Is it ok to leave a DAC always on?

[diego.bernardes]

I just got an SMSL M300 MKII to use with my TV setup. It's well built and I have zero complaints about the sound. But I got worried about the fact that it does not have any kind of stand-by or display-off mode. Can this become a problem in the future? My idea is to leave it permanently on.

 

[Plcamp]

In my experience in telecom industry, MTBF calculations founded on base temperature failure rate plus expected average operating temperature did NOT correlate (at all) to actual field failure rates.

In my test labs, thermal cycling of equipment was dramatically more likely to precipitate defects over time than was soak at high temp.

Based on that, I would expect always on is probably slightly better.

EDIT: After that, I joined a startup offering connectivity, timing analysis and signal integrity analysis to OEM’s. I would say from that experience that timing marginalities caused by the lack of both a timing analysis and a signal integrity expert constraining layout are far more likely to cause temperature related problems than outright component failures.

A more interesting statement would be that I believe the best performing signal processing devices measured by Amir likely did have these analyses done, in order to hit the performance level they achieved.

 

[nerdstrike]

It's your electricity... All 3 Watts of it. The SMSL site says the screen is an IPS display. These are not susceptible to burn in. Ought to be fine just sitting there, though you never know when someone built in a clock that buffers out... Looking at you Boeing 787.

 

[Tks]

Yeah, unless you care about the electricity being used, should be no real problems.

 

[Twelvetone]

My MOTU M2 has been on continuously for nearly a year, and other than a little male-pattern baldness and a touch of ED now and again I've suffered no ill effects....

 

[sq225917]

I never turn my dac off, everything else is off though, phono, pre, transport and powers.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

You're more likely to reduce the lifetime of the display than anything else (other than using more electricity). Still, I'd reduce the brightness of the display to minimum if you can if you're going to be leaving it on all the time.

 

[SKBubba]

I leave everything on, or on standby/wake for stuff that has it. Life's too short. We've done so so much other stuff to reduce our power usage footprint that I have no guilt or regret or any motivation to seek out the last watt.

If stuff burns out, it's cheap enough to replace. The material, manufacturing and landfill waste is regrettable, but this is the world of designed obsolesence we live in, and I am powerless to do anything about that.

 

[Harmonie]

I have a Wadia 12 dac which is on continuously since 25 years or so and a D90 which is off.
Guess what ?
Nothing to guess is the answer.

 

[Eidie]

Well it’s your electricity, but all of our environment. Sure it may be only 3w, 72w a day, 26.28Kw a year. 12.93kg of CO2 a year (https://carbonfund.org/calculation-methods/).

I guess it depends on if you have children. Or care about anyone elses.

Edit: Typo corrected (76w changed to 72w)

 

[Eidie]

I leave everything on, or on standby/wake for stuff that has it. Life's too short. We've done so so much other stuff to reduce our power usage footprint that I have no guilt or regret or any motivation to seek out the last watt.

If stuff burns out, it's cheap enough to replace. The material, manufacturing and landfill waste is regrettable, but this is the world of designed obsolesence we live in, and I am powerless to do anything about that.

No, you are not. We all have power. Use your (spending) power wisely.

 

[raindance]

It's all about common sense. I've met people who obsess about standby current draw on a 3 watt device and then run their AC at 68 degrees all summer when it's 100 out. Seems like turning up the temp would have been a better place to start

 

[Eidie]

It's all about common sense. I've met people who obsess about standby current draw on a 3 watt device and then run their AC at 68 degrees all summer when it's 100 out. Seems like turning up the temp would have been a better place to start

It is. But it is not that common. Awareness is a start.

 

[restorer-john]

In my test labs, thermal cycling of equipment was dramatically more likely to precipitate defects over time than was soak at high temp.

What about "soak" at typical operating and stabilized temperatures? And cycling at normal domestic temperature variations which may only be 20-30 degrees C between lowest and highest?

 

[Destination: Moon]

Leaving devices always on is causing great harm and should be avoided. Whatever the perceived miniscule gain, the damage inflicted is not worth the cost which is far greater than the dollars charged for the energy consumed

https://www.nrdc.org/media/2015/150506-0

 

[Plcamp]

What about "soak" at typical operating and stabilized temperatures? And cycling at normal domestic temperature variations which may only be 20-30 degrees C between lowest and highest?

We tested the corner cases, one of which would be highest rated ambient, leave equipment soaking at moderate to high activity level…another at low temp. Lots of parametrics measured during soak, including analog performance like idle channel line card noise.

Separate to that was thermal (and power) cycling, these tests were more likely to cause hard failures, particularly with brand new circuit packs, or packs with design errors such as inadequate board stiffening.

Then there was thermal shock..a non operating (and non condensing) test that rapidly changed temps.

anyway, I concluded changes in ambient have a higher change of precipitating defects than operation at one stabilized temp.

And of course the best performing (best designed) packs just never failed any of these tests.

 

[Martin]

Or just kill your pet: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2017/08/02/whats-your-dogs-carbon-pawprint/?sh=7142b72613a6

 

[sq225917]

You're more likely to reduce the lifetime of the display than anything else (other than using more electricity). Still, I'd reduce the brightness of the display to minimum if you can if you're going to be leaving it on all the time.

Display times out at one minute

 

[daftcombo]

Why would you turn off the music?

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Display times out at one minute

Well then it's probably safe to leave it on all the time.