Leave it on?

Turn them off.  Heat and cost matter.  

The exception to this is some Class D, like ICEpower which absolutely sound bad until they have warmed up for 2-4 days.  Can't explain this in any logical way.  

I do not subscribe to that philosophy.    Many devices today have a standby or remote IR sensor so they are "on" sort of.   And if they have a mechanical switch I use it.

My main set up is all tube and that is only on when I'm listening and have time to listen for a few hours 

My second system is Solid State and has a full function remote.  Plus it has Auto Off so I let it do that when there's no signal for 20 min .  Either way it's " off" when not in use 

If it's got an I.R. window its always on .   

I put my integrated amp into standby when done listening. 
My DAC doesn’t have a standby mode, it’s either on or off using the switch on the back panel. It runs cool so I just turn off display and leave the unit on. I unplug everything when we’re going away on a trip. 

If your electronics have a standby mode I encourage you to use it. 

McCormack recommends leaving it on all the time.  I did this and my amp lasted 30 years, and it’s always warmed up and ready to listen to immediately.  Think about it — light bulbs mostly blow out when you turn them on.  Capacitors and other components constantly going from cold to warm just can’t be good. Unless you’ve got a tube or class A amp I’d just leave it on. 

Interesting. I emailed Hegel about my H200 and they said that it is designed to be turned on and off. It is interesting that when I push the power button on the front it takes a second for it to make an audible clicking noise when it powers up. Maybe some kind of soft start? 

If this is what Paul says about PS Audio I would heed his advice if you own PS Audio equipment. All others are only second guessing in regards to PS Audio.

Hardly makes him an ignorant man. Context is key.

I have posted this in the past and got like a 50/50 response, half say on, half say off. My main HT system, I only use Friday-Sunday. I used to leave everything on even though I wasn’t using it for 4 days. I have since switched my thinking and now I shut everything off (subs, amp, processor, streamer) using the power switch when I go to bed on Sunday night. Then, on Thursday night, I switch everything back on but don’t play anything until Friday AM. Then I let the system run on low volume throughout the day on Friday while I’m at work. That way it’s super warmed up and ready to go. Seems to work great.

I just figured leaving everything on for 4 days while not in use just doesn’t make sense. My amp is an Earthquake Cinenove Grande 5 channel…

Leaving equipment on continuously does not turn me on. A broader outlook, and just saying.

How long will you keep your new gear?
How do you feel about global warming?
How confident are you leaving other appliances on all day and night?
How would you feel if your house burnt down?

Do you just don’t bother thinking about any of the above?

Ignorance is bliss but plain stupid.

Keeping new gear on all the time is low risk. The “so far so good” syndrome like a guy falling off a skyscraper overheard as he was falling saying “so far so good” The older it gets, incrementally it becomes a higher risk of becoming a fire hazard.

All our electrical items on standby or left on 24/7 add to the greenhouse effect for you and more importantly, your offspring in the future. Maybe considered a selfish act for your short term gain, poo pooing it a finger up to society….”It doesn’t bother me much”

Would you not turn other products you own completely off such as a computer, TV or washing machine for example if you are not going to use them for some time?

Ask your local fire officer how he views leaving multiple electrical items on for years on end and how safe they remain as they get older. Even more important is how would your insurers view this in a fire related claim if you are 100% honest…. “Oh shucks l never turned that (seat of the fire) amplifier off even when l was not at home” or as stated by one poster on here. “I did this with my amp lasted 30 years!”

l just can’t get my head around people unconcerned or ignorant, sticking their heads in the sand for the sake of a weeny bit more sound quality. If you “leave on” ask yourself… do l turn it off when l go on vacation for two weeks? If you do turn it off, why? What is the difference? Why do you do that?  
 

l warmed up to the fact long ago that leaving unnecessary gear on is dangerously short sighted or stupid, so for me it is just plain illogical.
 

I have a class A SS-Hybrid Pathos Inpol amp 

no way I am leaving vintage tubes on 24-7 and in Class A extra $$ for sure if left on 24-7 ,just turn it on when using within 15-20 minutes it sounds great !!

