I just listened to Paul McGowan explain that turning SS equipment on and off degrades the capacitors from the tiny power surge and that leaving SS equipment on ALL THE TIME is best. What do you do?
Nothing against Naim (their sales slogan, “You are nothing without a Naim” was however pure nonsense) but manufacturers will swing or exploit anything to sell their products. Market perception is easily tweaked.
Yes, one amplifier left on will only have a minute minimal effect on the environment. However, if we all multiply that “effect” exponentially with trillions of products on standby then the “effect” becomes huge. For Naim to say this is not a good sales pitch. Maybe they could be honest and put in a disclaimer and say, “With so many Naims burning natural resources unnecessarily, we could add to and end up with no one having any names”
We are all by our individual choice’s either become a problem, or a solution.
l leave you with two very important and getting closer words…. “Tipping Point”
The title of a 1970s Moody Blues album springs to mind, “A Question of Balance”
Naim recommends leaving their equipment on 24/7, primarily because it allows the system to maintain a consistent operating temperature, which is believed to improve sound quality and stability over time. Leaving it on also avoided the potential stress on components from powering up and down. While some may be concerned about energy consumption, Naim suggests that the environmental impact is minimal compared to the benefits.
I know it's socially acceptable to not really care about the planet anymore, but you should turn it off.
We all know that coal is now the cleanest Energy producer that's available, but still good idea to turn off your equipment. Most ss equipment is durable enough to last a lifetime.
Plinius said leave my Class AB integrated on all the time. Their newer ones have the power switch on the back panel. My phono stage doesn't even have a power switch (Sutherland Insight LPS) - if it's plugged in, it's on(unless your power conditioner if unplugged or off).
Grimm says to leave the MU1/2 on and currant draw is scant.
Weiss DAC501 consumes 2.2 VA in standby. Some think a twenty hour warm up is key. In use DAC uses 25 VA.
AudioQuest Niagara Says leave on or off. I keep on as streamer is connected as are low voltage PSU’s for swich and filters.
Tubes on for use only
The internet AI reports it Depends on priority. Best sound = keep it on (except Holliday’s or if you listen very rarely of course), Best for your wallet = switch it off. Always turn your equipment off if you are not going to be using it for a few hours (that’s not great advice) and always turn it off of you are leaving the house or over night.
Yes , for me, if away it all gets turned off Not good if you need yr. roon core and are using remote?????
I suspect/know darn well that other things in my house suck way more juice than standby audio gear. Internet is connected to so many things and they all are on and drawing power. Kill your television.
Given switches location on Subs turning off very unpractical.
Both arguments seem valid. I myself have a 25-year-old Harman Kardon integrated amp that has been turned on and off for almost every use and is still fully functional. However, remember that heat is still the worst enemy of electronics, so I would suggest leaving it on or in standby mode during the day when you’re actively listening. But if you go on vacation or will be away for an extended period, I don’t see any good reason to leave it on. Occasional power cycling won’t harm the gear, as it’s well within the design tolerances. My Parasound a23 PA is running 126 deg F inside the chassis and the Harmony micro DAC is running 104 deg F on the top of chassis (so could be even higher inside). I really don’t think it’s a good idea or good practice to leave it on all the time—unless you can convince someone that the high temperature won’t cause any damage to or degrade the performance of the electrolytic capacitors inside.
I turn everything off after each session. I have a PS Audio P15 and part of its design is that it soft starts everything so there isn't the harsh inrush of current that could be damaging. The other reason is that my system was hit by lightening so it is now off and unplugged from the wall when I'm not listening. One strike is all it takes and that is the end of your equipment that you are trying to get extra life on. I also don't need the extra heat and electrical bill with the five amps being on at all times.
You know this, some things can be left on all the time, and some things can't. I wouldn't leave any tube gear on all the time unattended, on the other I think solid state could benefit from being powered up for long lengths of time. It could be true that the act of turning SS on and off a lot with the in-rush of current could increase the risk of component failure.
