Silly questions about cd player...

I read the other day on AA that for cd player's it's a good idea to leave it on all the time. Is there any benefit to this? Also, any negatives? I'm doing one of my mental "refresher" courses again...

Todd

 

Keeping any electronics toy on all the time exposes it to thermal loads that will over time change the values of the parts inside and leave the unit exposed to power surges when the unit is not needed. These are facts. Some people believe that CD players need a break in period to sound the best and even special break in CD's to demagnatize the players; I won't go there with my opinion about the merit of those suggenstions.

 

Leave it on if you can. I turn mine off only when I go on holidays. So my SACD player has been on since Jan 9th. If there is no chance of a power surge, there is no good reason to turn the CD player off.

Here in the Bay Area, thunderstorms are very rare - I think there was one two years ago and lightning struck a tree in Sunnyvale; made the front page of the local rag.

I lived in Brisbane, Australia prior to coming to San Jose, and late afternoon electrical storms in summer were the order of the day; still I left the CD player on. Probably not the smartest move, but I never had a problem. I would not recommend this however. If you get electrical storms where you live, you should turn off and unplug expensive electrical devices when not in use.

Regards,
Metralla

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Metralla, what would be the benefits (technical reasons) of leaving it on? I should be okay with no fear of power surges. I live in a big apartment building in NYC and I have the CD player going into a Monster HTS 2000. I've luckily never encountered a power surge problem while living here (nor anyone I've ever known).

Todd

 

You are quite correct, Richard. Even your intimations are noteworthy.

 

There is also a moral and economic component to your question. Leaving on equipment iwhen not in use ncreases air polution, puts a strain on our power grid, increases out dependence on foreign sources of energy and wastes resources.

 

Good point, Richard. I don't mind turning my amp/Pre/players off. I've woken up with my amp accidentally left on, played it, and never heard a big improvement in the fact that it's idled all night.

I don't buy the warm up thoery either.

 

Richard,

Your point about the moral/economic issues to leaving componants on is very true (I do agree yet...). My questions about this are mainly about understanding what are the benefits/negatives of doing this. For me, I do my part as a responsible citizen (as best I can living in a modern world/I don't even have a cell phone) when it comes to these matters. I don't leave lights burning in every room, I recycle, short showers, flush once a month (kidding), etc. I think in my case, if I left a CD player on then I wouldn't kill the grid. We all have our sins. I try to take everything in balance. I can't feel guilty for turning on a light or using my stereo system. As I said, I usually don't consume that much electricity (my bills are small, thankfully). So, if I did leave a CD player on without use then I won't feel too bad (justification I know). If I was a power-hog then maybe I would then need to think about it (but if I was like that then I wouldn't give it a second thought, I guess)...

Todd

P.S. Knowing me (which hopefully I do) I'll most likely shut-down (which I always do) after listening. Helps me sleep better at night...

 

I'm kind of forced into a short warm-up: my tube amp has a two stage on/off switch which is intended to lengthen tube life. When I first bought it many years ago, I found that if I did not follow the prescribed warm-up position on the switch the surge would blow the fuses in the amp, so, I have to wait three minutes before I can turn the thing fully on.

My tube preamp has an automatic warm-up stage that takes about 40 seconds. These amounts of time are inconsequential, but have nothing to do with the notion of a component sounding better after having been on for an hour or so; they're there because the designer knew that instant-on power surges can shorten tube life.

As for the break-in period required to hear a component at its best, I can buy this as far as speakers are concerned - a brand new woofer or tweeter might be a little stiff, just like a new pair of shoes - but my SA-14 SACD player sounds just as good as the day I took it out of the box, and that within 15 seconds after I've returned to my seat from loading the first disk.

I've come to the conclusion that a lot of this stuff is just part of the audiophile ritual

 

I think that's what I'll continue to do. Switch everything off when finished listening. My main point to this post was to try and understand why some people believe that digital componants operate better being left on 24/7? If there was a "strong" benefit then I was considering maybe trying to see if I notice any difference. I'm kind of in my experiment mood these days (but also more stressed for time so selective about stuff, what ever). I definately will not leave my tube and other gear on (never have). I think I'll sleep better at night just continuing what I've always done, turn the damn stuff off when finished.

