Leaving my amplifier on ok?

True components that produce a lot of heat are subjected to greater stress on their components but a well engineered component will be designed to handle the amount of heat it generates. It’s the constant stress of on and off cycles cause the most stress on a component leading to failure. 

After reading so many differing opinions on this subject, I asked the manufacturer, in my case Hegel, if there was any harm caused by leaving my H30 Mono amps powered on 24/7, and is the rush of current at startup more harmful than constant power. Their answer was this. The amps are not damaged by the on/off cycle. They recommend waiting 60 seconds between turning on, if you have turned off. They did advise against leaving powered on 24/7 citing a waste of electricity and shortened life span due to constant heat. Therefore in my own case, I turn off after listening and turn on a couple hours in advance of my next session.

Maybe someone could answer this question for me. Define "shortened" lifespan. My previous Parasound power amp lasted 20 years without any issues and then I sold it. If shortened lifespan means lasting 25 years instead of 30, then I’m now too old to care as either one will out live me.

Is your amp Class A?  If so the answer is obvious unless it has a low bias switch (like Plinius SA103, some Clayton amps, etc.).  I recently had my McCormack Class A/B amp upgraded by SMcAudio and Patrick told me I probably extended the life of my amp several years by leaving it on 24/7 (I only turned it off when we left for week-long family vacations).  My amp worked fine for 30 years this way with nothing more than a blown fuse along the way that was easily replaced.  Plus, my amp was always warmed up and ready to go immediately, which was nice.  I mentioned to Patrick the reason I left my amp on was from anecdotal evidence that light bulbs almost always blow out when you turn them on, and he thought that was an apt analogy.  SMcAudio believes in this so strongly that when you upgrade the amp they disable the power switch that becomes nothing more than a dummy switch that controls nothing but the power indicator LED (they said so the wife/dummy knows it’s on — heh heh), so as long as the amp is plugged in it is always on.  Given my personal experience and that Steve McCormack kinda knows what he’s doing I just thought I’d share FWIW. 

Thanks for all responses! Some of the posts I do agree with stress on components and also turning on and off on certain amps. Logically, keeping electrical components like capacitors in PS keeps charged in a steady state.

You can always compromise and turn amp on before going to bed Thursday night (for a big weekend listening session). Turn it off Sunday night.

I read an unbelievable story about a NYC dweller who left a pair of McIntosh monos on for 35 years because he had them in an impossible-to-reach location. Maybe I dreamed this...