2. amps-preamps
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Warm Up Time/Cost of Operation

When I have solid state gear I will leave it on 24/7. For amplifiers this was no big deal and with certain amps previously I could hear the differences between a cold start up and 3 days of power up. 

A year ago I bought a pair of Classe Omega monoblocks. A bit ago the wife was commenting on our electrical bill. I could not find online specs for power consumption but this morning I located the manual.

Consumption is listed at 706 watts. I assume this is per amp and hourly consumption. Electricity here is 12.6 cents per KWH. A calculator shows the cost of 24/7 on ad being $126 a month. 

It's a bit wasteful to idle like that so I am planning on switching off moving forward. But I am wondering what should my plan be moving forward.

 Thinking I will turn them on when listening in the morning casually, shut them off while at work, turn them on when I get back, and shut off when I go to bed. 

Anyone have experiences running big amps like mine in this manner? Thoughts and experiences are greatly appreciated. 

neonknight

Showing 1 response by bipod72

bipod72
154 posts
 

Don't most of the new components these days have a standby option? My Marantz unit uses 0.03w/hr in standby mode as does my CA streamer per the apps. I don't let my gear stay on all day and night. If it stays on overnight it's by accident. If it's on all day it's because I'm actively listening to music. My speakers get warmed up by playing music, vs just letting them sit there "warming up" with nothing being played. 

If I found my gear was consuming $150+ of electricity a month just in idle mode, I'd be replacing them with equipment that had a standby mode or just turn the gear on a little while before listenings. But then again...I don't have such exotic gear to tend to. 

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