Leaving equipment on all the time

No one is talking climate change.
But wasting $ and shortening life cycle.
By leaving it on 100% and using it 5-10% of the time (2 hours per day) it will decrease life cycle.

It warms up quickly.
I can see no EE based rationale for improved sound. Once up to operating temp it can go no further. This takes 10 minutes of listening.

IF on some rare case leaving it on extends life does it offset the $ spent on power that could have bought a replacement.

In some cases it may present a safety hazard.
Tubes failing
Fire from over heating or short circuit
A fault caused by surge
Constant I draw accelerating a wiring fault
Small risk (unless you are the victim), but easily averted.
When disconnect by the off switch thisvrisk is reduced.
Part of my job is accident investigation in a safety driven environment, they still happen, you seldom foresee it.

Imagine if he was not home.
Listening #193: Nordost Flatline cables
Among the many bits of audio lore that never have and probably never will be aired in public is the story of the amp that ignited the reviewer's curtains. (I assume that at least some of you hoped I was going to say "pants.") I can't tell it in any great detail, partly because the reviewer in question is a friend (though not a Stereophile colleague), and I'm not sure how much of the story he wants out there. In any event, my object here is to offer a long-overdue apology, to all concerned, for having laughed at that story over the years, because it has now happened to me—not the part about the curtains, but definitely the part about the burning amp.

Yesterday, at about 5:15pm, I went into my kitchen and turned on the oven to pre-heat it. Ten minutes later, my wife and I both commented aloud about a strange, plasticky smell in the house. Naturally, suspicion fell on the oven—which, it turned out, contained nothing untoward. But within a matter of seconds the intensity of the smell went from zero to 60, I could see a filmy haze in the air, the downstairs smoke detector went off, and the dog started barking. Notes of panic were audible in Janet's and my voices as we asked each other, "Where's it comingfrom?" Then, with that clarity of mind reserved for non-audiophiles, Janet asked, "Is it the hi-fi?"

 

If you would have watched the video put out by Paul Mc Gowan of PS Audio. He said keeping the gear on extends the life of the gear over powering it on and off numerous times which actually causes more stress and wear on parts. He also said the gear sounds better hours and days after powering up. It has to do with the circuit stabilizing over time.

 

I've watched it (and a few others by him)
He's 'questionable' at best.
At worse, he wants to sell gear

I'll rely on my education and 35 years of experience and the knowledge of real experts (PhD's in EE).

The longer the device is at operating temperature the shorter it's life cycle. The surge argument is dubious, the surge is reactive power (caps and xfmrs) which can do no work, not produce heat. If left energized any power line surge will flow into the gear. Could be as small as AC unit or refrigerator, on/off constantly.

Personal decision.
Choose your source

 

Maybe this is simplistic, but I just use my gear how the manufacturers have designed it to be used. My phono stage has no power switch, and the manufacturer says it is meant to be powered on 24/7, so it’s on 24/7. My integrated amp has standby, so it goes to standby when I don’t use it (it’s on a timer, so I don’t even make that decision actively every time). The turntable and Blu-Ray player have power switches, so I switch them on and off.

If having a phono stage on and an integrated amp on standby 24/7 is adding anything worth noticing to my electric bill, I don’t notice it, anyway, considering the vast majority of that bill goes to the astronomical cost of keeping the house at a livable temperature through the winters…

 

Im still waiting for the vid he promised that shows a clear difference in the SQ power cords can make. Having said that, I do like Paul and think it would be cool to chute da chit with him, but I do believe (as do others) that some of his claims are questionable.

 

I do think the noise harvesters I have do something, though.

 

Obviously not everything he says is false and in reality most is true. He can be controversial and on a few topics that I know I know more than him, I found myself wondering what the heck he was trying to say. But after watching a number of his vids, I concluded that I really like him, he seems like a cool dood and loves the hobby. Like I said, I would love to listen to his systems and chute the chit with him. I think we could chute the chit well and he obviously knows way more about stereos than me.

 

I really don't think one is only qualified to reflect on this topic based on 35+ yrs experience and a PhD. Real world experience provides a data set. I just suspect nobody has really collected a statistically valid data set to see which practice allows equipment to last longer. My guess is that there is much variance and this isn't a topic any of us really need to focus on.

 

Today I will be getting my first PS Audio product. Nothing fancy, just a 1.5' 12 awg power cable that I will use with my Innersound ESL800. Should get the job done and only $20, thanks Jumping Bean!

 

I live in Tempe AZ, and in the summer with all my gear fired up and the hottest amp installed / active, the climate change is in my listening room , and the AC has to work overtime to keep up.

It only gets worse when I fire up the 65" plasma.

Lately I've been leaving a lot of components on 24/7, but honestly warmed up versus cold start up is not a world of difference to my ears with the gear I own.

But for the most part over the years, when not in use, or time for bed everything would typically go off.

I don't get emotional or worked up about the topic though, it's so component dependent on whether you'll hear a difference that for most mid-fi solid state owners you'd be better invested worrying about more important things.

