[plonter]

Just want to ask quick question...as the title say: do i need to give my class A ultra micros a break sometime.

i listen to music minimum 8-10 hours a day and sometimes even a whole day without stopping or turning off my gear. is it ok..?
I know that amps and especially SS can hold a very long time without a break,but my logic tells me that they can't work forever without being damaged somehow.

and what without tube amps? please clear that up for me, thx!

 

[Adda]

Well my H/K PM665 from the mid 80's has been used on a daily basis it's hole life, and still sounds wonderful, the only problem is it's buttons and dials, they are worn out.
So just use it all you want, it will last a long long time as long as you treat it well.

 

[MooBin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just want to ask quick question...as the title say: do i need to give my class A ultra micros a break sometime. i listen to music minimum 8-10 hours a day and sometimes even a whole day without stopping or turning off my gear. is it ok..? I know that amps and especially SS can hold a very long time without a break,but my logic tells me that they can't work forever without being damaged somehow. and what without tube amps? please clear that up for me, thx!

Some years ago I did not shut off my main system at all (although not playing 7 X 24h of course

) exept for 2 holidays per year - for 2 consecutive years. All that was harmed was my wallet (electricity bill). But nothing lasts forever - from what I know capacitors are components that tend to age (and NOT for the better after some time), tubes have definitely a foreseeable life span (the best ones will live up to 10000h I have once read - no own exerience) once operated.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Every component has a lifespan, not just tubes. Capacitors and resistors fail, too. They're only engineered to last so long - you can find lifetime estimates for your parts at Digikey and Mouser.

What kills components is heat. The longer you leave something on, the longer it will stay hot. If you don't give it a chance to cool down, then it will shorten its life even more. You can get away with it for awhile, but the amp that should have given you at least ten years of service will go down in three or four.

If you're going to listen for several hours each day, that's fine. Just turn everything off at night and let it cool down.

 

[crossmd]

Really not trying to troll here, but especially considering what Erik just said, why would you leave your components on all the time? Why even waste the electricity to power them? I always turn mine off, but that's just because I didn't think that there really was a reason to leave them on.

 

[Spareribs]

I leave my Sonic T amp on 24/7 (sometimes I turn it off) and so far no problems. Eventually it may die but by the time it happens, we may see a return of Halley's comet so no big deal.


Slightly off topic:

I have a 1950's Westclox alarm clock that I bought used and have had it in my room plugged 24/7 for a few years and it still keeps very accurate time. It still runs great after 50+ years.

 

[plonter]

In fact,i do turn it off every time i ain't listening even if it is in the middle of the day when i know i am gonna use it later..i still turn it off when not in use.

I was just interested if keep it on(and working) a 10-12 houre without stopping and even a whole day could damage the electronics parts.
i guess the answer is no .

just wanted to make sure that i am not damaging my rig when using it for so many hours. (i can get a little paranoid about my rig sometime) although,with my new astrodyne psu's it runs a lot cooler than with the stock psu's i got with it.

anyway..thanks for the comments guys.

 

[mrarroyo]

Although I turn them off some of my gear is intended to be left on at all times. Personally I believe it sounds better when left on all the time, but doing so adversely impacts the wallet and the environment.

 

[AtomikPi]

I can say it's probably an issue for tubes at least. I listen to music 4-6 hours a day, and my LD Mk III's tubes went out in less than a year :/ With SS though, you may get more lifespan.

 

[tenzip]

There is also a school of thought that the heat cycling from turning it on, then off repeatedly is a point of failure, as the expansion and contraction can cause components and even solder joints to fail.

So if you leave your rig, pc, whatever, on all the time, you may avoid this.

I personally think it's six of one, half dozen of the other. Either way, things wear out/break/die.

Just a thought.

 

[logwed]

Resistors can burn/melt if too much current goes through them for too long. I'm assuming there is a system that EEs use to keep this from happening easily, but degradation can occur.

 

[SleepyOne]

Can't remember my physic class exactly, but I am sure I was told that it is sometimes more harmful to switch on and off lots of times than leaving it on... Of course it will depend on the amp in question and also whether you have lot of ventilation. The quality of the parts used will also matter as it maybe more robustly built and has better tolerance on operational tempeture. Some preamp don't even has a switch on button etc.

As electronic parts degrade over time, you might as well enjoy it while it last. And you are more than likely to get quite a few years before it is finished and by then you will probably have some new toys. I use my amp for long period and sometimes leave it on overnight. And my DAC is always on (or at least in standby).

Best you check with Headroom to see what is their advice.

Turning off equiments for Green reason is more than reasonable in this age of global warming though.

 

[trigg3rhappy]

Yeah, as what probably everyone has mentioned before me, no electrical parts were meant to last forever. Most products will state that they have a lifespan of so many hours. Constant use (which is abnormal) for more than just several hours will probably degrade and lower the life span of your parts. Most things weren't meant to be left on for so long or used to the maximum extent. Heat will cause problems in electrical devices. This can probably be seen most evident in common devices such as laptops with data failures, fried components, etc.

 

[JamesL]

Quote:

but I am sure I was told that it is sometimes more harmful to switch on and off lots of times than leaving it on...

I built my pimeta without a power switch for this reason. It draws close to no current when idle, and gives off almost no heat at all.
I only unplug it when I'm not going to be home for weeks at a time.

 

[haloxt]

I'm not sure, but it seems like if I leave gear playing overnight, then wake up to listen to music, it sounds very flat, but it does sound smoother. After observing that at varying degrees maybe 20 times I decided to stop doing overnight burn-in and leave my gear on only 5-10 hours a day.

Do you guys recommend switching audio equipment on/off with a lightswitch? It'd help with not wearing out the power button, but I wonder if it might be messing with some overload protection mechanisms in my audio equipment, especially the surgeprotector/power conditioner which I think might be less vulnerable to damage if switched off manually rather than just from the lightswitch.