There would be a problem if the preamp/linestage emits a thump when it is turned on or off and your amplifier is on and sends that thump to your speaker. If it is loud enough, it may be annoying, or even worse, damaging.
Leave it on?
I just listened to Paul McGowan explain that turning SS equipment on and off degrades the capacitors from the tiny power surge and that leaving SS equipment on ALL THE TIME is best. What do you do?
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@larryi Thanks! Very helpful and just the info I was looking for. I’ll contact my preamp manufacturer and ask them. |
Yes, definitely ask the manufacturer on that. The more sophisticated (expensive) balanced tube preamps I’ve owned (ARC Ref 6, Rogue Hera, VAC Master) have relay-timed outputs: the outputs are not "live" during a warm-up period, and are first disengaged on shut-down. These have been OK when I’ve inadvertently violated the usual start up / shut-down order - no thumps. BUT I think for general "gear hygeine" it’s still smart to stick to the usual order, as much as possible. But also, these days, with all the protection options available, I think it’s very hard to justify manufacturing any preamp that could cause an awful THUMP in speakers! |
@mulveling Yeah I tend to agree. My preamp is from Linear Tube Audio and it’s hard to think they’d engineer something that’s capable of blowing my speakers no matter how it’s used, but still I’m gonna check just to make sure. Peace of mind, better safe than sorry, etc. |
@gano if global warming was so dire, then we shouldn't even be listening to stereo equipment, it's not a necessity. |
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