There are no absolutes. What someone else does with a different brand of equipment from yours should should have no bearing on what you do. Check with the manufacturer of your equipment and follow their advice.

You don't want to leave a class A amp on.  heat kills.  

Many amps now have a standby feature that keeps the circuit warmed up to the point that the designer thinks is appropriate and ready to go,

Jerry

There is no one size fits all answer. Some equipments turn themselves off after being inactive for a certain period of time (Marantz AV-10), others are just impractical (Class A amplifiers). On the other hand some can stay on and ready without causing any damage to themselves or the environment (Class D amplifiers, DACs etc). Some manufacturers recommend it. Just make sure the equipment is in dark mode (display off), otherwise you might cause display burn in where the characters stick to the display like a watermark even without power (not good for resale value). 

@spenav + 1

I leave my Innous streamer, Technics TT, and PS Audio phono pre, DAC, and power amp ON all of the time (except during thunderstorms). When not in use, I turn off my LTA preamp, and 40-year-old Teac R2R and dbx noise reduction unit OFF.

@maprik From the PS Audio BHK250 user manual, “We recommend leaving the rear panel power switch active at all times but placing the unit in its standby mode when listening has been finished. Standby can be activated by pressing the front panel PS Audio logo button, located on the upper left-hand corner of the BHK Signature front panel. When the logo standby button is not lit, the amplifier is in standby mode, and the vacuum tubes are turned off. Standby mode keeps the solid-state circuitry of the amplifier in a reduced power mode, maintaining excellent performance benefits while consuming little power.”

There is no issue with tube amps--they should be turned off when not in use because all tube filaments have a limited life and tube amps warm up fairly quickly.  With solid state, the answer is a bit more complicated because life of transistors are not as significantly shortened by being in a quiet on condition as compared to tubes, and solid state gear does take longer to warm p and sound its best.  But considering power consumption and safety, one may still prefer turning it off when not in use.  Another thing to consider is electrical storms or other times when power is acting up--if you are not home to shut off gear, you will be exposing it to dangerous conditions that may damage electronics that remains on and even the speakers from resulting excessively loud pops. 

The only thing I leave on all the time is my streamer because that is what the manufacturer recommends (they say it take a very long time for capacitors to fully charge and reform if the gear is shut off).  The rest of my gear is tube based and there is no question that it is better to shut off completely.

I contacted Legacy Audio about leaving my Focus XD’s internal amps on or off, Ed said to leave them on all the time. Aurender recommends leaving the streamer on, so I do. Denafrips recommends just leaving my DAC and DDC on. (Neither has an on off button, the DAC does have standby though.) My Legacy Wavelet is on all the time. My Coda s5.5 amp  has standby so I put it in standby when done, however when I plan to listen I try to turn it on at least 30 minutes before hand. Of course when we leave for FL in the winter everything is off and covered for 5 months. 

In our home theater most everything is on all the time except for the Television, it’s on standby. (Sony) The Yamaha HT receiver turns itself off through HDMI e/Arc when the TV goes off.

My mcintosh cd 12000 and pre amp shut off in about 20 min. Follow the manufactures recs on power. Surge protection is vital in my area to to power outages a few times a wk. When gone on vacation I do unplug it from wall. Happy listening.music calms the savage beast.

If you listen every day or so, leave everything on.  If you listen once a week or less, turn everything off. I also turn off everything delicate when thunder boomers are approaching.  I lost an amp once from lightning.

Turn off or leave on 2.  The benefits of from the off starts.

Manufacturers and dealers will always say “keep it turned on” as gear sounds better warmed up. We all know it is mostly true. They want us all to be happy with our purchase’s every time and want revisits buying more stuff further up the price line. They will not want to be involved however if your place burns to the ground afterwards.

Said on here….

”Standby mode keeps the solid-state circuitry of the amplifier in a reduced power mode, maintaining excellent performance benefits while consuming little power”

Hmmm…. Another way of looking at this…

Leaving any car engine turned on keeps the engine warm in the reduced power idle mode, maintaining excellent “from the off” benefits while consuming little petrol.

