amplifier longevity

+1 @cakyol 

Another thing to consider: if you are like me, sometimes you want to play a record or two for a relatively short listening session. Since SS amps can (and should) be left on all the time, they sound optimal much more quickly than tube amps that you can't leave on all the time, and the turning on an off frequently can wear out the parts.

If you like to monkey around and roll tubes and are more of an equipment head than a music head, tubes may be for you. If you are like me and want to KISS, go with a high quality SS integrated amp. Luxman is excellent and there may some others that are of better value to consider.

Since SS amps can (and should) be left on all the time

So why do they put a power switch on the amplifiers?

Many companies are now putting them on the back of the unit. If you are not going to be using it for an extended period of time,they should be turned off from an electrical safety standpoint.

some very low current preamps or phono stages dont have power switches.

My Pass Labs Alepth 1.2 Class A monos have two decades on them now. The filtering or power supply caps are the soda can electrolytic type caps; I’ve seen the moniker computer power supply caps used to describe these large caps with terminals on the top. I’d love to see if replacing those old style caps with modern low ESR say polypropylene and foil film caps or something like that would bring about an improvement.... That is just conjecture on my part; I should just leave it to Nelson, the true expert, to upgrade because if anyone would know, it’d be the man himself, Nelson Pass. The great thing also, he is within driving distance of me so I don’t have to ship my gear and let the UPS fellas beat up my stuff!

You just made me think...My Rowland Model 12 monoblocks have been problem free since 2009 installation. And they get workouts!