2. amps-preamps
  3. 188522-89202

Amp — Leave on or turn off

I always turned my Benchmark AHB2 amp off after use every night. After all, why is there an on off switch on the front panel if not to do that? Last night I accidentally left it on. This morning, when I played my first record, I couldn’t believe my ears. The same record I played last night sounded infinitely better. I tried a second record and that, too, was much better.
I know there’s a debate on the question of leaving an amp on all the time.
I now know where I stand!

128x128rvpiano
frankmc195's avatar
frankmc195
141 posts
 

If you have a tube preamp... turn it off because logic would tell you that you are putting time on the tubes.... Haven't seen any studies but it makes sense (I'm going to get 10 posts telling me I'm wrong). I've noticed that temperature and humidity makes the most difference in how my speakers sound even though those are only slight changes in my listening space.

mteetank's avatar
mteetank
17 posts
 
+ erik_squires
15,286 posts

There is what’s right practical and then there is what’s right to keep the the itsie bitsie brain worms from eating away at your pleasure center. My advice based on you OP is leave it on. Excessive heat is what kills electronics soooo. add cooling fans as needed to the hot parts as needed. Usb powered lap top coolers work great! Get a "Watt Power Meter Plug Home Electrical Usage Monitor" to see how much juice your amp uses over night (Less that $15 on amazon). This will kill that brain worm. Benefit will be you now will have an on/off switch that will last forever (a whole other topic of conjecture) .

Enjoy the music and as Van the Man says - "turn it up, little bit higher radio
Turn it up, that’s enough, so you know it’s got soul
Radio, radio turn it up, hmm La, la, la, la, la, la, la ...........

z32kerber
143 posts
 

My Pass Labs XA-60.8 mono blocks are class A and leaving them on would bankrupt me :). But they have a standby mode. They warm up fully after about 30 minutes. Like others have stated, it’s amp specific. If you change to another amp, consider one with a standby mode.

1happyman's avatar
1happyman
54 posts
 

I have been leaving my refurbished Audible Illusions preamp on to eliminate constant cycling on and off supposedly to extend tube life. The pre stays barely warm to the touch. Sounds great. Solid state amp on and off per use. 

rhg3
161 posts
 

SS Always on.

Tubes off. I don’t mind waiting for them to warm up.

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