I imagine this has been answered, but I’m wondering PS Audio’s take on leaving my Stellar S300 amp and Gain Cell DAC on all the time vs. turning it on and off several times a day? Hooked up to a good surge protection system, and tend to believe it’s probably less wear and tear to leave them on?
BTW, I’ve been into stereo equipment since I was 13, so 45 years. I’m in heaven with this combo, serving flac files and thru my new Monitor Audio Silver 300 towers. A great combination, and just amazing sound for not much over $5k. The Silver’s are very efficient, so I didn’t feel a need to stack the S700s.
I’ve owned four different Class D amps and I have found that it is best to always leave them powered on as they take many hours to get back to full potential. I also leave SS preamps on all the time. If you are using a non-MOV surge protection device like a Brick Wall, SurgeX or a couple of others you are protected. I am currently testing a Class D amp based on the newest B&O Icepower 1200AS board and it has been powered on for weeks.
Leave them plugged in with the master power switch on at a minimum. This keeps everything powered and if they are in standby (using the PS logo button) then the outputs are muted. In our case I never even mute them and keep them on 24/7. They take almost no power, always sound better when powered on, and they are ready to go when you are.
“Surging” always talked about by engineers of any electronic equipment ever since I can recall going back to around 1970… and I am sure it was way before that.
Given all of this fact and knowledge, why so few “soft start” power up circuits? This type of circuit should be a standard parts catalog item that everyone should be using… and therefore cheap!
My strategy has been to turn off my amps (class A monoblocks, 250W each at idle!) during the week – switched with the preamp 12V, then turn 'em on and leave them on from Fri evening to Sunday evening. They do sound better after a day of warmup/idle, and make no metal expansion noises.
My stuff gets turned off (front power button) when not in use. It sounds no different from a cold start, or start from standby, or even when it’s been left on by accident for a while.
My tubed equipment (tuner, pre-amplification and amplification) are turned off when I’m not present and using them (with the exception of my Decware ZROCK2 which has no on/off switch and is designed to be left running constantly).
I leave my P10, DMP, DSD, and my DVR and Oppo DMP-205 always on. No mishap has ever occurred as a result.
I leave everything on: DAC Sr., DMP, BHK Pre., P12 and I turn my amp off: Class A, hot and hungry.
The amp does, however, need a good hour to sound it’s best.
A day or two before this thread began I asked PSA customer service the same question. I received the same answer as Paul provided (nice consistency!) - OK to keep everything on. The only exception is to unplug everything when lightning is nearby.
I had been pretty much doing that since day one (including unplugging my P3 when lightning is close) with my GCD/M700 combo and PWT - just wanted to confirm. According to the front panel on my P3 the additional power usage is pretty small.
I’m curious what others do when they leave home for vacation or work.
I often travel for work. I’m usually gone for a week, but sometimes I can be gone for a two week period. I usually leave my P10 and DS on and completely shut down my BHK Pre and my DMP. Sometimes I power everything down and unplug the P10 from the outlet. However, it seems that on those occasions it takes a day or so for the DS to sound its best.
People don’t worry too much about thread organization here. The only risk is that your post might not get as much response when posted to a non-obvious thread.
Regarding the on/off question, do the same rules apply for a tube preamp? I have a Cary SLP 98 and generally leave it in standby mode full time when not listening. Am I burning through the tube’s useful life by doing so? If so, should I instead shut the preamp (and amp) down when I don’t expect to use them for a while? Much thanks —