[Archguy]

My best friend in college was an EE major and he always left his SS audio equipment on 24/7.
Said the wear that way was much less than if they were switched on and off.
Makes sense--I understand, but I also wonder is it (still) true?
Do any of you leave your SS components on all the time?

Nowadays so many components have stand-by features
and I doubt they leave much circuitry energized but I don't really know.

[twitch54]

it depends on the 'state of solid state'..........if it's of Class A topology only a fool would leave it on 24/7

Myself I turn my gear off, unplug it when gone or storms threatening.

SS warm up is way over exaggerated

[Archguy]

Hmm... this was in the 1980s, so what came after Class A and when? 
They were college-budget Pioneer components (receiver & cassette player!) IIRC.

I still have an old JVC receiver that I can cook breakfast on it gets so hot.
Just bought  an auxiliary USB fan for it because I like it. 

[zoom25]

Everything on 24/7. DAC, transports, computers, preamps, linear power supplies, Class D amp, class AB amp inside active speaker...I wouldn't run Class A or something beefy 24/7. All of it stays borderline room temperature/warm. Nothing to worry about. It sounds better to my ears.

[Armaegis]

During the winter months, I leave my gear on... 

In all seriousness though, I do find solid state benefits from a bit of warm-up time. Maybe 10 minutes at most, though in reality it winds up being more like an hour because I turn the gear on then wander off and start doing something else and forget. I find tube gear actually "warms up" faster than solid state, probably because SS typically has a lot more mass (heatsinks, etc) to bring up to temperature.

[Archguy]

Would that mean SS shouldn't be played strongly right after turning on? 
As with tube amps?  My tube amp says wait 10-20 secs before applying signal.
Definitely waiting for cold weather to fire up more tube amps though.
Along with a couple incandescent lights which I haven't found decent LEDs for.

I could never leave computers on.   Hard drives all have MTBF ratings. 
Moving parts and all that.  Though, most go to sleep unless you prevent it.

[Armaegis]

In general I would say give both solid state and tube amps a few seconds before cranking the tunes. Both amps want a few moments for the caps to charge up, tubes literally need the filaments to heat up, etc. Some amps even have a delay built in for the system to "boot up" so to speak before you can play music.

[srb]

Hard drives all have MTBF ratings.

Electrolytic capacitors also have hour ratings and are probably one of the shorter lived parts in an electronic component.  To make matters worse, each 10°C rise in temperature cuts the lifespan in half.

In real estate - location, location, location.

With electronic components - ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.

Steve

[DogsPart2]

it depends on the 'state of solid state'..........if it's of Class A topology only a fool would leave it on 24/7

Myself I turn my gear off, unplug it when gone or storms threatening.

SS warm up is way over exaggerated

Same here as well.  Never any issues.

[Elizabeth]

I am in the 'on 24/7/365/ camp.
I find the sound is not nearly as good the first hour or two after a cold start.

I DO leave two items turned off which I seldom use.

Also I leave a tube preamp on all the time.. No proble. In fact that preamp case is sealed!  It doesn ot get too hot...

In addition, I may buy a new amp, which runs 100 watts cooler at idle. Same amp as I now own, just the latest model. (they turned down the class A idle percentage.)

[*Scotty*]

Something to remember about the temperature rating of capacitors. One, they are rated in degrees C not F.
 85 Degrees C is a common rating and is equal to 185 degrees F. A rating of 105C adds a little more to the cost of the capacitor and is equal to 221 degrees F.
 In both cases, 85C and 105C, the temperatures are far above the internal temperature found in most well designed audio gear provided with adequate ventilation. The lifetime of the capacitors goes way up when they are operated at or near room temperature.
Given modern capacitor chemistry and design, I consider that leaving your stereo system on 24/7/365 is a non-issue with regards to shortening the life of the capacitors in the gear.
 I also suspect that ones sensitivity to SS warmup phenomena is partially a function of the overall systems level of information masking.
Obviously this is hard to quantify but it becomes very easy to hear when a speaker, cable, or piece of gear, is inserted into the system and you suddenly have a wealth of heretofor inaudible details present in the music. Less masking n'est-ce pas ?
Scotty

[srb]

The lifetime of the capacitors goes way up when they are operated at or near room temperature.

