Amp — Leave on or turn off

Pass Labs told me recently, that there would be no issues with leaving high power Class A mono blocks turned fully on 24/7...would not shorten life or lead to repairs...I tend to turn mine on Thursday afternoon, off Sunday night, though maybe not in summer...agree there is no right answer, but a combination of manufacturer recommendation and your own ears and values...

The light bulb analogy is often used but it is not applicable IMO.  All equipment I have owned has soft start circuitry to prevent damage on start up.  Becoming an urban myth?  I will only speak for my own equipment.  The manufacturer specifically recommends turning their equipment off when not in use.  Who am I to argue with them?  I turn my SS equipment on +/- 2 hours prior to listening.  I have never noticed the sound to be lacking, or improving noticeably as the evening goes on.  Everyone should do what suits them.  This is a discussion that will never be settled as there is no right or wrong.  Anyone keeping score?   😆     

When I asked this question on Google, it said this is  almost a religious issue.

 Probably shouldn’t have brought it up.

@rvpiano I think it’s fine to bring up again. Good on ya.

@bigtwin I think score-keeping will eventually fall into the hands of AI modules better suited for thread-summing than those currently employed by Google etc. For now, yeah, it’s still best just skimmed maybe. 😅

These threads can be useful for anyone hoping to check whether an individual poster has a tendency to conflate personal anecdote with meaningful evidence. Plenty of that on each thread like this.

In this particular thread’s case there is a clear answer (best had from the manufacturer): Benchmark can be turned off unless one prefers to be marginally wasteful of energy. The class D amps that power my subs are no different and also have a 15 min auto-standby feature (was required by law for them to be sold in EU as opposed to in US).

I specifically got away from tubes in most of my devices because of the antagonistic relationship of needing to warm up but also having a finite, heat-related lifespan for increasingly expensive tubes.

Only one post mentioned insurance. Check your home/renter/RVauto insurance policy and if an amp-caused burn-down could be considered void due to a manufacturer’s recommendation to leave an amp powered on, then never mind said amp designer and always turn off your amp when not in use. If unclear on this, always turn off your amp when not in use (or at least when you’re not home/awake). It’s amazing to me the haphazard recommendations that will flow out of some folks as though nothing in life is bigger than a hobby of recorded music playback.

Don’t unwittingly make a fire hazard or an insurance claim hazard. Once you know folks who’ve gone through this, you develop caution by virtue of proximity. It’s probably worth heeding more than a pile of anecdotes about how a handful of folks perceive unmeasurable differences in sound based on temperatures they can’t be bothered to record and report. 😉

If its not a tube power amp then NEVER turn it off. My SMC Audio  Power amp doesn't even have an on/off switch Leave your gear on, even tube pre-amps and DACS etc. They will sound better and last longer!