I purchased this amp recently an am very impressed with the sound, however it takes a long time to warm up. Do any users leave the amp on all the time. I emailed Rowland but did not get an answer. I am also thinking about replacing my BAT VK-32SE with the Rowland Capri preamp.
Well, alright then. They happen to be a pair of LSR&D Leach Superamp monos designed by the late Dr. Marshall Leach of Georgia Tech. The low TIM amp with quite a large following on DIY Audio. But these are original commercially produced models Dr. Leach and a couple of his students endeavored back in the early 80's. The transformers are 1000va EI core monsters. Will drive anything on the planet. Very nice sounding amps with none of the up front edgy brightness complained about by the tube guys. Not many around and rarely come up for sale.
Yeah...mine. 3 hours of warmup sounds like a bad design. My gear sounds fine after a few minutes, better after a while...always has, always will...and then it's off. Waste not want not. Besides, this approach gives me somthing to be self righteous about, and that's priceless.
What's practical real world experience? Yours? I've got a pair of monos that take literally 3 hours to warm up. I leave them on not because I don't care but because I do. For that matter, up here in the Great White North, we pay you guys to take our electricity from the Bruce Nuclear Facility because it costs too much to power down and then up again. All you have to do is find a way to tap into the main line and you'll be wringing your hands:)
Practical real world experience with gear trumps the "it's OK and maybe better for your gear to leave it on" opinion. Turn it off, or at least stop finding lame arguments for needless waste and admit you don't give a damn.
There are hundreds of threads on Audiogon that treat the issue of "on/off" versus "24/7 operation", some of which are considerably more thoughtful than this one. For sound quality, the vast majority of equipment sounds better when left on 24/7. Whether a component will last longer if turned on and off or left on 24/7 is more complicated and component-specific.
With respect to solid-state amps, a knowledgeable tech will explain that some parts used in amps benefit from on/off, and others are harmed by it, but that on balance, the parts that matter are better protected by leaving the component turned on 24/7. Generally speaking, output transistors on amps are harmed by on/off because they expand and contract as they heat up and cool down in response to being powered up and down, and they are the most complicated and expensive component to replace (they can be a challenge to match, and some have even been known to go out of production, leaving an amp without a required replacement part). Switches and relays tend to wear out more quickly if a component is powered up and down. Capacitors definitely wear out more quickly if an amp is left powered up, but they are relatively easy and cheap to replace.
Most digital equipment needs to be left powered up 24/7 to have any chance to sound decent on a high-rez system.
Regarding tube gear, it is a myth that tube life is always extended by turning equipment off - it depends upon whether you're talking about equipment that uses small-signal tubes like preamps and DAC's (many if not most are best left on 24/7) or tube amps (output tubes pass a relatively large amount of current and wear out fast if left on 24/7). The relevant question is how much voltage the tubes are run at in a given circuit compared to the tube's design maximum - if voltage is low relative to the tube's voltage limit, 24/7 can greatly extend tube life, as the voltage rush upon power up can beat the hell out of them, and the thermal cycles they experience as they are powered up and down are generally undesirable.
The Model 2/6/8/9 vintage of Rowland amps, like many amp designs, left the input stage powered up automatically if the amp was plugged in - this was described as "standby" - but the output transistors are powered down in standby and thus experience harmful thermal swings if the amp is used in this fashion. I left my Model 6's powered up 24/7 for three years except during electrical storms and vacations.
Running an amp 24/7 that idles at 200 watts will raise your electricity bill by $5 to $10/month, depending upon wear you live - it's like running a couple of 100 watt incandescent light bulbs 24/7. Of course, 24/7 operation is not green, and speaking of protecting equipment, if your gear is plugged in, whether it's turned on or not, it can be definitively roached by surges from line problems or electrical storms.
Again, there are very learned threads in the archives about this subject - you should look at them if you care about protecting your equipment and getting maximum performance.
I have an old Model 5. If I'm going to be off from work for a couple of days, I leave the amp on 24/7. It sounds OK after being on for 1-2 hours but sounds way better after being powered up for 1-2 days. Besides, in winter here in the Great White North, it's a nice space heater.
I also have a Capri preamp that stays on at all times.
Yes I leave my Continuum 500 on 24/7. I only switch it off when going away on holiday.