 

The data is out there. Tons of it.
hifi is not the only electronics in use.
mil, telecom, etc.
The most accurate scopes and data analyzers only require 10-15 minutes to stabilize.

You don't acquire experience without field work. Half of my time has been in the 'field':
Installing
Troubleshooting
Tuning
Etc.
Perhaps more than half, still counting.

As I said, everyone makes their own choice.
I offered opinion.
I have no dog in this fight.
I turn it off or on standby.

 

@Ingenieur I'm just curious what your experience or review of the data shows...does keeping equipment turned on 24/7 extend or shorten life? or is there no difference? Regardless I too turn my gear off when not in use. I'm just curious as I'm not in your field. Thanks.

 

My friend and business partner is an expert in hi-fi. He builds tube components (you should see his garage-8 million tubes). I am listening to the very rigs he built for me. His very strong opinion is that leaving these amps on extends the life (on/off surge). So once I turn them on for the day, they stay on unless I am leaving (I do worry about a fire as they do get hot). Take that for whatever it is worth. The only solid state components I have are the BR player and an FM tuner (Sunday night blues). They are on and off when the amp, preamp and dac are.

 

depends on the equipment:
For example, a tube with a DC heater, better to leave on at a reduced voltage. Turn everything else off.

If AC heater, no advantage.
The filament is an inductor. It offers no Z to DC (Z = 2 Pi f L), so inrush is large, magnetic forces act upon it. But still, 1000's of cycles.
If AC it presents Z and limits inrush, so no real force.

A class A amp consumes the same power with or without signal. Tubes degrade over time, they are consumables, metal erodes, etc.
Some companies have a warm-up timer, they gradually apply power to heat things up, no surge.

For SS most often, no advantage.
In the extreme
On a shelf, last forever
In use, much less

As long as the equipment is used regularly to let it get warm, it makes little difference, but will usually last longer when de-energized when not in use. Either way we are talking decades.

As far as sound quality, up to the listener.
I will say once at operating temp (10-15 minutes) there should be no performance change.

I turn mine of because :
$
imo lasts longer at rated spec
Risk due to surge, fire, etc.

 

one reason why mine will be switched to stand-by
Leaving equipment on all the time

 

As long as the equipment is acclimatized to normal room temperature then stress/wear should be minimal (I remember CRT manufacturers stating such years ago - anyone remember CRTs going pop when folk fired them up from extreme cold from a non-climatized warehouse? )

I tend to switch my audio equipment off fully after use. My DAC doesn't have an 'off' switch as such, the 'on/operate' knob is just to fire up the tubes. Other than that it gets rather toasty. Purposely designed that way I suspect but the heat from the power supply could cook eggs when its sat there doing nothing

From a work perspective (IT), main killer of electronics is excessive heat, lack of maintenance (cleaning etc).
I've seen the odd one or two UPSs catching fire - but that was due to someone not changing the batteries for 10 years (operational 24x7)

 

One term crops up, surge.

What happens when you turn something on with a power supply is that current is required to magnetize the xfmr and charge the caps.
Caps are obviously capacitive devices, a xfmr is inductive. The offset and present some R and X.

This current does not pass to the electronics, it stops at the caps. And the voltage never exceeds line voltage/xfmr secondary, in fact it drops due the Z of the devices. ( Vdrop = I Z)

It's all reactive power, not real.
Unlike a motor which takes both to get spinning, make power/torque.
An amp does no work until you play music and make air pressure.

 

No offense or pointing to anyone. I leave my recording studio on even for a day or any day as long as there is supervision.
But overall in the long run wether its on of off, Ill take safety always better than being sorry.

 

Sounds like mining Law
Equipment must be attended
If not de-energize

 

Seems like no problem on your end since its with close supervision....

 

Ill definitely focus on it and take any advise that same night as long as she's a PH double D.

 

The majority of the time, your equipment is on an essentially low-powered state when not actually playing audio anyway. Even with a car, your engine will last longer or encounter fewer issues, and use less fuel and oil if you drive long distances as opposed to shorter/stop and go trips.

 

Yes, but do you leave car running 24/7 in the garage?
The short trips = idle on, not being used?
Using it = long trips?

My new amp draws 150 W at idle.
0.5 W on stand-by.
$200/year or &0.65?
A 12%+ increase in my power bill.

Which will wear the gear more?
Continuous 150 W or 0,5 W?
Is it better to have 0.5 W of heat dissipated or 150 W for 90% of non-listening time?
Which will cause more thermal degradation?

Like I said, personal choice.
Not my $ or gear.

 

Is that unique to solid state gear or are you saying all gear?

Reason I ask is because, I may have mentioned this earlier, I spoke with my amp manufacturer in Florida a few weeks ago and he told me, in regards to my tube amp in question, "the tubes see the highest voltage at startup and shut down."
Are you suggesting that the voltage can go up but there is little current?

I'm sure stuff can be designed with soft start. I think my pre might have that as it mutes itself at power off and for the first 30 seconds of power on. The mute function is a relay that flips the output off so you hear it clicking on/off from 15 feet away.

The newer amp designs from this manufacturer might have soft start but they aren't in my budget.

 

Try not to leave that proton pack on., Please...