How long daes it take your gear to warm up?

In general I find tube gear sounds best after 1-2 hours. SS gear I leave on 24/7 unless it is a Class A power amp. Though I do admit that when I run track 7 on the Ayre/Cardas burn in disc, the rig sounds pretty damn good within 20-30 minutes.

Peter_s, I've also heard that cycling any piece on and off is best for capacitors. Many modifiers recommend cycling on/off so that caps break in quicker. It seems like this keeps capacitors "in shape", it's a good work out for caps. However, powering on and off does have negative affects on other electrical components, as switches, relays, resistors, etc are exposed to in rush currents. Since the component seems to sound better being left on 24/7 and the electrical components are split on the positives and negatives, I leave all SS on all the time unless it is a Class A power amp like my current CODA Model 11 amp.

Minor1, you say that leaving equipment on all the time will shorten equipment life. Do you have proof of this or is this just your theory?

I ask because I know some capacitor manufacturers who recommend cycling (turning equipment on/off) to help speed up break in and extend the life of their product. On the other hand, many other electrical components like switches, relay's, resistors, etc are more prone to failure due to the in rush currents that come from cycling. So it would seem to me that leaving equipment on 24/7 may shorten or may extend the life expectancy of your audio gear. I have no charts or graphs to back up my theory, just my $0.02.