Do you warm up your gear prior to a listening session?

[z-adamson]

I do.

Just seems logical.

Is there any technical reason to warm up though?

 

[Blue Shadow]

If the boys are comin over I turn on the rig when I get up so it has a few hours to come to temp. The gear they drag over starts playing cold. The tube amps they show up with get to temp a lot quicker than some other pieces.

Added: Of course, I'm listening to the rig while I ready the house for the stampede. When I turn on the stereo, I do that to listen to it, not warm it up. Even the tube amps only get a minute or 3 before I send sound coursing through the units.

 

[slow_jazz]

Never.

 

[musichal]

Was I 'sposed to turn it off? Debate rages, but not here in this thread. But I really don't turn it off (standby) very often, though I'm trying to form the habit when I expect it to be out of use for four hours or more. And I have put the new amp in standby a couple times, maybe three. When I turn it back on, I just listen cold as it warms up.

 

[jbrainey]

It warms up as I listen to it.

 

[Wildcat]

I warm it up, but I play music in the background while doing something else. No, I don't let it sit idle. When the tubes get up to the proper stewing temperature? Game on, baby!

 

[z-adamson]

I have formed the habit of letting the gear idle for at least 20 minutes before a listening session.

Can't be a bad thing and likely helps in at least a few aspects.

 

[motorstereo]

First I retard the timing and set chock. After it's warm I release the chock and advance the timing. After that it hums along nicely.

Hopefully you remembered to retighten the set screw and reset the dwell after those changes???

 

[zebra03]

Letting every thing stabilize can't be a bad thing .

 

[Dr. Morbius]

On my living room system I'll occasionally let it warm up. On the other 3 systems I don't bother. I can't hear a difference one way or the other with solid state amps.

 

[Freddymac2]

When did you last check your bias on your SS amp. It does make a difference in my small amp. My unit is on about 18 hours a day, my wife demands it. I picked up a cheap ETek 10790 from Walmart Auto section for $20. It has a very small thermistor (I think) probe that I push through the case slots and directly down on the heat sink. I know when things aren't right, and I was surprised how closely temp follows bias. You can't use this method if you have been cranking on it. Only check it at idle after 15 minutes or so. The first one of these amps I had, I put a set of jacks in the back so I could measure bias quickly, After I got familiar with the relationship I no longer bothered. Some say it is dangerous to use anything short of a Fluke. This is a pretty well made meter with voltage sensing and good ranges IMO.

 

[mkane]

warm up while listening

 

[WaynerN]

For about 1 minute.

 

[FONSguy]

Keep it on all the time.

 

[whoaru99]

For about as long as it takes me to decide what's first up after everything is turned on.

 

[MurrayLives]

I wouldn't listen critically until after 15 minutes or so... everything benefits from some amount of warmup. But I will listen after a couple minutes.

 

[the_nines]

For about as long as it takes me to decide what's first up after everything is turned on.

-Ditto-

By the time I find something to play, it's warm enough.

 

[loopstick]

Solid-state Chez Loop.

 

[teal'c]

No warm up time.
I will go slow in the car when it's bitter cold though. Give the rubber surrounds some time to loosen up.

 

[JoeESP9]

All my SS gear stays on most of the time. Anything with tubes gets a warmup. Things with moving parts (TT, tape decks) get turned on when I'm going to use them.