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Max out lifespan of active speakers

benjaminicus

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Mar 4, 2022
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Hello there,

so as one of my active speakers recently showed signs of electronics failing (currently being checked by manufacturer) i wonder if
my doctrine on caring for them was correct.

I don't remember where i got it from for it prorblay was like 10 years ago but back then i was made to believe, that in order to max out
wear on electronics i was to keep the speakers powered on 24/7.

In my mind this made a lot of sense because I'd save them the daily warm up and cool down stress.

On the other hand given that they're never like 0dB quiet there's always some current being drawn and maybe some capacitors under
load all the time...

So is there a study you guys can point me to or is this?

Best regards
 

Doodski

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Hello there,

so as one of my active speakers recently showed signs of electronics failing (currently being checked by manufacturer) i wonder if
my doctrine on caring for them was correct.

I don't remember where i got it from for it prorblay was like 10 years ago but back then i was made to believe, that in order to max out
wear on electronics i was to keep the speakers powered on 24/7.

In my mind this made a lot of sense because I'd save them the daily warm up and cool down stress.

On the other hand given that they're never like 0dB quiet there's always some current being drawn and maybe some capacitors under
load all the time...

So is there a study you guys can point me to or is this?

Best regards
This question has been posed so many times by me and others and I don't think there is a conclusive answer. I think it depends on the specific type of gear and the temp it operates at. For active speakers the electronics operate in a closed box and such are prone to no airflow unless the woofers are pumping air in and out or a fan has been installed by the manufacturer. I think powering them up and down when required is the way to go and if they have auto-ON that would be good.
 
Last edited:

BrokenEnglishGuy

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when manufacturers start to gives at least 10 years warranty on electronics... thats the moment when we can say
Yes... the actives are a safe choice
 

RayDunzl

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My little JBLs suck 5W when idle, and still only 5W most of the time I listen to them.

I can absorb the $15/year energy cost to have them ready to go, considering they play the TV, casual music, and PC, and the energy savings might be $5 if power cycled

They're six years old now.

Having worked in 24/7/365 Telecom and observed the fail rate for tens if not hundreds of thousands of circuit cards of many types between 1983 and 2002, it's not much of a worry for me to worry about.
 

Digby

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Depending where you live, you can save a little to a good amount money by allowing the Neumanns to auto standby. Tell us whether the feature is good and whether it turns off/on as expected, some speakers turn off while quiet music is playing and then need LOUD volumes to turn on again.
 

DSJR

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It's been said in a now very lengthy and circular thread that ATC actives can give well over thirty years domestic use with maybe an amp check after this time. B&O actives (available quite cheaply in the UK) tend to suffer driver surround issues rather than their little amp packs failing (I know nothing about the later issue models with ICE power though). The Harbeth made HHB Circle models I believe from scant info, may have driver cone crazing issues (drivers can be replaced but they ain't cheap) but the simple active electronics I think are ok (I need confirmation here). I think the once expensive Linn active (aktiv) speaker system amps (usually a stereo amp with active crossover cards fitted) seem to be lasting ok (LK140's at twenty plus years old that I knew and sold).

Some of the sub $/£1k actives can give excellent performance for their size, but don't always expect the build-overkill of more expensive monitors as even far eastern made ones may well have cost-cutting internally, limiting use to domestic medium volume duties... You don't get out for nowt in this world even today.
 

YSC

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I think it depends on luck and how loud/ripple of your home actually is affects, and of course, for any electronics, luck plays a part.

Personally I have a pair of KEF X300A since relase 9 years ago, used daily as computer speaker, and then now serve as TV speaker so used heavily in daily basis, touchwood it still works fine.

Another pair of Fostex PM0.4D is over 10 years old with daily use and it still goes strong, the genelec 8030C only got <2 years of use so no comment.

but AFAIK the Class AB of KEF isn't known to be long living, yet in reasonable volume and daily use with auto off it survived almost 10years and going strong, modern electronics, when not pushed to limit frequently, usually last a very long time. For more budget speakers like the X300A or the 8030, I think if they last for 10 years it's good enough for the asked price, some companies like Genelec or ATC would highly likely to be willing and able to fix the speaker in say, 20 years time, just the cost might prompt you to replace it with a newer and better model. For the wifi capable offerings which based on some mini pc board it could be more complicated and potentially easier to fail, but who knows, my last PC (i7 2600k) was released and bought on 2011, and it still survived for daily gaming use without any parts failing (only retired due to it's performance no longer capable for gaming), it's not like the 90s where if you are lucky you can have a PC that survives for 3 years
 

YSC

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Hello there,

so as one of my active speakers recently showed signs of electronics failing (currently being checked by manufacturer) i wonder if
my doctrine on caring for them was correct.

I don't remember where i got it from for it prorblay was like 10 years ago but back then i was made to believe, that in order to max out
wear on electronics i was to keep the speakers powered on 24/7.

In my mind this made a lot of sense because I'd save them the daily warm up and cool down stress.

On the other hand given that they're never like 0dB quiet there's always some current being drawn and maybe some capacitors under
load all the time...

So is there a study you guys can point me to or is this?

Best regards
have to add that 10 years are probably fair time for electronics to survive, much like expecting how long before your car will need some major repair, even passives, where they have caps in their crossovers can degrade through time, just the defective caps effect might not be as drastic a change overtime to let you notice, same goes of external amp, the difference IMO is for actives you send back to the manufacturer to fix the whole thing, for passive setups, you send your amp or so.
 

dasdoing

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I live in the tropics and 100m from the ocean. mainboards and graphic cards die on me if I wouldn't leave my PC on 24/7 (though I probably could get away with letting it on 24h only when rainy weather). but my pair of KRK Rokit 1st gen never had a problem though it would sometimes sit there for several days without power. with my newer DSP speakers I am more carefully though, as I suspect that the microchips are what are diying
 
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