Amp — Leave on or turn off

soix

8,261 posts

02-17-2024 at 09:32am 

“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.”

@benanders  Exactly how many people do you know who’ve had a fire hazard from audio equipment?  It’s probably at about the same percentage as getting hit by lightning.  Using your logic, you should probably never drive a car because you could get into an accident.  Gimme a break with your fear mongering.

@soix  re: your cavalier wording - fear mongering is a phrase best used when there’s a specific divisive purpose; I’m not in the biz of selling turn-‘em-off amps or insurance policies. I’ve no interest in pot-stirring.
Please realize I’m advising against disregarding the common sense that any firefighter or insurance adjuster would be inclined to share. Neither of those professions will likely consider a niche, high-power and high-heat device made for rather esoteric purposes in life to be worth such risk. What I advised was for everyone to know what their insurance policy(ies) stipulates - if it’s not under hifi kit/AV kit (likely) perhaps it’s addressed by a general electronic appliances clause. Like with the on/off-which-is-better-amp argument itself, an insurance policy will depend on many variables. Expecting it to work as a plug-and-play solution to policy holder ignorance is a poor strategy, no matter how unlikely an electrical/appliance overheating disaster may be.

Perhaps I could’ve worded my first reply more explicitly: (1) know what your specific amp manufacturers recommend, and (2) take rec’ that as second-tier in importance to what your insurance policy stipulates. And (3?) do not trust you invariably know what’s best for both (1 and 2) factors for the next person while typing online. 😅 Forgoing knowledge of either (1) or (2)  and leaving an amp on unattended amounts to abandonment of common sense that firefighters and claim adjusters will prefer you to practice, but maybe also know some folks disregard.

Now @soix as to your conjecture above, it may be to your behest to realize one Audiogon poster lost his entire music room when a lightening strike took out the roof of the house a few weeks back, posted about it. Improbable vs. impossible is a relevant discrepancy on the topic of unattended high power amps being on. And for the past decade I’ve lived in a city where public transit is [in most cases] far more convenient than driving a private vehicle. My point being it is best to avoid straw man arguments if you’re unfamiliar with the underpinnings you choose.

@soix  I worked in the insurance industry for over 20 years and can confirm that companies are always looking for ways to deny claims.  People generally misunderstand an insurance contract.  The majority of people view a policy as explaining all the protection they have.  The reality is slightly different.  An insurance policy is a legal contract that lays out the limits of liability the company has taken on.  When viewed in that context, you start to understand that insurance companies are not looking for ways to help you out.  They are looking for ways to limit their exposure at time of claim.  To your point, is there a real chance an amp could lead to a claim?  It's extremely remote.  Is there a chance you could win the Power Ball Lottery?  Even more remote but people still win it all the time.    

Should you be rude to another member because he/she expresses an opinion that you do not agree with?  I think not.  In fact, I think that is the worst attribute of Audiogon.  The number of members who have lost sight of the fact they are only expressing their own opinions.  And those opinions are generally no more or less valid than the next.  IMHO.  Cheers.

Off. If you prefer, a digital timer might be the thing to rely on if you are prone to forget.

I also like to power down all my components at the end of the day, just before bedtime.  Well, not exactly.  All my components are plugged into a power conditioner, so when I turn them off, they are actually still on, but in stand-by mode, which prevents cold-starts, which allows things to sound much better when you do your initial power-up.  Coming out of stand-by mode allows for it to take less time for things to warm up and to sound their best.  I like doing it this way.  It works for me.  However, I suppose that nothing beats just leaving everything on all the time so as to keep things nicely warmed up and ready to go for the absolute best sound 24/7.