Leave Amplifier On?

[RobertBaring]

I recently watched a video by PS Audio's Paul McGowan where he recommends leaving your (non-tube) amplifier on indefinitely. He argues that the daily on-off cycles degrades the unit over time. Apparently PS Audio has made and maybe still makes, amplifiers with no on/off switch.

So my question is if this has any other adherents. I just bought a refurbished Yamaha M-80 and would like it to last another 30+ years before it needs another redo. Maybe in my case, turning off the Auto Class A feature since this generates a lot of heat, but otherwise leaving the unit on?

Any opinions?

Thanks.

 

[sergeauckland]

Utter madness! We have a planet overheating and some idiot advocates leaving amplifiers powered 24/7.

Absolutely not. I even turn stuff off that are on standby unless they're used regularly as even a couple of watts adds up.

S

 

[Vini darko]

Yeah turn stuff your not using off. "Paul's truths" as he calls them should be be taken with large pinches of salt.

 

[Jimbob54]

That's a man with not much faith in his switches. I get not turning on and off multiple times per day, but start and end of a decent session, why not?

 

[restorer-john]

There's no good reason to leave amplifiers on and powered up if you aren't using them.

If you need a 24/7 on demand amplifier for some commercial purpose (fire evacuation warning instructions or PA) that's a different story and such amplifiers are designed to be ultra reliable, cool running and happily work for decades left on.

Your M-80 chews a ton of power in Class A, not so much in AB, but even so, it'd be probably around 150W in Class A and about 80-90W in AB- just idling. The lights on the meters will burn out, the unit will get unecessarily hot and it's also subject to power-line related surges. No doubt PS Audio would recommend a power line conditioner for that purpose...

Your power switch is the only real casualty of daily turn ons. Eventually it will wear out. But that can be ameliorated by using a switched power board.

 

[egellings]

Any competently designed power amplifier should have soft start inrush limiting, so turning it off after use makes sense. Why needlessly waste electricity? If an amp is turned off, it's best to wait a bit before powering it back on so that NTC inrush limiters in amps that use them get a chance to cool down and reset. Amps that use a relay to shunt a low ohms resistor a short time after turn on don't have that problem. Same for those that use a TRIAC or other thyristors to ramp up the voltage slowly in the manner of a light dimmer switch. If it will be used several times in a day, then it may make sense to leave it on continuously for those days. Some amps in subwoofers & elsewhere go into sleep mode after they sit idle for a while, and those can be left on. Most amps (not vacuum tube), if not class A, run cool when idling, so thermal cycling fatigue should not be an issue.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Any competently designed power amplifier should have soft start inrush limiting, so turning it off after use makes sense. Why needlessly waste electricity? If an amp is turned off, it's best to wait a bit before powering it back on so that NTC inrush limiters in amps that use them get a chance to cool down and reset.

I've heard that some high power amplifiers have an intentional delay after the amplifier is turned off so that the inrush limiters can cool down before the amplifier can be turned back on to protect the inrush limiters. Just conjecture on my part, but it seems true.

 

[Vasr]

I have been using these two as controlled power strips for different rooms. There are more complicated solutions using triggered strips or strips that provide triggers , etc. Or power strips with their own remote. I just wanted to keep it simple.

https://www.tricklestar.com/news/tier-1-tier-2-advanced-powerstrips-aps-what-s-the-difference.html

Which one to use depends a lot on the specific amp and the behavior of the unit that you want to be the control. Lots of different amps out there to provide a universal solution.

Does the amp have a trigger in? Does the amp come on when powered in standby mode or fully powered mode? Does your control device have a trigger out? Does your control unit come on in standby mode or fully on (or does it come fully on initialize and then switch to standby mode)? Does you power amp have a soft power-on or is it going to pop your speakers every time it comes on? Does your power amp have a remote? So many variables.

(Tip: These are ridiculously priced on Amazon or from the manufacturer. In the US, many of the local power supply companies heavily subsidize them or even fully subsidize them, so check your supplier's web site for energy efficient rebates/store first. Even if your company doesn't have it, there is a market out there on eBay where people living in these areas, keep buying subsidized ones and sell them new at reasonable prices)

If that power strip wears off, then it is cheap to replace.

One important difference between the two above is that in Tier 1, the power to the control unit itself remains on when others are turned off. It senses the power difference between on and off/standby. But in Tier 2 strip, the power to the control unit is switched off as well after it is sent to standby so you cannot have it left on standby.

Which one will work for you depends on your control unit and whether you want it to be off or in standby. Sometimes the latter is preferable if it is a TV or a pre-amp that is network connected. The Tier 2 is quirky with a IR and Motion sensor (latter can be disabled) but powers off the control unit as well after one minute when you power it off with remote or send it to standby. The first IR click with everything turned off will power on everything. Which works fine unless you have another IR based system in the room whose use will also turn this on when in off stage! And it will turn off everything after a time-out without sensing any IR signal (max 2 hours setting). It is a usability mess but just what you need depending on your configuration and requirements.

