In response to ghosthouse, the psycho-acoustic effect is enhanced even more with a glass of Scotch.
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My system takes at least 45 minutes to warm up and sound correct. Turn it on once if Im going to listen then I turn it off once.
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I turn my system on about an hour before listening. Three hours later it is swinging. But I do keep it on for full weekends at times. I have found in my case my solid state amp and ancilarys improve in sound up to the next day after turn on.
I know, that is what I was thinking to. |
I’m running a Class D Taranis by Merrill Audio. Got a bit concerned by rvpiano’s tech’s comment about "on with no input signal" being bad for Class D. Checked with Merrill W., the designer of the Taranis, since my usual practice is to power down all gear except the Taranis. The Taranis does not have a conventional on/off power switch. Merrill assured me the Taranis will not suffer from being powered up though receiving no signal. Worth noting he did NOT say this might not be an issue for other designs.
The OP topic has been covered previously, never the less things sound better to me after 30-60 minutes playing music even if gear is turned on to warm up prior to that. Agree with those who speculate this might be a psycho-acoustic effect as much as hardware related.
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auxinput is correct.
All solid state devices consist of metals, metal oxides and binders to bond them together. Overtime the solvent in the binders begin to evaporate and contributes to the resistor, diode or what have you, deteriorating.
I have mostly tube equipment, so I like to play a recording at low level, to put all electromechanical, and electrical functions of all components in a working state for 10-15 minutes or so (sometimes less), before I sit down to serious focused listing. I feel there is advantage to allowing the processed signal from you cartridge (or other source) to complete transmission thru your speakers, where the signal is processed thru the tube grids opposed to the tubes in an idle state, speaker motors in a working state warming up and working the surround material, interconnects transferring signals, etc.
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I know I contradicted myself in the last post. When I got to think of it, the phono section of the pre-amp required separate warm-up.
Sorry!
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I find that the phono section of my pre-amp is warmed up only by playing records
at fairly loud volume. Just keeping the pre-amp on for a period of time doesn't do the trick. |
It takes about an hour for my all SS system when "cold", meaning unplugged. My gear has a standby setting which dramatically reduces the warm-up time, but there still is one. |
I have a class D amp. The NuForce technician told me something very interesting: He said it's not good for a switching amp to be on without being connected to a running pre-amp with a source playing. Therefore, when warming it up I have the tuner playing at very low volume.
i have a tube pre-amp (Conrad-Johnson) which also benefits from the warm-up.
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I keep on SS gear all the time for best sound. This is especially true for digital front ends and class D amps. |
While I agree that some warm up time is good, especially for tubed equipment, I think the major factor in improvement of sound over time is the human hearing and recognition ability. |
My system seems to takes 30min-1hr. It is left off and unplugged much of the time between listening sessions. Not sure what each component contributes to this need, DAC, tube pre, SS amp, speakers. No one seems to mention speakers however I can't help but believe they also sound best once driver elements reach thermal equilibrium. Not sure of the temporal requirement for this. |
My manufacture recommends 30 minutes for optimal performance and I agree with their assessment. Both my pre and power amps also have a standby switch which I use for short periods when away from the system.
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The only virtue in leaving tube equipment on all the time is you'll need more frequent tube replacements. Complete waste of money and energy. |
I have a tube preamp and a SS amp I turn them on an hour before I'm ready to listen. |
Sounds great from the start
Alan |
Mine is an all tube system and it comes alive after about 25 minutes and really shines at 45 to 60. |
Leaving your system on all the time can dry out the electrolytic capacitors (even on tube equipment). I would say this is not advisable. You can leave it on if you want, but you'll wear out your caps in a few years or less. On solid state stuff, I usually need about 45-60 minutes before it sounds best. |
