Whenever we go on vacation I turn my audio equipment "off", and since my system has a 1500 VA APC battery backup/UPS between it and my wall outlet, I don't "unplug" the units, as I once had a bad experience with the firmware in my preamp getting corrupted (source of that problem unknown), and all my equipment together consumes less than 10 watts connected, but turned "off".
Is there any danger in leaving a class D amp on unattended for ten days?
I recently obtained class D (Red Dragon monoblocks) amps.
I have left them on continuously for about a week, and they seem to be improving sonically with every day. I am planning to be away for ten days starting next week. Is it unwise to leave them on unattended for this period?
I have left them on continuously for about a week, and they seem to be improving sonically with every day. I am planning to be away for ten days starting next week. Is it unwise to leave them on unattended for this period?
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I would not leave electronics ’on’ unattended without power condtioning. Who knows what might happen if the power goes out. High frequecy noise spikes could damage your system becaue it is digital not unlike a computer. A legacy power amp would be less susceptible. It is not worth the risk of component failure burning your place to the ground which could happen My recommendation? Turn on the system 15 minutes before listening and have a cup of tea or coffee. Relax. |
"Apart from the two disadvantages I already mentioned (fire risk and harm
to the environment) there is of course another one: heat is the enemy
of electronics. Leave your gear on and you will significantly reduce the
life span of critical components. " Not true. I design a lot of this gear, and the turn-on/turn off shock is the most likely time to see a failure -- or when its induced by, say, lightning. Any well designed equipment is designed to work well below its thermal, voltage and current maximums. The major effect i see over long periods ( and remember, i see significant numbers in aggregate) is the deterioration of electrolytic capacitors. This *may* be accelerated byt he very modest temperatures we're talking about, but its mostly just the drying effect of age. The constant heat also has a beneficial effect: it keeps things dry and free of mold. I've seen more failures due to moisture and mold then heat. Of course that's not dramatic since the hear related failures i have seen is, roughly, well, zero. I turn stuff off to save money and the environment, and since a storm and a turn on/off thump might be unpleasant to speakers. But not due to the fact that they might be at 40-45degC. Yea, the heats sinks on a class AB amp might get hotter, but the only thing attached to them are transistors rated to 185C. |
The manufacturer of my class A single ended mono block power amps (Valvet) states the following: "It takes 20 to 30 minutes of warm up time for optimum sound quality. It is recommended NOT to switch off during short pauses. Leaving the E1 amps powered on all the time is o.k. from a technical standpoint but not clever with regard to heat and energy consumption." That stated, mine are turned on when I get home from work and turned off when I go to bed, every day except on week ends when they are on from morning to night. They do sound better after a couple hours "on" time. |
Regarding the original question, a point which the post by Itsjustme alluded to but which has otherwise not been mentioned in the discussion is the possibility that failure of a part in the amp could conceivably result in effects such as very loud oscillations, or large DC voltages in the amp's output, or some other such possibility that can destroy the speaker it is connected to if not caught promptly. Especially in a case like this given that the 5 amp mains fuse of the amp in question (Red Dragon M500 monoblocks) will not blow unless the amp is drawing upwards of 600 watts of AC, while the amp is capable of putting hundreds of watts into the speaker without that happening. And I certainly would not count on the designer (a)having foreseen every conceivable failure mode that might damage a speaker, and (b)having addressed all such possibilities in the design. Finally, the fact that the amps are fairly new adds to those concerns, as failure of an electronic component typically has the greatest likelihood of occurring when the component is either very new or very old. On another note, a happy and healthy 2018 to all! Regards, -- Al |
The cited study doesn’t seem to correlate with the real world experience of listening to either recorded music via an audio system or listening to live performers. If our aura recollection was only seconds we’d have no meaningful memory of the event. This would render listening to music a futile event which it certainly is not. Auditioning audio product would be useless as we’d have no recall of what we had just listen to. I don’t see how one can extrapolate from this study that humans do not retain good aural memories of listening sessions. Why then have good sounding sources,amplifiers or speakers if our recollection of how they performed is so fleeting? IMO this study doesn’t relate to actual music listening experiences of the legion of music lovers. The study focus was dealing short intervals of comparing different or similar tones/pitch with a brief interval. No one I know of even remotely listens to music under these type of restrictions or conditions. Charles |
Cleeds, If you were to take some time and read some of Willemj’s prior posts/ comments you’ll recognize there are numerous unsubstantiated claims. All backed by "science " of course 😊. You are right to be wary. Kalali I agree with your comment regarding audio components and longevity. Geoffkait +1 Charles |
Apart from the scientific articles that the ordinary Audiogon user does not have access to, here is the wikipedia article on auditory/echoic memory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echoic_memory |
The main factor affecting longevity and reliability of passive components is power/temperature cycling. So excluding infant mortality and external interferences like lightning, etc., leaving the component on should not negatively affect its longevity. As to whether or not it sounds better when left on, let your ears be the judge. |
willemj Human sonic memory is not more than a few seconds ...While auditory memory is shorter than visual memory, to suggest that auditory memory lasts for just a few seconds is an oft-repeated claim by audio measurementalists such as yourself. Oddly, I've never seen it accompanied by any documentation. Do you have any to offer? Leave your gear on and you will significantly reduce the life span of critical components.Nonsense. There is plenty of audio equipment - and other electronic components - that is rated for continuous duty. My ARC SP-11 preamp was left on essentially continuously for decades without issues. I sold it to a friend a few years ago ... it’s still running like a charm! And that’s a tube-based component. |
How can you be sure an amplifier really does sound better when left on? Human sonic memory is not more than a few seconds, so you can only know if you compare two identical amplifiers, one left on for a while, and the other started from cold. To be honest, if there really is a difference (which in most cases I doubt), it would be a bad design. Apart from the two disadvantages I already mentioned (fire risk and harm to the environment) there is of course another one: heat is the enemy of electronics. Leave your gear on and you will significantly reduce the life span of critical components. |
Solid state amps, and especially digital converters much better when left on . Class A amps shut off they suck up power. When runnjng in gear,I have s Vacuum tube preamp and sometimes left on playing music for 2weeks straight. I have even left Vacuum tube amps on for several days before. But not as comfortable as with a SS amp. |
Class D amps should idle at a lower level, so that should be OK. Being worried about fire is a real issue and i applaud people for being careful. I designed a bunch of stuff for various companies, two my own, in the 80s and 90s and the careless stuff i saw in the field scared me. That said, since i still design and therefore experiment, i leave stuff on while I'm away all the time. I don't leave amps on flammable carpets, i leave them some kind of fire retardant stand. It can even be wood - you wont have an inferno - just maybe a spark or 40. Disconnect the speakers. No need for them to sacrifice their lives to a turn-on-off transient, or lightning, or ..... They should be fused such that most bad conditions just blow the fuse. I personally under-fuse everything; i want the $1 fuse to protect the $3k amp, not the other way around. use common sense. G |
I agree that the fire risk is real enough to be concerned, and so is the damage to the environment. I have invested enough in energy saving and solar panels not to blow that with wasting energy on audio gear, even if it is relatively efficient Class D stuff as in your case. I don’t believe my electronics sound better if I leave them on. That would be bad design. |