I prefer the control unit on standby with trigger out to control other units rather than have the power yanked out of all when they are fully on.

 

[raif71]

Not sure about amplifiers but here's some guidelines switching off/on light bulbs https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/...-choices-save-you-money/when-turn-your-lights , from what I gathered better switch off if you're not using them for more than 15min, otherwise leave it on.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Not sure about amplifiers but here's some guidelines switching off/on light bulbs https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/...-choices-save-you-money/when-turn-your-lights , from what I gathered better switch off if you're not using them for more than 15min, otherwise leave it on.
View attachment 86026

https://www.livescience.com/34341-longest-burning-light-bulb.
There's your proof. Let's all go back to 1901, when digital audio streamers were expected to last for at least a century.

 

[Sukie]

Not sure about amplifiers but here's some guidelines switching off/on light bulbs https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/...-choices-save-you-money/when-turn-your-lights , from what I gathered better switch off if you're not using them for more than 15min, otherwise leave it on.
View attachment 86026

Appears to be true only for CFLs, not for incandescent, halogen or LED bulbs.

Not entirely sure what this has to do with amplifiers though?

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

Appears to be true only for CFLs, not for incandescent, halogen or LED bulbs.

Not entirely sure what this has to do with amplifiers though?

Lightbulbs consume electricity, so do amplifiers. That makes them the same thing.

 

[raif71]

https://www.livescience.com/34341-longest-burning-light-bulb.
There's your proof. Let's all go back to 1901, when digital audio streamers were expected to last for at least a century.

https://www.livescience.com/34341-longest-burning-light-bulb.html , I fixed your link, just missing the last html

 

[Sukie]

Lightbulbs consume electricity, so do amplifiers. That makes them the same thing.

What has that got to do with the issue of whether to leave something on or not? The amount of electricity used, along with potential degradation, is key.

Are you seriously suggesting that a light bulb and an amplifier are the "same thing"?

Personally speaking I wouldn't leave an amp on for all the reasons already mentioned.

 

[Daverz]

I recently watched a video by PS Audio's Paul McGowan where he recommends leaving your (non-tube) amplifier on indefinitely. He argues that the daily on-off cycles degrades the unit over time. Apparently PS Audio has made and maybe still makes, amplifiers with no on/off switch.

So my question is if this has any other adherents. I just bought a refurbished Yamaha M-80 and would like it to last another 30+ years before it needs another redo. Maybe in my case, turning off the Auto Class A feature since this generates a lot of heat, but otherwise leaving the unit on?

Any opinions?

Thanks.

A really irresponsible thing to say in 2020. A typical A/B amp at idle is going to chew up as much as a couple of incandescent 60W light bulbs (127W at idle for my Bryston 3B-SST).

 

[Jimbob54]

What has that got to do with the issue of whether to leave something on or not? The amount of electricity used, along with potential degradation, is key.

Are you seriously suggesting that a light bulb and an amplifier are the "same thing"?

Personally speaking I wouldn't leave an amp on for all the reasons already mentioned.

I read the sound of a tongue firmly in cheek.

 

[Sukie]

I read the sound of a tongue firmly in cheek.

Fair point. Apologies if the tongue was indeed in the cheek. Must be time to turn off my LEDs (or CFLs) and sleep.

 

[MakeMineVinyl]

What has that got to do with the issue of whether to leave something on or not? The amount of electricity used, along with potential degradation, is key.

Are you seriously suggesting that a light bulb and an amplifier are the "same thing"?

Personally speaking I wouldn't leave an amp on for all the reasons already mentioned.

That was a joke. Of course you don't want to waste electricity, and a modern amplifier doesn't give a whit whether its left on or turned off between uses. It will last the same regardless. Just turn all your stuff off when its not being used. The exception is don't disconnect power to things which comply with current power consumption regulations which stipulate that stand-by power consumption must be less than 1 watt.

In the past when dinosaurs roamed freely, radio stations and other large installations left their vacuum tube equipment powered up 24/7 because it was found that the tubes lasted longer when constantly powered up. That begs the question that if I powered up my vacuum tube amplifier once for an hour then didn't power it on again for 100 years, could it be assumed that the tubes lasted more than a century? I'll have to try that.

 

[Chrispy]

Just another reason to ignore grandpa Paul's videos....

 

[raif71]

Here are some more views https://www.head-fi.org/threads/is-...ime-after-use-or-leaving-it-always-on.668109/ . Interesting views there. In case you're wondering, I shut off my amps when not in used.