Should an amp be left on?

N

ninetynine

Active Member
I usually turn on my amp in the morning and turn it off at night before I go to bed knowing that I listen to music daily.( I do this every day) My question is, is it really bad turning an amp on and off? is it ok if the amp is on 24 hours?
 
Something that might help you decide is the cost of electricity. I've been monitoring electrical power consumption on my own audio equipment - I'll post some results later. There's a couple (at least to me ) surprises in there.
 
I guess i'll continue turning it on in the morning and off at night. Also, I noticed that I have a standby feature. When I push power on the remote all the lights turn out ( volume knob, source ) except for the power light. The amp is obviously turned off but what is the use for this standby? Should I just leave it in standby when I don't use the amp? Or should I first switch off the amp with the remote by turning the lights off (it will be in standby) and then turning off the power button from the amp eventually shutting the amp down completely?
 
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Standby is usually used to keep things warm and ready to go but in a much more efficient mode then if you have it turned on all the way. Depends on your amp but standy would be good to leave it in when you are done with it. Of course, theres nothing wrong with turning it off either.
 
Stand-by mode has changed over the years. Back in the early 90's when remote control was just starting to be standard on audio equipment Stand-by mode meant the only part of the equipment getting power was the logic that monitored the remote control. The amplifiers and tuners were not powered until you brought it out of stand-by. On all new equipment the circuitry for the remote control is always powered. Leaving the unit in stand by is how it was designed to be used. If you are concerned about lightning strikes then powering all the way off is a little better.
 
Depends

ninetynine said:
I usually turn on my amp in the morning and turn it off at night before I go to bed knowing that I listen to music daily.( I do this every day) My question is, is it really bad turning an amp on and off? is it ok if the amp is on 24 hours?
Click to expand...

Depends on the amp. . . Some are designed to run 24/7 and some are not. Nelson Pass does not recomend running his amps 24/7 (Adcom 555/ Fort'e model 3/ among others) I asked him that question about my Fort'e in particuliar.

I think it depends on 'bias' levels, class A or other amps that run hot at idle. You should be able to tell by just how hot it gets at idle. . . Lord knows I am not the expert but if one of mine were hot all the time I think I would turn it off when not in use. :naughty:
 
If I left my amp on or used it many hours per day I would consider adding a cooling fan. Heat is the enemy of power transistors. See thread on cooling fans on Vintage forum for power loss curve also.

I kick on and off my Pioneer Sx-780 several times a day and never had any problems except a bad solder joint in 20 yrs. I do not think vintage stereos are as sensitive to on/off power surges as computer chips.

Charlie
 
standby

My denon PMA-2000r's users manual actually states that the main power should always be left on.
Standby via remote is the only stated way, according to denon to shut the unit down unless you are not going to be using it for extended periods of time then, the manual goes further to say then it shouldn't be powered of at the main switch but actually physically unplugged?
I'm sure there's a reason.
They don't say why.......

Tal
 
qboneus said:
My denon PMA-2000r's users manual actually states that the main power should always be left on.
Standby via remote is the only stated way, according to denon to shut the unit down unless you are not going to be using it for extended periods of time then, the manual goes further to say then it shouldn't be powered of at the main switch but actually physically unplugged?
I'm sure there's a reason.
They don't say why.......

Tal
Click to expand...

hmm, curious to know as well
My amp doesn't seem to heat up that much but won't leaving it on 24/7 burn out the display lights?
 
LED's on Modern equip

I think most LED's life exceeds 10,000 hours so LEd burn-out wouldn't be something I'd worry about, personally.
That and they cost like a quarter to replace after 10,000 or so hours. no worries...
My amp in question uses LED's I'm not sure about yours...


Tal
 
qboneus said:
I think most LED's life exceeds 10,000 hours so LEd burn-out wouldn't be something I'd worry about, personally.
That and they cost like a quarter to replace after 10,000 or so hours. no worries...
My amp in question uses LED's I'm not sure about yours...


Tal
Click to expand...



As I understand there are LCD vacum fluorecent and the LED lights, i wouldn't know which I have , would you be able to tell by looking at my amp?
there are three lights

amp
 
I was told once that LED's will last pretty much forever, but this could be wrong. Since they are basically diodes i guess it is certainly possible.
 
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