Everything wears out from when you first start using it, and if you continually use it. Electrical components permanently turned on is not guaranteed to extend their life.

Another thought….. Have you ever added up the wattage of all the electrical devices in your home on permanent standby mode? There may be a big surprise as to how much power idles away with your energy bills. 

As you can see from all these replies very equipment specific. I don't believe Paul was issuing a blanket leave it on but rather if you have standy mode then use it as it keeps the electronics consuming little power but ready to perform quickly at peak efficiency. 

I keep SS gear on all the time unless on vacation or a storm.  
 

How long will you keep your new gear? 1 to 20 years as I am an audiophile 🤓.  Just don’t know. 
How do you feel about global warming? Really not a thing you know.  Current thinking is coming around to this thought. If you haven’t studied it, wait till you learn that we can’t even measure the Earth’s temperature accurately. Never have, never will. Our instruments, we humans, and our methods are flawed.  Always will be. 
How confident are you leaving other appliances on all day and night? Like my refrigerator? HVAC? Some lights? Water heater? I think you get the point. 
How would you feel if your house burnt down? Not good.  What does this have to do with the topic?  I think interjecting fear on this topic is not helpful. All of our homes have live 120 V outlets and electricity networked throughout the home. Fires do happen and that is certainly a possibility in most any home.   However, suggesting that leaving on a streamer, dac, power conditioner or amplifier  is more likely to cause a fire is really not serious.    
 

In most cases this is just picking nits. Well-designed gear that is relatively low in idle power draw (preamps, class D / G / H amps) should have NO problem either way. Do what you like. Gear that is high in constant power draw, are therefore heat dissipation - tube power amps, class A and high bias AB solid state power amps - should really be kept OFF when not in use. In my experience, hotter components are also more likely to sound good quickly after warmup - simply because they hit thermal equlibrium quicker. SS is always slower to warm up than tubes.

@grannyring ”What does this have to do with the topic?”

l think you missed the point. My point was not leaving electrical devices on unnecessarily. 
Refrigerators left on yes, the nature of the beast. Every electrical appliance is a risk factor. In London a refrigerator caused a fire in a housing complex, Grenfell Tower. 70 lives lost that night.y

Yes again with global warming, arguably self destruction with the jury more in than out. That was only part of the debate regarding wasted power, it’s not all cleanly generated like wind or hydro-electric.

@mulveling Good points posted on what you believe “should be kept OFF” 👍

@mylogic I understand your point. I suppose life with our technology and conveniences comes with risk.   More risk than life before them some 100-150 years ago? Different risks for sure and obviously less overall.  I just don’t see the added risk of keeping your Class D amplifier on. Class A SS amps don’t all run hot today. Valvet is one example. I would not leave tube gear on 24/7. 

 wait till you learn that we can’t even measure the Earth’s temperature accurately

maybe unlivable and deadly hot in Europe right now is not accurate for you, but counting the number of dead is a precise number

@grannyring ”conveniences come with risks”

I note your points, thank you. No offence intended.

@gano The Hots

l just came back from Lanzarote and it was hotter in England. Most Americans think of England being rain and green fields. Parts of the UK are officially becoming drought areas.

People are flying out to Continental Europe seeking the heat and Sun. The mind boggles. It’s turning into an upside down World

I use SS gear and I leave it on 24/7, because I listen daily. Simply sounds better to me after a long burn in (no pun intended). Never had a failure in 60 years for leaving ss gear on. In fact, I keep an FM station playing 24/7, through the system, except when I listen to something else. Enjoy! MrD.

@mylogic yes, places famously and traditionally not hot or warm like the UK are unprepared. Barely surviving these heat waves is the new norm in Europe

@gano, you are smart enough to realize a hot season, cold snap, or short term trend  is no way to draw long term conclusions…..unless one has an agenda. Brutal cold also kills today. Yes conditions have come together in Europe and that is real and unfortunate.   I am not saying it’s not real or a concern for folks dealing with it.  Don’t think leaving your amp or dac on helps cause either situation. 

