Leave On All The Time Or Turn Off? - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

schalliol · #1 (**permalink**) 12-29-2008, 05:28 PM

I have a new HeadRoom Ultra Micro Amp (just now plugged it in), connected to a DAC and my computer. I previously had a Bithead, which stays on while connected to USB (and there is no off switch). If I should turn it off, how aggressive should I be with this? i.e. Should I turn it off at night but leave it on during the day in case I have a sound I would like to hear in addition to setting out to listen to music?

Thanks!

moogoob · #2 (**permalink**) 12-29-2008, 05:33 PM

I just turn mine off when I won't be listening for a while. At night, the power bar my bottom-heavy stack (and computer, turntable, DVD player, Pro-ject Phono Box) is plugged into is turned off.

schalliol · #3 (**permalink**) 12-29-2008, 06:10 PM

That sounds sensible. Does HeadRoom have a published recommendation for such things? Since the amp doesn't use much power when not playing anything, I probably will be more liberal with leaving it on if HeadRoom doesn't believe it will add unnecessary wear.

Tyll Hertsens · #4 (**permalink**) 12-29-2008, 10:29 PM

Two issues:

1) There are a limited number of electrons in the universe. These days, it's better not to route them through your quadrant if'n you don't need to. (In other words, being green is a good thing. Take the <1% performance hit for the first half hour of listening.)

2) The electrolytic caps degrade in lifetime by a factor of two for every ten degrees C above 25C. We estimate if you leave the unit on 24/7 you'll get half the life of the unit. Which is probably something like 20 years instead of forty years.

So, it's really no big deal one way or the other, but since they do burn a bit of juice and they're not like tube amps the change markedly during warm up, we advise turning them on and off with use.

schalliol · #5 (**permalink**) 12-30-2008, 02:37 AM

Excellent response! I will turn it on each day when want sound for the first time at the office and turn it off when I know I'm not going to use it later in the day. I suppose the USB powered Bithead units don't appreciably use more power than the computer would ordinarily when on, so it's reasonable to leave those on when not in use.

Thanks again!

Sherwood · #6 (**permalink**) 12-30-2008, 02:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens

1) There are a limited number of electrons in the universe. These days, it's better not to route them through your quadrant if'n you don't need to. (

Heretofore known as "Tyll's first law of EnviroSonics"

Tyll Hertsens · #7 (**permalink**) 12-30-2008, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schalliol

I suppose the USB powered Bithead units don't appreciably use more power than the computer would ordinarily when on, so it's reasonable to leave those on when not in use.

They don't run hot, either, so you don't degrade the caps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherwood

Heretofore known as "Tyll's first law of EnviroSonics"

Particle EnviroSonics, but close enough.

cconroy · #8 (**permalink**) 12-30-2008, 04:24 PM

I once absentmindedly left my micro amp on for a week or two, and then I noticed some fuzziness in one channel which was made very obvious by the different responses in the left and right side when changing the volume.

The very helpful headroom customer service rep advised me that static charges can build up if the amp is left on, and this can cause this precise effect. By flipping it on and off several times and turning the volume pot up and down quickly, we were able to reset it.

Ever since then, I definitely try to turn it off whenever not in use.

schalliol · #9 (**permalink**) 12-30-2008, 04:38 PM

That's a great tip and further suggests to treat the amp as you'd treat any big solid state amp! Thanks

Sherwood · #10 (**permalink**) 12-30-2008, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens

Particle EnviroSonics, but close enough.

The second law, of course, is "2) No! Turn on the crossfeed!"

schalliol · #11 (**permalink**) 12-30-2008, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens

2) The electrolytic caps degrade in lifetime by a factor of two for every ten degrees C above 25C. We estimate if you leave the unit on 24/7 you'll get half the life of the unit. Which is probably something like 20 years instead of forty years.

Based upon this, I've un-stacked my Ultra Micro Amp from on top of the DacMagic. Both are a bit warm after a couple of hours of use, but not hot. The DacMagic is so much bigger that it makes the Ultra Micro Amp look weak, even though it is a fantastic amp, and there's really not much reason to stack it anyway.

schalliol · #12 (**permalink**) 12-30-2008, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherwood

The second law, of course, is "2) No! Turn on the crossfeed!"

Love the crossfeed!

tseryan · #13 (**permalink**) 01-05-2009, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tyll Hertsens

Two issues:

1) There are a limited number of electrons in the universe. These days, it's better not to route them through your quadrant if'n you don't need to. (In other words, being green is a good thing. Take the <1% performance hit for the first half hour of listening.)

2) The electrolytic caps degrade in lifetime by a factor of two for every ten degrees C above 25C. We estimate if you leave the unit on 24/7 you'll get half the life of the unit. Which is probably something like 20 years instead of forty years.

So, it's really no big deal one way or the other, but since they do burn a bit of juice and they're not like tube amps the change markedly during warm up, we advise turning them on and off with use.

Does this electrolytic caps rule apply to all caps, or just the ones in your amps? I leave my carver amp on 24/7, and now I'm a bit worried.