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Warm Up SS Amp - Page 2

post #16 of 22
4/9/10 at 11:40am
Despite any logical reasoning or technical expertise I would suggest that everybody should just believe ones ears. And they are saying: Warm it up first. Very easy to try and decide for yourself. My big SS amp does need a 2 hour warm up and I think that the Headphone WA3+ does immensely profit from at least 1 if not 2 hours warm up. Although I do not have the slightest idea why - but who cares if it works.
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post #17 of 22
4/9/10 at 12:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uncle Erik View Post
Head over to Mouser or Digikey and check out the data sheets for resistors, caps, chips. You should find a MTBF (mean time before failure) stat usually listed in hours. That's how long a component is expected to last before it fails.

So, how long do you want your components to last before they die? The longer you leave an amp on the more hours are on the clock.
MTBF ratings are given at specific power, ambient temperature, and/or voltage level. Improvements in MTBF are significant when you operate a 105*c cap in a balmy 85*c environment. Resistor ratings are stacked even further in your favor.** Do you know of any headphone amps with an 85*c (185*f, very likely to cause skin burns on contact) internal temperature? I dont either, a headphone amp with even 65c in the case is too hot.

**
The ironic point of resistor ratings is that wire wound resistors show SUBSTANTIAL changes in impedance the first few times they are heated to 150*f or more. If you have a circuit that requires matched power resistors its wise to bake them for a few hours in an oven so that they stabilize. Wire wound resistors still show easily measurable differences in cold and hot impedance.

** part 2. carbon and metal film resistors also show differences in cold and hot impedance, although they are typically smaller than those in wire wound resistors. If the device needs a resistor of EXACTLY 1000ohms to run right (perhaps a discrete R2R dac... 999 is not 1000.) it needs to be at the right temperature. The nice discrete R2R DACs have resistor ovens with servos to control the temperature of the resistors VERY precisely. Warm up, indeed.

On that note, I probably agree more than not. Hours upon hours of warm up is pointless in most gear. OTOH giving the thing a few minutes to get ready to work is seldom a bad idea either.
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post #18 of 22
4/9/10 at 12:21pm
Perhaps it's the owners of our amps that need to warm-up!?
Or cool down. (My amp always sounds better when I'm chilled...)
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post #19 of 22
4/9/10 at 1:05pm
I am a firm believer of letting all my amps warm up for at least 10 minutes before listening to them.
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post #20 of 22
4/9/10 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spartan123 View Post
I am a firm believer of letting all my amps warm up for at least 10 minutes before listening to them.
I also let my system to run for about 5-10 minutes before listening...
I guess that I treat it like it is a person...need some time to wake up before work
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post #21 of 22
4/10/10 at 1:02am
Half an hour for me, usually. Although, the more that I read this thread, the more I am starting to think the leaving my GLite running all day today has made a noticeable improvement to its SQ. Hmmm...
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post #22 of 22
4/10/10 at 1:20am
I honestly cannot tell a difference whether or not leaving my amp turned on has any effect on its sound, regardless of the length of time that it is left on for.
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