I have a Carver 5X100w amplifier hooked to my Rotel Surround pre-amplifier. I turn on and off the Rotel - it does that with the TV remote, but the carver stays on all the time. Every once in a while I'll turn it off, but for the most part it's always on. This thing is over 30 years old and quiet as a mouse. That is my surround system, not what I listen to music on. My stereo is all tube except the streamer and the Schiit Loki Max - which I never turn off.

@grannyring 

 short term trend  is no way to draw long term conclusions

right, I am drawing conclusions from the past 50 years. During which the climate on the Planet changed dramatically. The place where I grew up, when I was a kid, 85 degrees was big news and people talked it for a week, is now 100+ for weeks and months. Not once in a while but EVERY SINGLE summer in the last decade getting hotter every year.

For those of you that leave your gear on like dacs, streamers and SS amps I have a tip to try.   Every couple of weeks or so shut them down for 5-10 minutes and then restart. While I don’t understand why, I can say it did something positive to sound quality. A couple of designers I respect told me about this.  

Ok @gano I leave you with your opinions and conclusions. Enjoy your music! 

leave on---Wadax dac, server, power supply, two Ethernet switches, class d bass amps, Herzan TS active isolation, Esoteric clock.

if gone for over a week these are turned all the way off.

standby--darTZeel amps, battery powered preamp

off; tape decks, tape tubed preamps, phono tubed pre, turntables, power supply for field coil cartridge and field coil arm.

I have a field  coil power supply for my speakers. I do keep it turned off. 

For those of you that leave your gear on like dacs, streamers and SS amps I have a tip to try.   Every couple of weeks or so shut them down for 5-10 minutes and then restart. While I don’t understand why, I can say it did something positive to sound quality. A couple of designers I respect told me about this.  

music management software, servers, dacs, and network switches need to be re-booted often to clear stored data cashes that will build up and cause issues. all the meta data gums things up. Roon has a ’clear cashe’ button that helps under ’setup’.

Very true. Amplifiers also benefit sonically in my experience.  

After trying the always on or turned off ways multiple times, I have adopted the following method:

Turning off every piece of equipment that has an on and off feature in front of the unit and always leaving on the ones that only have a on and off function on the back of the unit. I am not gonna try to outsmart the designers any longer. It's common sense to me.

Treat your SS equipment like a old lady's dress. Once it's on, leave it on.

using the national average of 19 cents per kwh the cost to leave an amp that uses 85 watts just being on would cost $166.45 in electricity a year .  So look at what your amp uses when not being played but left on 24/7/365 and decide if it's worth especially if your electricity cost more than national average .

p.s.  I turn my system off but I do turn everything on at least 1/2 hour before I sit down an listen .

@aewarren “Treat your SS equipment like an old lady’s dress. Once it’s on, leave it on”

The comment above, are you trying to drop us a gentle hint about your life style choice?
To run/burn us in gently?

No judgments from me, it’s a free World 🤐

What do you think @grannyring ?

@vair68robert  l think you could be called an energy champion. $155 is quite a hit for an 85 watt amplifier being left on for a year and just for one piece of gear.

I run pretty much all tubes so shut everything down when done listening. I do typically leave my streamer on 24/7 but interesting posts from @grannyring and @mikelavigne I will try turning the streamer off every few weeks and see if that improves SQ.

it wasn't opinions or conclusions, it was numbers = facts. Stuff outside of how we like it, how we feel about it. 

like a old lady's dress

I had no idea that I need to be educated for this 

@gano 
This site is so educational.

Dresses allow for more air around your instruments of your own intimate personal system. During hot weather dresses are a considerable asset to the “nether regions”

Think of it as a part of a room treatment dressing solution.

I used to leave my Innuos ZENith Mk3 on all the time. Since I have been turning it off each time I'm done listening, I no longer have any kind of hiccups at all. I only had issues once in a great while, but it is better without any. Soundwise seems unchanged however.