[Don Quichotte]

Hi! I know some people leave their amps ON all the time, but I've been told that it's OK or even better to do the same with my Cambridge player. The dealer said that the transistors it's based on suffer more when turning the power on and off and, it's true, the sound seems to benefit a great deal from a long warming up. What do you think? Do I risk shortening the player's life if I leave it ON all the time?

 

[Onix]

I have here an example of a recomendation about leavin the player on, in this case, regarding a JVC player:

"Some advice

Since the player has been designed to stay permanently in stand-by mode, please leave it so. This means less stress for the circuits and better performance since the first seconds."



The link is here

I think it is aplicable on all cd players that use a remote control and have the option of being totally turned off, specifically. Since all remote controled products remaing on all the time, I just makes sense that those with the total-off option can have some sort of stress, even voltage peaks, when turned off.

 

[Gergor]

My CD player has 2 switches. The master switch in the back and a "digital" switch on the front. The front switch only turns on/off the mechanical and digital portion of the player. The analog portion is on as long as the master switch is 'on' regardless of the position of the front switch. Recommendation of the manufacturer is: leave the master switch on all the time, turn off the front switch when not in use.

 

[jefemeister]

just leave it on all the time. The only thing you need to worry about from a lifespan issue is the laser which turns itself off when the disc isn't spinning. Audio equipment always sounds its best warmed up, and who want's to sit around for a day waiting for things to come up to temp when you have a hankerin' for some tunes?

 

[Trawlerman]

As the manufacturer has stated, leaving it on will lessen damage to the machine by thermal stress caused by the switch on/off process.

I have a Krell DAC that has no power switches whatsoever and as such only gets switched off when I either physicaly remove the power cord or hit the switch at the RCD breaker box. I know that many manufacturers also design there equipment to be permanently powered up (Naim and Arcam come to mind).

Myself, I always leave my pre amps powered up (Audiolab 8000Q, Sugden Headmaster, Parasound P/PH100 & EAR 834P) as they sound better for it.

It's upto you as to wether you leave your gear powered up all the time, some people are fine with this whilst others wory about fire reisk etc. Try a little experiment and see if you experience any sonic benefit from it.




BTW, this my 1000th post

 

[Kieran Comito]

So we should just leave the cd players on all the time? I always turn mine off when I am not playing it.

 

[TravelLite]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kieran Comito So we should just leave the cd players on all the time? I always turn mine off when I am not playing it.

Any number of enthusiasts and manufacturers advocate leaving digital gear on 24/7, including DACs for example. Try it and see if you can notice any performance difference.

TravelLite

 

[Kieran Comito]

Thanks. I'll start leaving my stuff on.

 

[markl]

I can understand leaving it "on" if it has a standby mode. My VCRs and DVD players are always in stand-by even after I turn them off. But my Sony 555ES does not have a stand-by mode, it's either always on or you shut it off. Since there's no stand-by, the front display would be always on, I'm wondering if that would burn it out, or burn in the spaces or slots or "pixels" if you will that happen to light up when the player isn't on, leaving a "ghost" image even when it is displaying some other info (not sure if I'm being clear)? For example, my player is not playing now but on, and there's that usual Sony grid thing that displays the track on the CD that is loaded, the words "Disc 2" is displayed in big letters, etc.

If there is no "stand-by" mode with a player should we assume it should be shut completely off when not in use?

I also have a question about leaving a player and disc in "pause" mode for extended periods of time. Is the disc still spinning when the player is in "pause" or is the laser still on, or is there anything else to be concerned with when leaving the player for a while paused mid-song? I always get paranoid and hit "stop" just in case, but it would be convenient to be able to come back hours later right where I left off.

TIA for any info.

Mark

 

[HappymaN]

Actually Mark, I just paused my NAD C542, and put my ear next to the transport, and I can hear the disc spinning.

My dad has this nasty habit of pausing DVD's mid-movie, heading off to work, and then coming back 10 hours later to finish the movie.

How long does it take for a transport to wear out?

 

[chillysalsa]

I asked just that on the AudioAsylum.

 

[jefemeister]

Yes, the disc will continue to spin while paused, and I believe the laser stays on. A reasonable MTBF (mean time before failure) for a transport/servo/laser is about 16,500 hours.

Most displays use a VFD (vaccum flourescent display) and there is very little chance that they will ever burn out. Image burn-in does not occur with VFDs either.

 

[Don Quichotte]

Actually, my player does not have a standby mode, it cannot be turned off from the remote control. When I turn it off, I believe the power supply, or at least a part of it, remains active. If I leave it on, the display writes "disc" (smart, isn't it?!) and I thought of the risk of burning it out because I read it happened to other old models Cambridge players (not necessarily left on all the time). But the general consensus seems that it's OK to leave it on, so I'll do that. I'll ask Cambridge as well, I haven't thought about this until now, and tell you their answer. Thanks!

 

[Music Fanatic]

For me, if the audio equipment lights up or generates heat, it is unacceptable when I go to sleep. I turn my audio equipment off.

 

[Edwood]

I leave all my stuff on when I can. Lately, my landlord has had maintainance monkeying around with the electricity while I'm at work, so I shut off the power in the back of my P300 which feeds the power to all my components.

Sux, though cuz it takes a good hour or two before everything's warmed up.

-Ed