Unfortunately there is no amplifier of any class whose internal chassis temperature is at or near room temperature.

Also, I have seen amplifiers where additional external power supply capacitors were chassis mounted a tiny fraction of an inch from hot internal heat sinks.  So it also depends on the physical chassis design and location of the capacitors.

Steve

[Archguy]

Unfortunately there is no amplifier of any class whose internal chassis temperature is at or near room temperature.

You are right of course but lately with some new Class-D amps I'm beginning to wonder.  Can't use them as heaters in winter, that's for sure.

Also, I have seen amplifiers where additional external power supply capacitors were chassis mounted a tiny fraction of an inch from hot internal heat sinks.  So it also depends on the physical chassis design and location of the capacitors.

Excellent point and one more thing for me to keep an eye on...when eyeing amps

[FullRangeMan]

No 24 hours power on and power cable disconected from wall to save components, energy bill, avoid lightning during storms and problems by power outages.

[zoom25]

I don't stack components. Everything on separate shelves. Room is well ventilated and relatively cool.

I don't know if I'm the only one who does, but each day at the start or evening I'll usually run the back on my hand across the top of each component's chassis. Most of it's barely warm. My Class D Amphion amp is at the same temperature as my BDP-1. Just barely warm. Surprisingly, the heaviest Teradak LPS is always the coldest.

My Marantz PM6004 on the other hand runs quite warm regardless of how it's placed. I keep it off except when in use. I'll ask Amphion/Anaview and see what they think about amps being on 24/7 in a controlled low heat setting.

[twitch54]

In addition, I may buy a new amp, which runs 100 watts cooler at idle. Same amp as I now own, just the latest model. (they turned down the class A idle percentage.)

Ok Elizabeth, I'll bite ........ what's '100 watts cooler' ?

Also , you do realize that in the world of Class A bias, it's at idle when they generate the most heat. For when a load is presented that becomes an avenue of dissipation.

[avahifi]

Always on does place your components at risk from electrical line transients and also from another cause.

If you turn your equipment on only when you use it, then you will likely recognize and do something if a small fault condition occurs (and a fault will eventually occur as all electronic parts have a finite service life).

If the equipment has a minor part failure while being always on, the chances are you won't recognize it promptly and a small fault, cooking away, will eventually turn into a big, expensive, and smelly fault.

We have seen this happen when an old amplifier came in for repair with black anodized heat sinks turned light purple color and output devices and their sockets both charred black.  This was a long term excess heat issue, not a fault large enough to blow a speaker or B+ fuse, just enough to cook the amp to death long term.

We see no reason that properly designed equipment should take more than 10 minutes to play just fine as by then the capacitors should all be fully charged, the supply voltage up to 100 percent, the regulators regulating properly, the bias current up to normal, the vacuum tubes (if any) fully warmed up and everything at thermal equilibrium.  Maybe those $50 good sounding magic fuses need more warm up time, but, oh well.

Save electricity, use the design service life of all your electronic parts wisely, and fight global warming.

Frank

[PSB Guy]

Always on does place your components at risk from electrical line transients and also from another cause.

If you turn your equipment on only when you use it, then you will likely recognize and do something if a small fault condition occurs (and a fault will eventually occur as all electronic parts have a finite service life).

If the equipment has a minor part failure while being always on, the chances are you won't recognize it promptly and a small fault, cooking away, will eventually turn into a big, expensive, and smelly fault.

We have seen this happen when an old amplifier came in for repair with black anodized heat sinks turned light purple color and output devices and their sockets both charred black.  This was a long term excess heat issue, not a fault large enough to blow a speaker or B+ fuse, just enough to cook the amp to death long term.

We see no reason that properly designed equipment should take more than 10 minutes to play just fine as by then the capacitors should all be fully charged, the supply voltage up to 100 percent, the regulators regulating properly, the bias current up to normal, the vacuum tubes (if any) fully warmed up and everything at thermal equilibrium.  Maybe those $50 good sounding magic fuses need more warm up time, but, oh well.

Save electricity, use the design service life of all your electronic parts wisely, and fight global warming.

Frank

Think I'll just stick with this advice.

Cornelis