Equipment warmup

[dnn8350]

I realise that there may have been some previous discussion re equipment warmup, leaving kit on all the time, etc., but I would be very interested to hear people's specific experience as to:

1) Typical warmup time from cold to achieve optimal perceived performance (various components, assuming already 'burned-in')

2) Effects, if any, of repeated switch-on/ off cycles on reliability/ longevity (I suspect this may attract some feedback on the RB-1080 fuse-blowing problem, although personally I haven't suffered from this)

3) Downside, if any, of leaving equipment permanently powered-up

In my own situation, it has proved impracticable to leave the system permanently on, as it is mounted within a wall-unit with fully-closing doors, which have proved necessary to be left fully open in use to avoid overheating. Since my wife feels that the doors shouldn't be left permanently open for reason of room aesthetics, and since all good marriages involve some compromise, we switch off and close doors when not in use. Another factor is I need somewhere to live!

Any thoughts and experiences to relate?

[jedwards]

RE: Equipment warmup

Heat is the important factor here, hence the term warmup. Adequate ventilation is more important in general as the ventilation will allow for consistent temperatures. Electronics (solid state) usually will have severe issues if they overheat, and may not function at all if too cold. You should work within the tolerances of the equipment you are using.
Vaccuum tubes have a different set of tolerances, but the idea is the same. There is a greater advantage to warming up vaccuum tubes in general, as they are designed to run their best after warmup. Tubes will melt or blow if they run too hot. In general, equipment is damaged by running too hot than too cold.

Solid state equipment is not as sensitive, as long as you are in operating range.

I would be more concerned with the ventilation issue - the warm up time for most modern equipment is very quick, some older tubes take about 5 minutes to warm up, and could take hours to cool down.

[stantheman2]

As described to me, the theory about letting electronics warm up is that the electrical characteristics of individual electrical components might shift slightly with changes in temperature. Assuming this is so, you should turn your system on and play something at your intrended listening level for several minutes, so the temperature stabilizes - sometime between 5 and 15 minutes - before any "critical" listening. Note that doing the "warmup" at bacground music levels and then playing Terminator 2 at 100 dB won't do - the output transistors will increase their "maximum stable temperature" with increased power output.

As for leaving the power on all the time, one idea is that this eliminates the warmup period. From an electrical engineering perspective, thermal cycling from frequent on/off cycles breaks down the insulation of electrical components faster than keeping those components at a constant temperature. However, for home electronics, it would be years if not decades before the difference in insulation life would affect the components.