Leave On or Turn Off

[Stockinv]

A just installed a new HT with B&W speakers and McIntosh 500w amps.
I'm listening to music in the morning and perhaps in the early afternoon and then at night. I'm constantly turning the system on and off. Is this harmful?
Should I just leave it on all day and turn it off at night? Or is it better to save power by turning it off after use?

[Clive]

Allowing the unit to cool down is a good thing, so I think that turning it off after each use is okay. Filters/capacitors will last longer!

[Burke Strickland]

I've heard two stories on this.

One point of view asserts that the cooling down and warming up puts undue stress on the electronic parts and therefore, a "steady state" is prefereable. They add that most failures occur on "turn on" when the current first surges through the circuits.

On the other hand, others advocate that it is actually better not to constantly burn electricity when the gear is not in use and that the "danger" to the equipment from "cycle on -- cycle off" is negligible.

The manufacturer of my power amp says it is not even necessary to "warm up" the unit before play, thus aadvocating turning it off when not in use and turning it on only when actually being used. But they also state that no harm comes to the unit leaving it on all the time, just wasted electricity.

So for a lot of gear it gets down to convenience versus conservation. Unless the manufacturer specifically warns against it, there should be no problem in turning off the amps and then turning them on again when you use them again. However, to extend the bulb life, I would not advise turning a front projector on and off a lot within a short period -- better to keep it on between reels. :>)

Burke

[JetFlyGuy]

I think obselesence will kick in before component failure, so it probobly doesnt make that much of a difference.