When to Poweroff amps and preamps


I apologize if this has been asked before but I haven’t been able to find it.  What is recommended for when to turn off the power to amplifiers and preamps?  What if you’re going to be using the equipment within a day or so...power it off completely, put it on sleep if that’s available, leave it on?  What if you’re not going to use  it for a longer time...a couple of days?  A week?  Are there different recommendations for solid state and tube equipment? I’m interested in both getting the best sound and prolonging the equipment life. 
brownsf

Showing 1 response by mammothguy54

We all have our views and opinions, including technicians and engineers.  Depending on the design of the product on/off can play a role for one and a different role for another.  I have tube gear for phono stage and preamp, SS for power amp.  Everything is connected to a quality AC conditioner with surge protection.  I turn on about 30 minutes prior to listening and turn off when done.  Heat is the enemy of electronics and my preference is to minimize heat exposure to my electronics.  Tubes have a life span far less than SS gear so it's a no-brainer to turn off that gear after use.  For simplicity sake, the SS amp is turned off as well.
That said, even with the 30 minute warm up prior to listening, there is ALWAYS a period of running time in which SQ gets better.  I find that about 30 minutes in of listening and the imaging improves, bass gets tighter, and soundstage gets wider.  About 45 to 60 minutes and all improves still again.  Listening and enjoying the slow improvements is actually rather fun.  Personally, I prefer to do things this way rather than have heat prematurely deteriorate the electronics.  As stated, we all have our views and opinions; these are mine, yours may differ.