Amp. should stay on or off ?? !!

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  • Gadgets
    Junior Member
    • Dec 2003
    • 19

    Amp. should stay on or off ?? !!

    I'm trying to figure the best way of maintaining my equipment..

    Do i need to power off the amp after each & every use or just leave it on ?? ( You can see my gear in my profile..)

    Your advice will be helpful as i'm new to separates.

    Thanks !
  • Burke Strickland
    Moderator
    • Sep 2001
    • 3161

    #2
    Your equipment's manufaturer probably has recommendations about this. But just about everyone in the hobby does what they think is right regardless of what the manual says. :>) Some say it is best to leave it on all the time so it is "ready when you are" since some amps require a warm up period as long as a half hour to be at their best.

    Others say that wastes electricity and that it doesn't really take all that long to warm up nor is it all that important. Also, some people find that with some equipment, they need to turn the amp on before the rest of the equipment to avoid loud "pops" in the speakers when the amp is turned on.

    If I were running a true class A amp and noticed that it was heating the place up and costing a lot in additional electricity (since a Class A amp uses its peak wattage all the time, unlike other designs which "idle" with a much lower power draw), I'd turn it on and off every time. Actually I do have a true Class A amp but leave it on all the time except when I am going out of town or if we are having a really REALLY bad storm (during which I unplug it and just about everything else).

    Since I don't feel the heat (the amp, being out in the open, actually runs cooler than some other equipment which is in a rack) and since I haven't noticed a surge in my power bill by leaving it on, that's what I do. The manufacturer of my amp says it is not necessary to leave it on to "warm it up" but also says that it will not damage it to do so..

    If the amp had a 12 volt trigger allowing it to be turned on and off with the pre/pro, I'd use that, but since it only has a manual switch, I manually leave it "on". :>) That way, in addition to convenience, I also avoid possible annoying or damaging sounds when turning the other equipment on and off.

    In the end, it's really up to you and what you feel comfortable with.

    Burke

    What you DON'T say may be held against you...

    Comment

    • Chris D
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Dec 2000
      • 16877

      #3
      Well, how about the argument that computers and other electronics should remain on constantly to maintain an even operating temperature? That way components are not heating up, expanding, and contracting, every time the unit is turned on and off.

      I've heard that one argued before.




      CHRIS
      Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"
      CHRIS

      Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
      - Pleasantville

      Comment

      • Gordon Moore
        Moderator Emeritus
        • Feb 2002
        • 3188

        #4
        Well I think an engineer or electrician would be best to chime in (assuming Burke, you're not either) but I think the power draw of a computer is WAY less than an amp (then again...maybe not...Class A might since it's so efficient, but uses 100% at any given moment).

        Assume a cost of .12kWh.
        A typical computer draws anywhere from 120 - 330W (mine draws around 230W under regular load)

        230W * .12kWh * 365 * 24h/day = $252.29 that's a lot of DVD's!

        course that's if it drew 230W all day...at idle it would be more like 100W...that's still 100 bucks that could go towards gas, food, bills, a night out...etc... Just for the luxury of leaving it on????

        The issue for a PC wasn't so much about heat as it was your data. In the old days you had to manually issue a command to park your hard drives read head before you powered down to protect the life of the device(you can still do this...but these days most drives wil automatically park before it's powered off). These days hard drives are built to outlast the typical 5 - 7 year life span of a home PC...so it's not a worry.

        Leaving your pc on (unless attached to a good UPS) leaves it vunerable to Brownouts, sags, spikes, lightning etc..

        Leaving your PC on leaves you open to hackers, wireless attacks etc...
        Screensavers use minimum 40 some odd Watts when on and 3D screeensavers can use as much as 115W or $120 /yr (assuming .12kWh...that's an expensive screensaver).

        The recommendation is to turn a pc off when not in use.

        Now for an Amp I think some of this would apply....

        Turning it off:

        Is a green solution.
        Saves money on your power bill.
        Helps protect it from lightning strikes, brownouts, surges, sags.
        Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.

        Comment

        • Andrew Pratt
          Moderator Emeritus
          • Aug 2000
          • 16507

          #5
          Interesting numbers Gordon...I have two PC's that run 24/7 and use to leave my Class A amp on all the time too when I had it :roll:




          Comment

          • George Bellefontaine
            Moderator Emeritus
            • Jan 2001
            • 7637

            #6
            I turn the receiver off, the pc off and anything else that burns electricity when it's not in use. I've been doing this since my first amp waaaaaayyy back... and they have all lasted until I upgraded.