Previously, I used Naim amps - NAC 82 pre amp, 2 Hicap power supplies and 2 NAP 135 monoblocks. Everything - including my Marantz CD-10 player which incidentally still works - was left switched on every day for the 18 years that I owned them, except for holidays.
Again...your car runs better when warmed up...leave it running. You can afford it, and really...who cares? Your oven...warmed up and ready for that pie...even if you don't make pies...ya kever know. Leave it on. If we kept our windows open while running AC on hot days we could maybe cool the world a little, and again...who cares? Your hifi is IMPORTANT...and if YOU don't waste electricity, somebody else will. Climate schlimate! Get away from the coastline...the cheese is better inland anyway. We have a right to the earth's resources because after all, that's why we're here! We can make the world what it once was...a mass of boiling liquid!
If you are at home all the time listening to music (avid music lover, audio reviewer, etc.) then leave them on. Tubed equipment would be the exception. Unless you don't care about replacing expensive tubes often. Each manufacturer recommends the number of hours that the tubes should last before replacing them (before they fail dramatically and take out something way more expensive). If you listen occasionally or don't care to come home to a house fire, then turn them on when you are about to listen and give yourself 30 minutes to an hour warm up and you are good to go. Assuming your equipment is already broken in. Being an electronics engineer, I can tell you that the saying in our industry is that a $10,000 circuit will protect a 5 cent fuse by blowing first. So, when a tube really fails, it could cause some dramatic expensive repairs. So, it is better to replace tubes on the recommended hour life before it fails. Same with car parts, eh? This is called preventive maintenance. But, if you are home most of the time, leave the Rowland equipment on. If you have to step out, turn if off and turn it back on when you get home.
Nothing to say indeed and despite deer ticks or pubic bugs, for me the only factor is $. If I could afford to run 100w idle(kind-of average between almost all models of JR) I would keep it on. It's the following math for me $.15/kW/h * 24hrs * 365days = roughly $1500 annually.
I have a Rowland Capri and when I was using it I left it on all the time per the users manual. The manual also stated that in the winter it gives deer ticks a warm place to live so they stay away from your butt!
And Elizabeth, while your getting old and becoming mentally ill, enjoy the music!
It is important to check your butt for deer ticks...Brad Paisley even wrote a song about it (sort of). And I'm not surprised people leave their gear on all the time, I'm surprised anybody admits it.
I'm glad that my brat with other two friends will always have future probably because there are still some woman that didn't have their common sense castrated and even carried about future of my brat at least.
Woman that chose to stay alone without partner(even including same gender OK) eventually become mentally ill as a matter of fact. Age reveals these signs clearer each day of life.
I also think there are too many people so I did my part by having only one kid, and with any luck she won't wind up as a dreary childless old woman sadly ranting about other people's progeny while boasting about wasting electricity on her pets. I can only hope.
Marty, what model do you own? As an model 8 owner, I can tell you that this amp was designed to be in 'idle' mode until the front switch is depressed, which takes the amp into full-on mode. The thinking is to have the circuit active at all times in order to minimize warm-up time. Seems to have worked very well. However, i am not sure that the other models in the line work this way.
I agree with Wolf. Turn it on and do something for awhile. Were using more power than ever. For every energy efficient invention there's a new invention that plugs in. Turn it on and set a kitchen timer for 20 minutes.
NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!! Donnot leave them on 24/7 That is just the company trying to get you to wear it out for repairs or a new one down the road.I talked to 5 well regaurded techs and they all say the same thing""SHUT EM DOWN"" but thats just my experience.
Turn it off. NO excuses. It's lame to leave things on all the time, wake up, get in the 21st century you wasteful laggards! Use the time it takes for your gear to warm up for something useful...charity work, gardening, flossing, put the LPs back in alphabetical order, explaining to your partner that Donald Fagan really does have a good voice, clean your motorcycle, check your butt for deer ticks...
I have the Rowland 625. It is on 24/7. I had the Rowland Model 2 for 12 years before this amp. It also was on 24/7 unless another amp was in it's place. Both these amps take too long to warm up/stabilize, to turn off, IMHO. I'd stick with your BAT if I were you. I think the Capri would not be a step up, you'd have to move up to the Corus, in the Rowland line, for an improvement, I believe.
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