[94cdnm3]

I recently was told that by leaving my amps on 24/7 is not a good idea by a member of Canuck Audio Mart. When I finish listening I turn the volume all the way down and most times switch the input to an unused one. I also happen to have both amps hooked up to a Brickwall Surge Suppressor/Filter for protection and it actually makes an improvement sonically. Here is the response I got:

"Hi carletonkung,
I singled you out a little because the nonsense that you should leave your audio gear on had been pushed by Byrston for many years. With no speaker DC offset protection, I feel it is reckless advice. Very stupid at the very least. Amps don't burn, but some speakers sure do. Official advice at the time was to install a (very non-linear) fuse in the speaker leads. For the money Bryston charges, I'm sure they could afford such a circuit.

Think about this. Even if you got the one unit that would run continuously for 20 years, what about hydro spikes that occur, and lightening? They are not magical devices.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Bryston products. I do hate stupid and unsafe advice. I also hate it when service people (like someone I talked to at Bryston) who say "our amps don't break". That is a bold faced lie.

Any comments and/or notes with regards to this?

Thanks in advance to all responses. 

Carl

[James Tanner]

Hi All,

At NO time has Bryston ever said leave your gear on 24/7. What we have said is that the warranty is not affected by leaving it on 24/7.

Some people feel that electronics sound better if left on continually. I personally advise people to turn their gear on about an hour before they critically listen but I have to say that when I do audio shows I always find the sound improves over the few days of the show. It is certainly not something we can measure but there does seem to be a positive change in sound over time.

james

[Miss Grundy]

For what it's worth, my Bryston 2B-LP—manufactured in April 1986—has been a tireless workhorse. For the first 12 years of use, I used it to power JBL monitors in one of our three Synclavier studios at Multitrack Post in Toronto. We first turned it off when we moved our operations to Deluxe Toronto in 1999 for the first of three seasons of the TV series Relic Hunter, following which it was left powered on for another 9 years. Over the course of more than two decades of continuous use, it neither suffered itself nor caused any harm to our loudspeakers by being left on. Thermal cycling electronic equipment is a concern, and the advice from our facilities technical staff was to leave it on, just like the mixing consoles. Now dedicated to powering a couple of small stage monitors—and being powered on and off with setup and strike—that 2B-LP is still going strong.

[rollo]

It appears Carl you were misguided by a disgruntled person. SS gear when well designed as Bryston can be left on 24/7. If one does so we recommend once a month a demag of gear. As a precaution against spikes we use spike protection. Never had any issues. Enjoy your system.


charles

[Elizabeth]

I bought my BP-26 and 4B-SST² eleven years ago. they have been left in 27/7 ever since. (aside from a move, and an hour at a time to move stuff around.. I am retired and listen to music all day
The main reason to shut them off would be to save electrical costs.
If you only listen on weekends.. it probably does not make much sense to leave them on 24/7

[Phoenix]

Honestly, even if James says there is a small sound improvement, I think this is all imagination and placebo.
I bet that in a double blind test you would not be able to differentiate between gear that has been turned on for a long time and one that hasn't.

I can understand that a professional studio doesn't want to switch on and off all the time.
But private use? Come on. Snake oil that cost you money!
If an electronic device is not stable and at max. performance after some reasonable warm-up time, it is poorly designed, period. Of course, if you believe that it sounds better over time, you WILL hear it. Even if your wife turns it off while you're not at home... 
Face it, there is no magic in electronics. The magic is in your brain.

BTW: Lightning protection is useless if a lightning strikes near or into your house. Do you think that a small protection circuit is capable to block an up to 100 kA lightning?? Heck, the electromagnetic field can induce high enough voltage/current in your equipment cables to damage your components even if the power cord is not plugged in.

[Miss Grundy]

A-B-X tests are the only reliable way to determine if there are any audible differences in equipment, interconnections, and the environment. All else is unsubstantiated opinion, bias, and personal preference.

[drummermitchell]

Let’s see here conditioners Do not do anything when a storm with lightening is near the house.
I’ll make this short and quick as lightening.
Years ago I had four JL F-113s,
Two were in wall receptacles and two were in a Torus PiU.
Well I wonder what happened to the two that were direct to the wall.
Poof,end of story and both instant rag dolls.
The two that were plugged into the TORUS and the other multiple components and projector,
Na Na Na NA nA Na NOTHING 100%
I have two Torus 20a and 60a and No they will stay
They do protect and improve the audio tremendously.
When someone tells you conditioners like these don’t work,blowing S——— out thee ol CR  -Shoot.
Yes I Have had-these Torus (s) for years now.
Back to Beer n tunes.

[GrooveControl]

For me it's a matter of convenience and nothing else.  B60 with no remote on/off function is always on. The SP1.7/3BSST combo with remote power function and 12v trigger for the 3B gets turned on and off for each use. 

I've never heard the difference in cold vs warm Bryston amps.  Many of the 2B-LPs sold don't even have a power switch.

[mcmusicman]

 I travelled to Thailand and shut my system down for a month, upon return it took a couple of days to return to optimal sound. Upon start up the best description would be a little "thin".  After a couple of days everything did improve.  24/7 never seems to bother my 4B3 and since I can put tubes in stand by, nothing gets shut off.  My power bills are very low and there is no reason to not leave everything ready to play. I listen 5-6 hours every day. 

[bunkertoy]

I like leaving my gear on most of the time, unless I know I'll be working and I'm away from my home. I don't like always powering up /down the equipment. On the weekends when I'm home.... Power up on Friday then equipment is definitely on ALL weekend. Seems like there are lots of different opinions on this front. Maybe just do what works best for you. If energy costs are an issue, then power off. Bryston equipment doesn't seem to care either way. Never gets too hot.
Cheers