2. amps-preamps
  3. 135898-112562

Does anyone leave their amp and preamp on all the time?

I listen most nights after work. I find that the system takes a while to warm up and sounds it's best if it has been shut off. So I leave it on. I always have and this is vintage stuff. The amp is a 25/25 Bedini class A. It stays warm but never hot. It has never caused an issue but recently I've been speaking with others that were stunned that I would do this. So let me know if I'm the only one that lets it run. Do you shut off the equipment after each session?
vinylfan62
judgmentday
22 posts
 
I turn off my tube units from the back and if I don't listen for weeks I unplug them off. 
erik_squires
16,037 posts
 
So my last out of town trip, I turned off my DAC, preamp and amps off for two days. Sounded pretty hard for about 48 hours. 

This trip I was out longer, and turned off only the DAC. When I came back it seemed just fine immediately.

My preamp is a Parasound P7, and amps are Class D ICEpower ASP designs. 

So.... yes, it seems that somewhere in those two items are things that like to be left on. 
dohanian
12 posts
 
I have a VAC Auricle preamp (w/phono stage). I called VAC, and Brent, their head tech said tube wear is less by leaving it on all the time. The VAC monoblocks are turned on only when in use. 
For solid state gear, including power amps, it is the on/off power pulses that wear out components. Anything with a motor (CD players, open reel tape machines, etc.) should not be left on when not in use.
It has worked for me.
wolf_garcia
6,694 posts
 
Preamp tube wear is less when left on? That is utterly positively and absolutely not true. Also, the myth that power amps suffer from on/off power pulses might be true for poorly designed gear, but I've owned lots of amps over 5 decades and that has never been an issue.
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,778 posts
 
When I owned a solid state preamp many years ago, it had to be on for about a week before it sounded right. Friends of mine with solid state preamps tell me that the week long thing really hasn't changed.

My current preamp is all tube and has to be on for about 20 minutes to sound right, and seems to get to where the warmup is going after about 2 hours.
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