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Reliabilty, Keeping Equipment Powered on or off?

I generally keep my system components powered on because the system does not have to "warm-up" when I sit down for a listen. I do know that reliability is usually calculated by POH (power on hours) however this calculation IMHO is a broad brush stroke. I do power down certain components that are not required to be left on to sound their best, such as a Luxman T-117 tuner and Wadia 171i Dock . However, my Krell IA, with the volume turned all the way down runs pretty hot, so hot you can't leave your hand on it. When turning the volume up on the Krell to reproduce the live event sound level, you can fry an egg on it, so I can only guess the Krell was designed to handle this kind of heat? However, back to the other components, such as DAC, SACDP, Headphone Amp, etc. Is keeping everything turned on asking for trouble or is leaving it on best to prevent thermal expansion and contraction which may be detrimental?
grm

Showing 2 responses by dhl93449

dhl93449
455 posts
 
One thing not mentioned. Power line transients. The longer something is kept on and connected to the AC power, the more potential for damaging power transients to destroy components in your power supplies. If you have good line voltage protection (like a Furman line voltage filter, for example), then this is less of an issue. But also be apprised that many line voltage protection devices (like MOVs) have a limited number of transients they can absorb before they fail and you have no further protection.

Power brown outs may create similar problems. If you have frequent or constant power line drops, this can also be hard on equipment as it shuts down due to the low voltage then re-powers as the voltage levels are restored. All this may be happening while you are gone and unaware if you leave equipment powered up continuously.
dhl93449
455 posts
 
skiroe

I can't speak to all equipment, but I am very familiar with Parasound as I have schematics for the JC1, JC2 and other products such as the 2200ii and P3. Although well designed (as good or better than most), there is no voltage transient protection besides filter capacitors. Transient voltage protection is typically not provided by most manufacturers and is left to sand alone outboard line filter and transient protection devices.
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