Warming up.. solid state equipment?

I know that the tube guys here often talk about having those tubes all warmed up and ready to go to enhance the listening experience.

What about solid state equipment? Last night I forgot to shut down my Yamaha receiver, and didn't discover it until I went to listen to some tunes after work this evening. To me, the system sounds quite a bit less strident in the high end (not lacking, just less edgy), clearly much smoother in the mids and tighter in the lower registers.

Is this aural hallucination or something that may have some significance?

 

No, you might've actually heard a difference. Even with solid-state gear, there's a 'stabilization period' which I'd guess takes about 20-40 minutes during which components reach operating temperature, currents and voltages settle down, etc.

It does make a difference and I'm fairly convinced I hear it myself, too. My SS amp and preamp have been on 24/7 for the last 2 years as a result of this, with no issues whatsoever. Same for my CD deck.

What I hear on my gear is a more constricted sound when just powered-up, as opposed to a fuller, richer and more vibrant sound when it's been left on for a while.

I wouldn't be surprised if power-cycling these components was actually MORE harmful to them that leaving them on all the time- after all, that's what they say happens with computers. It's not so much the long periods of operation that pose the most risk, but rather the spikes at power on, as some components likely warm up/react faster than others.

 

I noticed this today. After my solid-state amp had been powered down for more than 24 hours, I powered it up to do some critical de-clicking. I noticed that after about 40 minutes, the bass popped in slightly fuller, and the sound got warmer. Whether there is a design flaw, my imagination, or real, I don't know, but it was definate!

 

I agree with Damián.

I leave my solid state amp, preamp, and cd player on all the time except when I go out of town for an extended period of time. I do this because it takes my amp a full day to sound it's best. When I get back from a trip, I'm always dissapointed in how my system sounds the first day. As a result I usually end up cutting my listening session short. I hear the same types of differences Damián describes.

Btw, I started a thread about this a while back

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?t=37169

 

I've got some wonderful old ('70's) Harmon Kardon and Marantz stuff. 40 minutes sounds about right.

What I'm curious about are new solder joins---like different internal wiring or soldering in a new power cord---which seem to initially make the sound brighter, zippier and more aggressive and take at least 3 days to mellow back out.

 

The owner's manual for most Pass Labs amps suggests letting them warm up for 60 minutes before critical listening.

 

Depends a lot on the equipment.

Some SS sound great from cold.

Some takes weeks to get into the groove (eg. Plinius, Goldmund, Spectral) and is best left on unless you aren't listening for extended periods.

 

Could be. As far as my own equipment is concerned (McIntosh), never noticed a difference whether it was on five minutes or five hours. Then again, I've never listened for a difference, either. If there is any, it must be quite subtle in my case.

 

When I had my Adcom GFA-5400, it took around 30 minutes of warm up time to really sound its best.

 

I cannot listen to my Linn Ikemi or Genki CD players unless I leave them on all the time. The sound is so much better - smoother, more liquid, more like real music.

 

Last Sunday I turned on the stereo for about 40 mins and listened to a record. Then I stopped listening and watched some football but left the stereo turned on. Later in the evening when I listened to some more music I noticed that the system's sound was warmer, just more musical. I have tubes and solid state but warming up is beneficial for both.

 

There was an earlier thread on this topic that I'm too lazy to track down. Someone took a poll about leaving your SS electronics on 24/7. Many people do this, myself included. Some say that SS electronics don't sound their best until after 24 hours of warm-up (!). But you don't want to leave tube electronics on all the time! You'll wear out your tubes, plus it's a fire hazard. About 30 minutes of warmup is plenty for tubes, IMO.

 

I agree - do not leave your tubes on all the time! However, my experience is that tube preamps and amps not only sound much better after 45 minutes of warm-up, but continue to sound better over the next four hours, after which they do not improve in sound quality.

 

Just like a car - its the starts that kill the engine (friction before the oil has had a chance to coat the metal).

 

...there's a noticeable difference absolutely, but I alway's shut down when I retire...

 

So with my vintage Marantz, should I leave it on for several hours when I'm not using it or turn it off?

 

im not sure if this will directly apply, however it may help.

i use headphones for all of my listening and with my kevin gilmore solid state amp it takes at least 30 minutes before it sounds decent, although leaving it on for extended periods scares me because that puppy really gets warm.

im sure the warm up period applies to the amp as well as the electrostatic headphones as well.

 

Ergo, stand-by mode.

 

The issue that keeps me from doing that with my Marantz 2230 receiver is the prospect of those nifty blue tuner lamps burning out prematurely. They aren't very easy to change, so I prefer to do that as seldom as possible.

On the other hand, my phono preamp (Monolithic PS-1) doesn't even have an on/off switch, and it's probably been on since I bought it a few years ago. My powered subwoofer does have an on/off switch, but I leave that on all the time too ... My Marantz and Sony 775 SACD player are off when I'm not using them, though. Sometimes, when I think of it, I'll turn them on about an hour before I know I'm going to use them.

 

My Krell has a switch to turn off the display!

 

I thought about that, too. All my lamps are working, and I've never changed them before (have only had the amp for a couple months). Not something I really want to do. I've never done a true A/B between how it sounds cold and warmed up -- kind of difficult because of the time elapsed. One of these days I'll try it though.

 

FWIW, (for what it's worth)

My McIntosh MAC 1900 receiver sounds best with 60-90 minutes of warmup. In that time it goes from excellent to superb and warm. If power glitches were less of a problem, I would leave it on all the time. Your experience may differ!

Kent Teffeteller