my knowlege, never been proven. Who knows - the "stress" effect of cycling and the thermal effects of 24/7 operation may be a wash.

If you leave the amp powered on all the time you have to guard against surges. Being away with a thunderstorm in progress and an amp powered on at home is very trying to say the least.