Typically you do no have to have music playing through it. An exception is the Audio Research Reference 5(SE) preamp. The Reference 6(SE) does not. Beats me why the Ref 5 was like that.
Do You Have to Play a Component to Warm it Up?
Is it necessary to play music on a CD transport to warm it up? I have a Jay's Audio CDT2 MKIII and they recommend one hour of warm up. Is that just turning it on or playing a CD? I have read that Hegel recommends 10 minutes of warm up for my H390. Again, is that playing or just switched on?