[krbabu]

Hi All

i would like to have a answer for my question , I just lost my speaker driver and some 2 mosfet transistor in one of the monoblocks 
my kids did not realise that they should turn down the volume before turning off the power  amp.

 
i  have a VAC CLA Mk III  preamp
BELLES Statement 550 Power amp  monoblock ,

I am just wondering if i can leave both  pre and power monoblocks  POWER ON  Always.  so that such a thing never happens again. 

or else i will change my pre amp to solid state.

regards
babu

[Brett Buck]

Hi All

i would like to have a answer for my question , I just lost my speaker driver and some 2 mosfet transistor in one of the monoblocks 
my kids did not realise that they should turn down the volume before turning off the power  amp.

 
i  have a VAC CLA Mk III  preamp
BELLES Statement 550 Power amp  monoblock ,

I am just wondering if i can leave both  pre and power monoblocks  POWER ON  Always.  so that such a thing never happens again. 

or else i will change my pre amp to solid state.

 Turning it on in the wrong sequence blew it up? I can see how full volume might bottom out the driver, but, damage the amplifier? Why?

    I give little thought to this issue, I turn my stuff on and off all the time, and don't worry too much about the order, never had any problem with it for ~50 years.

      Brett

[toocool4]

Personally I never turn off my equipment, they are always left on with the exception of the turntable and tape deck. On the tape deck the capstan motors are always running, the record player is turned off for obvious reason I don’t want a burnt out motor.
It’s better for the equipment to be on, it’s warmed up and ready to go. Besides the equipment is more stressed when you turn it on and it’s more likely to fail at that point. My units have been on for years.
The exception to the above is if you have valve gear then you want it off or at least in standby if it has that option.

If you are going to turn on and off your equipment, then turning on Pre-Amp first then Power Amp. Turning off Power Amp first and Pre Amp last.

[richidoo]

Yes, you can leave them on all the time. The only disadvantages to leaving them on all the time are faster tube wear, and higher energy bill.  It is probably better for the gear to leave it on all the time, rather than heat cycle and current surge at turn on, though in your case Belles would have designed those liabilities out.

If you use exotic expensive vintage preamp tubes then it might get expensive to replace those every year. Probably need new preamp tubes after 1year of constant on, depending on the preamp design. 1 year is 8760  hours. Signal tubes typically last 2000-5000 hours. I could not find detailed about the VAC preamp to see what tubes it uses.

I switched to SS because I want my system on all the time ready to play with touch of the app. I hated realizing hours later that I left the tubes on. My SS amp has sleep function on no signal.

[Brett Buck]

Personally I never turn off my equipment, they are always left on with the exception of the turntable and tape deck.

   What happens if it fails while you aren't present - it just goes full-bore oscillations (or whatever) for hours and burns up everything attached to it?

If you are going to turn on and off your equipment, then turning on Pre-Amp first then Power Amp. Turning off Power Amp first and Pre Amp last.

  Generally, but none of my equipment is in any way prone to turn on thumps or transients, so I am not sure why it would make any difference. The only dangerous thing I know of is turning a tube amp off, waiting a few seconds, then turning it back on again, which will generally blow the rectifier and the fuse in short order.

    Brett

[toocool4]

   What happens if it fails while you aren't present - it just goes full-bore oscillations (or whatever) for hours and burns up everything attached to it?

What happens if i leave the house and i get hit by a car? So does that mean i never leave the house?

Well i have never known anything like that to happen, but that is not to say it can’t happen. The risk of it happening is lower than it failing when turning on.

[SteveFord]

When not in use for long periods of time you should turn it off.
Have a talk with the kids or lock up your gear if they're too young to understand.

I've had two power tubes go in amps but was around to shut them off, I didn't leave them running to see what would happen next.

[avahifi]

I recommend that you turn off your equipment when not using it.

If your preamp does not have on and off protection circuits (all modern AVA equipment does) then the BASIC RULE IS:

PREAMP ON FIRST, wait 30 seconds then  POWER AMP ON LAST.

At shutdown, POWER AMP OFF FIRST. wait 30 seconds, then PREAMP OFF LAST.

This keeps your power amp from being on to amplify system damaging on or off transient from equipment upstream.

Leaving equipment on all the time just wastes energy and shortens service life.  Long term heat build up is the worse case reason for electric parts and  equipment failure. It also turns minor defects into catastrophic failures if you are not there to notice and deal with it immediately.

Modern AVA preamplifiers include time delay turn on circuits and instant disconnect turn off circuits, but even then follow the advice above.

Frank

[G E]

My gear is off until 24 hours before I play it, tube phono preamp 3 hours prior.

Spring summer and fall it’s unplugged when not in use or about to be.

Nothing worse than being away and getting notice of a storm rolling in with dangerous cloud to ground lightning.

If you have never located your home’s grounding rod, do so at earliest convenience

1) make sure it’s present
2) make sure the ground wire is properly connected to it as well as at breaker box
3) hire an electrician if taking the cover off your breaker box gives you the Herbie-Jeebies

A good ground is
Essential for
Good sound