Cold vs hot makes no difference to my ears. But that's just my ears. They're not the finely tuned instruments possessed by true audiophiles.
My SS amp manual (Madrigal Proceed HPA 2) says to leave it on. I can't bring myself to do it. I'm hardly what anyone would call an environmentalist....more like a conservationist....but the bottom line is that even in standby mode that amp makes heat. A fair amount of it too. I have no idea what that translates into in terms of electricity usage but it cannot be negligible. And my music rooms tends to be a tad hot in the summer and a tad cool in the winter compared to the rest of the house. That last thing I want in a Carolina summer is more heat. So maybe I should leave it on in the winter.
I believe my AR LS16 tube pre-amp manual says to leave it on as well, in standby mode, but I do not remember and can't recall if it makes heat in standby mode. I would hope not.