"Do you hear any appreciable difference with your thermal magnetic switches in?"
The only physical changes were adding a thermal magnetic switch in the wall to the hot wire feeding each amp, and then removing the (pretty good - recent SR color) fuse installed by SMc Audio and replacing it with a1/4-inch, 99.9 percent copper rod that was burnished smooth.
To your question, no, I do not hear any appreciable differences that I would reliably attribute to changing out the fuse for a thermal magnetic switch. I am not surprised. However, I do get to turn my amps off without unplugging them or turning off the breaker at the main electrical panel so I am happy with the win.
Like many, I leave ss gear on 24/7, unless i'm going out of town for some time. Tubed gear gets turned on for listening, then off at the end of the evening.
The only exception to this is the Aleph 2's I own. Those generate so much heat in my small listening room they get treated like tubed gear.
I have a large Pass XP-30 preamp and I can't find a way to turn it off other than unplugging it, and I'm not climbing behind my equipment racks every night to do that. My McCormack UDP-1 doesn't seem to turn off either. I leave my Hovland Radia Amp on all the time because it doesn't sound good for many hours until warmed up and I listen every morning. I have a Moon 280D streamer which I do turn off. I'm not sure where the logic is there. My ARC PH-7 has tubes, so it's off until I use it. I had a McCormack amp and McCormack told me to leave it on, that it's power usage was like a lightbulb when not listening to music.
I have a Butler TDB2250 power amp. When I sent it in for some repairs I talked to B.K. Butler the owner and designer. He told me that leaving the power on was just fine. My amp doesn't have a standby mode. If it did I would use it.
In the UK we have switches on our 13amp sockets as a British Electrical Standard, so it’s not a problem isolating your preamp if over here. I know the US has 110v with normally no switches at the plug for on and off. It sounds a little bit crazy to us Brits if we buy equipment with no on/off switch to not be able to isolate the unit without pulling a plug from the wall.
l know it’s completely safe to just push in and pull out a 110v plug and that is not part of the discussion. I am talking about pure convenience and the options for gear with no on/off. I think that gear made for the American market should logically, and for ease of use, be manufactured with on/off switches.
@aewarren”…my neighbours system sounds better when it’s turned off”
l know the feeling. I even think along similar lines with some of my neighbours TV’s.
Often the sound is so bad they sometimes have the subtitles on, and the picture quality is mediocre. Why do they leave their sets on the factory/show room “vivid” default settings? Bright pink faces and no deep blacks give the game away. The bigger the screens the worse it gets. It seams to never enter their minds to go onto the picture menus.
It is beyond reason how bad straight out of the box, plug and play televisions can look like.
I never turn off my accuphase integrated or my aurender streamer, as recommended by the manufacturer. The only piece I turn off is my Manley tube preamp to preserve the rather expensive tubes. I leave my simaudio amp in stand by all the time. I’ve been told the constant cycling is bad for the power switch and the capacitors. I’ve never had any problems with my equipment.
Coal was okay before oil (dirtier and less efficient than oil)
Wood burning fires since the dawn of man and out of necessity were okay (new wood burning fires installed in the home by choice today, not such a good idea)
Going forward it is a question of using less carbon fuels, and everyone is capable of contributing to a solution.
@mulveling Yeah I tend to agree. My preamp is from Linear Tube Audio and it’s hard to think they’d engineer something that’s capable of blowing my speakers no matter how it’s used, but still I’m gonna check just to make sure. Peace of mind, better safe than sorry, etc.
Yes, definitely ask the manufacturer on that. The more sophisticated (expensive) balanced tube preamps I’ve owned (ARC Ref 6, Rogue Hera, VAC Master) have relay-timed outputs: the outputs are not "live" during a warm-up period, and are first disengaged on shut-down. These have been OK when I’ve inadvertently violated the usual start up / shut-down order - no thumps. BUT I think for general "gear hygeine" it’s still smart to stick to the usual order, as much as possible. But also, these days, with all the protection options available, I think it’s very hard to justify manufacturing any preamp that could cause an awful THUMP in speakers!
