On/Off Switch

All this shows nothing more than the futility of cheap power switches. In gear that can be left on all time, you might consider removing the switch, and its associated wiring leads, altogether and use slightly better wiring in the bypass. Many DIY'ers and modders have recommended this. 

If you need the switch in place, consider something like the higher-quality, silver-contact, 2-way toggle switches. Online electrical supply houses often have them. Parts Express might have one or two, I don't know. Also try Goldpoint.

The cheap-@ss sliding, pushbutton or rocker switches in almost everything are indeed a bottleneck for sound, but most audiophiles are not aware of it and as a result, so far, neither are the manufacturers. I'm sure they'll figure it out someday.

LED indicator lights have also been found to slightly pollute the sound as well.

Indeed, but often the traditional incandescent lights on older gear are measurably worse. When my old Quad 303 power amp was refurbished a few years ago the service engineer showed me  on the scope the improvement made by using a led compared to the old incandescent bulb.

OP
If I were building an amp the power switch would be a concern. If I’m not building one, but buying one, altering it would be of no value to me. I mean, why? Why fix something that is not broken?

Manufactures decide on what kind, type, and level of power sw they will use in what ever amp they make.

I have not heard too many arguments on $10K or more priced amps power swituches being crap and needing replacement immediately or for that matter, at all..

I’ve owned mono tube amps that ran $7500 a pr. Which used a $1 toggle switch. They sounded fabulous.

The amps, not the switches. The switches just sounded like ‘click’. Louder if you really put a little something behind it when you flipped them on or off.

I made one alteration to those amps. Opened them up to allow the leads connected to the biasing pot to be extended outside the amp to by pass the on board meter so a better easier to see volt meter could be used when biasing or checking bias.

Furthermore, the ON/OFF sw of and by itself, makes no argument for or aginst power cords or for that matter any other connective cabling. To think so, is ludicrous.

The sonics of an amplifier do not hinge on the value of its power switch. There is far more to the amp than that.

Go read up on Shindo amps. $20K and up lower powered tube amps and see what kind of power sw is used. I’m certain it will open your eyes.

As well, not every ON/OFF sw is seeing full current or remains in the ckt at all times. Some do. Some do not. Relays are used to dispense power about the amp and are a part of many amps ‘soft start’ opwerational system.

I tend to think about the audio-nervosa minutia this way… of all the things one might do to improve the sound of an amp, is completely reworking the power switch the obvious path to follow given the amps already quite possible outstanding sonic results?

If one is thinking of how to improve the sound of an amp, maybe it is time to find another amp, well, if it is an SS amp.

Messing around there has never even crossed my mind, until a knife sw on a former preamp I bought here was broken off during shipping. What did I do? Sent it back to the maker to have the exact same switch put in place of the broken one. Problem solved. Results? Excellent. No further worries.

I’d worry about more tangible and meaningful areas to improve the presentation… not swapping out switches. But that’s just me.

Enjoy.

I've never tried a higher quality on/off switch, but I just know it can't possibly make a difference in the sound. Just like fuses. Trust me, I read a book about how electricity works, and understood some of it 😉