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
bigtwin's avatar
bigtwin
1,130 posts
 

Let the blow-back commence.  🤣

danmar123's avatar
danmar123
415 posts
 

SS, 2 amps & Pre-amp on 24/7

Tubes, on when I'm listening.

phd
1,281 posts
 

Leave them on all the time or turn them off at night It will not make a big enough impact if you are worried about the environment besides there is not enough audiophiles left to be concerned about. I leave my system on all the time because it sounds better and I don't care. 

 

rolox
180 posts
 

I'm using class D amps and they usually stay on 24/7, so does the Pass B1 preamp. I only turn them off if I leave for more than 24H. And when I do, it sure takes a little while to fully "bloom" again.

Believe it or not, the only device I turn off at night is the DAC, because it draws more current than the rest (crazy, huh) and has this fluorescent display that you can't switch off and is, as all fluorescent displays, prone to aging.

aball
2,016 posts
 

@soix You can look up ripple capacitor ratings yourself.  Also, McCormack doesn't care if your caps are shot or not lol.  He's in the business of selling amps.  The degradation is gradual so you probably won't realize it until they bulge and blow a fuse.  But I've repaired around 50 amplifiers at this point so I have seen it all.

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