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            Comment

            • Burke Strickland
              Moderator
              • Sep 2001
              • 3161

              #7
              Turning it off ...Helps protect it from lightning strikes...
              If it's plugged in, can't it still get zapped by lightning even if it is turned off?
              Leaving you PC on leaves you open to hackers, wireless attacks etc...
              If it is behind a firewall inside a private home with a physical security system (IOW, no one else has direct access to the computer) and not connected to a wireless net, is that still a concern?

              Gordon, Thanks for outlining and quantifying the reasons for "turning it off". It is amazing how "pennies a day" adds up over a year's time. One area a lot of folks don't even think of that burns electricity is the power warts that convert electricity fromn AC to DC that many people leave plugged in all the time even if they are not using the appliance (such as a cell phone battery recharger). Collectively, those probably eat up as much or more current (and money) as a power amp.

              On the other side of the fence from the "green" position, has anyone done a study on the effects and costs of frequent turning on-and-off? The scuttle-butt for years has been that the time when equipment is most prone to failure is when it is turned on, which is when the current first surges through it. So, the reasoning goes, if you are going to be using it intermittently during the day, it is better to leave it on the whole time rather than switching it on and off so it is only vulnerable to the peak surge once in the day. (Of course the "green" argument is that you re wasting electricity during the times that you are not actually using it.)

              Inquiring minds want to know. :>)

              Burke

              What you DON'T say may be held against you...

              Comment

              • Gordon Moore
                Moderator Emeritus
                • Feb 2002
                • 3188

                #8
                If it's plugged in, can't it still get zapped by lightning even if it is turned off?
                Yup you're right...you got me there (see what rushing gets you). I think the browouts, spikes, surges etc... still applies.

                Firewalls offer a layer of security...if you mean physical firewall (like a hardware unit) you have a extra layer of protection...sure. However, that said even hardware firewalls can be bypassed...say you picked up a trojan and it tunnels out through port 80. You may not even notice it and then it's a matter of telnet'ing into your files...

                These are neat little programs for this type of scenario. Give 'em a try and see how "secure" you are




                Mind you this just proves how critical up to date AntiVirus software is.

                Even when a pc is off, they draw trickle power something like 2-3W, so unless it's unplugged or severed at the power bar, you are still drawing juice.

                I think your right about powering on and off a device shortens life. I think that's why many electronics have some sort of delay built in (not pc's though). TV's are great examples of that. You hit power. The little power light comes on and then there's a brief sec when nothing happens and then your set displays a picture. I think it's related to that. I believe modern amps, receivers, etc.. have a similar delay built-in (just a guess).

                I'm not aware of that kind of study (that I can find anyway)...I remember reading about how harsh powering up electronics is (as you mentioned) but darned if I can remember the conclusion on the severity to electronics. I know static discharge is another great electronics killer....but that's another topic
                Sell crazy someplace else, we're all stocked up here.

                Comment

                • ThomasW
                  Moderator Emeritus
                  • Aug 2000
                  • 10934

                  #9
                  If it's plugged in, can't it still get zapped by lightning even if it is turned off?
                  Yeap that's correct.

                  Here's a strange but true lightning story.

                  One of the editors of PC magazine had his house hit by lightning. He had put half hitch knots in the power cords of some of his computer and A/V gear. All the gear with the half hitch knots weren't killed by the strike. He of course had to replace the melted power cords. All the electrical devices that lacked the knots were toast.

                  Go figure...... :?:




                  theAudioWorx
                  Klone-Audio

                  IB subwoofer FAQ page


                  "Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-Bresson

                  Comment

                  • Gadgets
                    Junior Member
                    • Dec 2003
                    • 19

                    #10
                    Just for the record... I'm comming from the computer field & computers should stay on during the day even if you only use it couple of time it's better leave it on & let the power supply rest at night (it's not the damage to the part as well as it's the power consumption, room heating & sucking dust inside the computer).

                    I myself encountered with a computer that was on for 2 years & never shut down, and the same day it was shut down for the first time & brought to my lab. (I use to have one) - the fan inside the power supply got stuck & had to be replaces - he kept on moving using his own inertia power as long as it was on.

                    Amps usualy doesn't have a fan & hence my question.

                    Comment

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