Leaving my amplifier on ok?

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...

@dweller , that story rings a bell. I have read that too. But it was just that this dealer or reviewer was helping out a widow whose husband had died and was buying the amp from her. The best part was that the amp sounded fine even with the tubes being ON for that long. I believe it was in Stereophile somewhere?

I have  five amps I use every day. There are 4 d amps that I leave on 24/7. Also in use is a single-ended 812 amp, that is in use most of the time (cuz it's so good!)  There is an SET 300B that is used rarely (it makes a good back up when necessary).

Regards,

Dan