Do you leave CD players with tube outputs on?

Most preamps and CD players/DAC's idle in the 10-30 watt range, and over time, it almost certainly is more expensive to keep gear powered up than to lose small-signal tubes through on/off operation. But retubing with some gear is not convenient, tube failure is often gradual and annoying to listen to because of the tendency of tubes that are dying to act up, and there are other parts in equipment, particularly processors in digital gear, that have to be left powered up if they are to sound right in a high-end two channel system (try listening to cold digital gear through a first-rate triode amp or something like a darTZeel on revealing speakers - it sounds awful). I don't like f'ing with tubes and I hate the sound of cold gear, so I leave everything but my tube amp powered up.

I have left my player on for 72+ hours and do hear improvements in sound stage both width and depth, and a little more detail. The CD player runs quite warm to the touch -- Is heat a concern??

My Audio Aero Capitole has been left 'on' 24/7 for over four years with no drop in quality that I can notice. Until I got my Anthem D2 the Capitole served as my main DAC as all other components, including satellite, streaming audio and DVD player. I also used to play lots of CDs.

My cherished Capitole is now 'off' most of the time as my music library is in my computer and I don't play CDs all that often. Still, it does sound great when I do power it up.

Oh, yes the D2 is 'on' 24/7.

I've been leaving mine on for many years. My tubes tend to last years, not months, too. That makes sense to me, since they are relatively low output.

I have left my player on for 72+ hours and do hear improvements in sound stage both width and depth, and a little more detail. The CD player runs quite warm to the touch -- Is heat a concern??

Hchilcoat -- It's hard to say. I'm not sure which Ayon player you have, but if it is the CD3, with 4 x 6H30 and 1 x 6AX5 tubes, and if it does not have a low-power standby mode, its power consumption is well above average for a CDP, and would easily account for the heat you noted. That would be a bit less true of the CD1 and CD2.

I don't have complete specs on those tubes, but it looks like the filaments alone draw around 5 watts for each of the 6H30's, and around 8 watts for the 6AX5. Factoring in plate dissipations, and power for other circuitry, I suspect that the 50W consumption specified in their datasheet is a bit understated.

Whether or not that would pose a reliability problem in the long-term would be dependent on how well the thermal aspects of the design handle the heat. The 25kg (about 55 pound) total weight of the two chassis, and the fact that the unit is split into two chassis, is suggestive of good design in that respect.

But beyond that I would say that your guess is as good as anyone's, unless the manufacturer can offer specific credible advice.

Regards,
-- Al