There would be a problem if the preamp/linestage emits a thump when it is turned on or off and your amplifier is on and sends that thump to your speaker. If it is loud enough, it may be annoying, or even worse, damaging.
Here’s a question — I relatively recently required a tube preamp. I like to keep my amp and all components on and could leave the rube pre on too because the tubes last a long time and are cheap. The question is if I leave my amp and source components on and turn the preamp off is that a potential issue? I know you’re always supposed to turn the pre on before the amp, but that’s when starting with everything off. I’m thinking it should be fine since the amp is already on but just wanted thoughts if any potential problems doing this.
I have done plenty of research on the subject. Fact is renewables are in place despite the fact that the best solution has been available throughout this whole mess. Check out all the important facts about efficiency and cleanliness and get back to me. So yes both at the same time, until it is time to change entirely to a modern nuclear grid. I think the correct solution is very obvious.
Remember that suggesting a nuclear solution is not denying climate change.
I would go by whatever the manufacturer recommends. Generally, I leave most of my gear "on" or in "standby". If I owned a Class A solid state or tube amp, I'd likely turn it off in the summer to keep from heating up the room too much but might leave them on in the winter. As noted, thermal cycling is what kills electronics or them getting too hot from the buildup of dust - so every once in a blue moon, clean your gear out carefully - or cover up the ventilation holes and slots when not in use if they are turned off. Streamers, your Wi-Fi router, and modem need to be rebooted every once in a while, to maintain a good connection and clear out any "cobwebs". I do mine about once a month.
I turn my gear off when not in use, and I have never had a tube go bad even after 15 years of regular use. Of course, I cannot say that I would have had a shorter life for my tubes if I left them on all of the time; I have no comparative data. There are many ways for a tube to fail, but eventually all tubes will exhibit lower emission of electrons from the cathode due to aging; turning off gear when not in use reduces this kind of tube degradation. If an amp is designed correctly, the early failure from the effects of being turned off and on (e.g., thermal shock) should be reduced enough that it makes more sense to turn off the amp when not in use. As for other components, heat can degrade some components and this will favor turning equipment off to reduce exposure to heat, but, some capacitors might fair better without being turned off if they are susceptible to damage from high inrush current.
The vast majority of tube gear manufacturers will recommend turning off gear when not in use. The downside mentioned by those who don't recommend turning off their gear is usually not so much shortening tube life as it is performance is affected until the gear warms up. The gear I am familiar with usually sounds decent after five minutes or so of use, but, I am aware of some gear that takes much longer than that to warm up (supposedly an issue with the capacitors taking some time to fully reform and stabilize).
yes exactly. There is a history of how the deniers refused to be lectured. And perhaps the believers sometimes talked down to them and triggered the refusal to be lectured.
We are in the same boat. Facts are not up for discussion, we are all subject to gravity and boiling in extreme heat.
And thanks guys for using this an opportunity to lecture us on climate change. Again lets talk about nuclear and not the other other underperforming solutions.
You're so very welcome. And you sound a bit touchy about the topic. I heard a couple mentions but no "lecture." Why not nuclear AND renewables? It works in many places not stuck in binary ruts. Read up and try to think a little bit.
Interesting, inrush current having an affect on cap life. That is also not any kind of spec on caps. What is a spec is time, temp and voltage.
On tubes, they also do not like heat, or voltage spike/changes. There are devices that stop inrush current on tubes, power them up slowly.
On switches a lot of new stuff doesn't have one. If it does have a power switch, it's not really a power switch, but a button that puts the unit in stand-by.
My system is all plugged into a Furman, I just flick the mag breaker off when not in use. Don't use any of the switches on my gear. However, my HT system has power all the time.
Sound wise, yes, leaving it on is best. Not sure it's best for longevity. Also think what Paul is saying when using perfect power with a regen unit, there may be less of a need to power down.
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