I recently acquired a used PS Audio 5.0 preamp. The place that I purchased from replaced any capacitators that were faulty. They said that I should plug it into a power bar so I could turn it off to save the capacitors in the future. I am concerned also that keeping the unit plugged in all the time will cause damage to the external power pack, which seems to get a little warm. PS Audio did send me the manual (thanks) and it says to plug it in the wall and never unplug, and turn the unit off using the switch. That however does not stop power from going to the power pack which stays warm. Do I need to worry about shortening the life of a 40 year old power block? I would like to use this preamp for many years as I paid a fair amount for it.
Warm regards, Fritz
You don’t need to worry at all. These are designed to run warm and frankly need to be warmed up quite a bit when first turning on to stabilize before switching on your power amp.
Some say switching on and off is more stressful than always on but your mileage may vary. These power supplies are over spec’d so nothing to worry about. Just make sure the 5.0 has plenty of fresh air, or you will shorten the life of your caps.
if I’m going on holiday for a couple of weeks, I’ll unplug mine but never turn it off under normal use!
Thank you. I’m wondering if you typically use straight wire or high level setting?
Which do you prefer?
Warm regards,
Fritz Douma
The manual says “the best preamp is no preamp at all” so yeah, I generally use straight wire for most line level sources unless I need to go louder, but that said, I really really like the sound of the 5.0 (and the 5.5) line level stage, so no hesitation whatsoever using it!