I have noticed that my tube gear, TV, etc. do benefit from some warm up time of about 30 min.-1 hour. The sound (and in the case of the TV, image) dramitcally improves. I don't know about CD players (I think that's why I posted my question).

Anyway, I was just curious...

Todd

P.S. What about Hoover vacuum cleaners 24/7, do they pick up more dirt or what (kidding)?

 

No, but they clean the air.

 

So I don't need to worry about switching tubes on and off? Some claim that switching on and off shortens the life of the tubes, but IMO leaving them on 24/7 would kill the tubes sooner, especially when I'm only using it for 10% of that time.

 

Hi,

Here's my slight twist to this interesting point. Everyone in our family used to rant & rave about how my Great Aunt & Uncle's televisions would last forever wo/ ever being repaired. Their secret (so to speak) was they never turned them off. Every TV they ever owned lasted over 20 yrs.

Just a thought,
Jeffrey

 

That's a lot of TV watching!

 

Hi,

Yea, in the hills of West Virginny there isn't a lot else going on!

-Jeffrey

 

The reason people have said to leave on your components is that the cooling and heating (and the resulting expansion and contraction) by turning if off and on of an electronic device and it's components can be damaging over time. The closest analogy is that you generally won't burn out a lightbulb until you flick it on.

Personally, I leave my cd player and preamp on all the time. My preamp in fact does not have an off switch. Because of the tubes, I do not leave my amp on nor do I leave my solid state home theater components on since I don't want the power drawn and I am less critical of the sound on my home theater. I do believe thermal warmup makes a difference in sound and have heard it in my system. My amp doesn't sound as warm (no pun intended) until about an hour's time.

Just my $.02 worth...

 

Beagle

Turning on and off your tube equipment will or will not shorten the life of your tubes depending on your equipment. Many components have built in protection for the ill effects of turning your equipment on. Leaving it on all the time on the other hand will certainly shorten the life of your tubes. I warm my tubes up for a half hour to an hour.

 

Hi,

Just to remind everyone, the original question was specifically about leaving the CD player on all the time. Not the pre-amp, not the power amp, not tube life or tube guilt (that's a good one Steve). So let's address the CD player.

Surely the CDP has such low power draw that considerations regarding electrical bills and conservation of energy are not really pertinent.

One thing that Steve mentioned was the risk of fire with tube gear. With the CD player, that's not an issue (assumption here is that we are not talking about a CD player with a valve output stage).

I haven't yet heard a good reason to turn the CD player off, yet I have no proof that you achieve better sound by leaving it on. I have read a number of articles that you should leave the CD player on, and I bet Todd has too (or why would he be asking?).

I guess you could always try an experiment and see if you can hear a difference.

Regards,
Metralla

 

I tried it Metralla. It didn't make a hair of difference either way, but on the other hand, my pre amp doesn't have an on/off switch and in the owners manual it says the reason they made it that way was less wear and tear on the parts inside. So my pre and power amps are always on but I do turn my CDP off.
PS. SS, not tubes though.

 

Metralla,

Thanks for putting the focus back on the original core question about are there any benefits or negatives about leaving a CD player on. I've read about people doing this yet no one's really explained "why"? Maybe there's a sonic reason or maybe there isn't. I'm just interested in finding out any facts if there are any. It doesn't mean that I will do it or not. I'm just curious and trying to absorb some more knowledge & understanding...


Todd

 

Knowing why can be usefull but it isn't the determining factor in knowing what. Let me explain. It is irrational to demand an explination for how or why something works to believe it does. Gravity worked for 12 to 15 billion years before Einstein explained how it works. People had beeen relieving pain with asperin for years before scientists had any idea how it works. Im not saying keeping a CD player on all the time will improve it's performance or not but I am saying that the truth of the matter does not hinge on having an explination for how it works. creationists try to use this very tactic to try to discredit the fact that life evolved by claiming we don't know how it happened and scientists don't agree on how it happened.