Do you leave your SS amp on all the time?

Sean definitely gets (at least) the nomination for wattage waster for the millenium. Detlof is probably up there too.

BTW, I leave my amps on all the time (class A) unless there's a storm or I'm away for days. It takes my system ~48 hours of operation to perform well...

Sean, maybe I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that leaving class A amps on all the time would significantly lower their lifespan. I've seen many used Threshold/Coda and other class A amps on the used marketplace where the heatsinks have discolored from black to like a bronze or purple. I don't know if this is from abuse or leaving powered up all the time. Since the IGBT's in my T400 are irreplaceable, I don't want to risk wearing them out. I also believe that it sounds better quicker than other SS A/AB amps that I've owned (Classe, Coda, Aragon). It sounds as good 1 hour after power up as it does after 8-10 hours, IMHO. The other amps (A/AB), I used to leave powered up, but they didn't run so damn hot and they also would take 2-4 hours for the sound to warm up.

Regards,
John

When you live in Wisconsin you do whatever you can to keep warm. That's why I buy class A amps. They sound good and warm the room. Unless I'm gone for a while the amps stay on.

The amp is always on, as well as all the other gear. I think the stand by feature is great for this if you have one. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it. My pre doesn't even have an On/Off switch.

John: My guess is that the amps that you speak of were were probably shoved into an enclosed rack, not allowing proper heat dissipation. These amps require open sides and at least 12" of space above them. Otherwise, you can expect them to cook themselves to death.

I have some of their amps with IGBT's in them also. They do not get turned off. My experience with circuits like this is that you have a greater chance of in-rush current smoking the outputs. On top of this, you now have tremendous thermal swings that occur over a relatively short period of time. This can result in uneven gain characteristics from output device to output device, resulting in reduced stability. Leaving the units powered up reduces all of the above problems to a minimum.

Obviously, one has to take into account that these amps will generate a good amount of heat and have them installed in a manner that will allow more than adequate ventilation. This is true whether the amp is cycled off and on or left on all the time. If placing the amp in a rack, keep in mind that heat rises. This will "warm" the shelf above it, which could transfer heat into the component above the amp.

If you are truly worried about such things, you might want to remove the top lid of the amp. This will allow greater cooling of the insides via natural convection. If you are worried about RFI or small fingers inside of the amp, it would not be hard to fabricate some screening that would act as both a shield and "guard". Sean
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