Is there such thing as too much power?

[chebby]

Thanks for confirming that valve amps should not be left on "all the time". I never realised they were that hot.

My amp is on for about 14 - 16 hours per day, every day, and in use for at least 12 of those those. I am guessing that almost qualifes as 'all the time'.

Also I wouldn't trust myself enough not to forget and leave it on overnight once in a while.

That, along with cost and looks, size, weight, low power output, high power consumption, need for reserve supplies of expensive replacements etc. has decided me against trying valve amps. (I was looking forward to trying the Quad VA-One when available this year.)

 

[Al ears]

Thanks for confirming that valve amps should not be left on "all the time". I never realised they were that hot.

My amp is on for about 14 - 16 hours per day, every day, and in use for at least 12 of those those. I am guessing that almost qualifes as 'all the time'.

Also I wouldn't trust myself enough not to forget and leave it on overnight once in a while.

That, along with cost and looks, size, weight, low power output, high power consumption, need for reserve supplies of expensive replacements etc. has decided me against trying valve amps. (I was looking forward to trying the Quad VA-One when available this year.)

I wouldn't let those trifles put you off Chebby. ;-)

If you're worried about leaving it on you could invest in a timer-switch.

 

[chebby]

Thanks for confirming that valve amps should not be left on "all the time". I never realised they were that hot.

My amp is on for about 14 - 16 hours per day, every day, and in use for at least 12 of those those. I am guessing that almost qualifes as 'all the time'.

Also I wouldn't trust myself enough not to forget and leave it on overnight once in a while.

That, along with cost and looks, size, weight, low power output, high power consumption, need for reserve supplies of expensive replacements etc. has decided me against trying valve amps. (I was looking forward to trying the Quad VA-One when available this year.)

I wouldn't let those trifles put you off Chebby. ;-)

If you're worried about leaving it on you could invest in a timer-switch.

I work from home 95 percent of the time so the system is playing all day from early morning until late evening almost every single day. (The 14 - 16 hours I mentioned.) I think that amount of usage - practically speaking - counts as 'all the time' for the purposes of this discussion.

I am not a typical 'couple of hours an evening after work' sort of listener.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks for confirming that valve amps should not be left on "all the time". I never realised they were that hot.

My amp is on for about 14 - 16 hours per day, every day, and in use for at least 12 of those those. I am guessing that almost qualifes as 'all the time'.

Also I wouldn't trust myself enough not to forget and leave it on overnight once in a while.

That, along with cost and looks, size, weight, low power output, high power consumption, need for reserve supplies of expensive replacements etc. has decided me against trying valve amps. (I was looking forward to trying the Quad VA-One when available this year.)

I wouldn't let those trifles put you off Chebby. ;-)

If you're worried about leaving it on you could invest in a timer-switch.

I work from home 95 percent of the time so the system is playing all day from early morning until late evening almost every single day. (The 14 - 16 hours I mentioned.) I think that amount of usage - practically speaking - counts as 'all the time' for the purposes of this discussion.

I am not a typical 'couple of hours an evening after work' sort of listener.

You're probably right. What's needed is a valve amp that will switch itself into standby mode when no signal is detected for a period of time.

That may count as on all the time but I was thinking more along the lines of when you are asleep for out of the house.

You really should ,at least, attempt to listen to that Quad though.

 

[Infiniteloop]

Thanks for confirming that valve amps should not be left on "all the time". I never realised they were that hot.

My amp is on for about 14 - 16 hours per day, every day, and in use for at least 12 of those those. I am guessing that almost qualifes as 'all the time'.

Also I wouldn't trust myself enough not to forget and leave it on overnight once in a while.

That, along with cost and looks, size, weight, low power output, high power consumption, need for reserve supplies of expensive replacements etc. has decided me against trying valve amps. (I was looking forward to trying the Quad VA-One when available this year.)

I wouldn't let those trifles put you off Chebby. ;-)

If you're worried about leaving it on you could invest in a timer-switch.

I work from home 95 percent of the time so the system is playing all day from early morning until late evening almost every single day. (The 14 - 16 hours I mentioned.) I think that amount of usage - practically speaking - counts as 'all the time' for the purposes of this discussion.

I am not a typical 'couple of hours an evening after work' sort of listener.

You're probably right. What's needed is a valve amp that will switch itself into standby mode when no signal is detected for a period of time.

That may count as on all the time but I was thinking more along the lines of when you are asleep for out of the house.

You really should ,at least, attempt to listen to that Quad though.

+1 to all the above.

I'd definitely have a listen to the Quad. You might end up using it for special listening sessions.

When I got my Devialet, I just couldn't give up the S8. - Really glad I kept it, even 18 months on...

 

[Infiniteloop]

You should always turn the volume right down before switching your amp off. This avoids the risk of sparking occurring across the volume knob when you turn it back on, which can over time lead to bad spots on the dial.

Older, transistor and valve based amps benefitted from being left on all the time due to the reduced thermal cycling from cold to hot to cold to hot to cold etc. Modern chip based amps don't benefit as much but it's not a bad thing to do so long as you're prepared to pay for the electricity. Like most TVs these days, some have a standby setting where they stay "warm" without drawing full power and without drawing zero power as if they were unplugged from the wall.

As for amps "running in" I can see that old valve amps might have, and I can see that things like capacitors inside the amp might benefit from a bit of "cooking" to reach a stable state, but the solid state componenets not so much. It may be true that it's our ears actually doing the tuning in, I know that's a fact with my eyes and new glasses, for example. I think it's probably more true that speakers with dynamic mechancial components need to run in: the rubber to relax a little, for example.

I would never, ever, advocate leaving a Valve Amp on all the time. A short (maybe 15 minute), warm-up time after switch on is all that's usually required anyway.

+1 Mine generates too much heat to be left on all the time, a potential fire hazard, and the electric bill would be horrendous. Mine doesn't take anywhere near 15 minutes to stabilise.

Mine is fine from the first few minutes, however it really comes on song after about 15....

I guess those big 845's take a while to warm....

The 845's reach full brightness almost immediately, I think it's the trio of 12AU7's that take a little while to fully perform at their best.

 

[Al ears]

You should always turn the volume right down before switching your amp off. This avoids the risk of sparking occurring across the volume knob when you turn it back on, which can over time lead to bad spots on the dial.

Older, transistor and valve based amps benefitted from being left on all the time due to the reduced thermal cycling from cold to hot to cold to hot to cold etc. Modern chip based amps don't benefit as much but it's not a bad thing to do so long as you're prepared to pay for the electricity. Like most TVs these days, some have a standby setting where they stay "warm" without drawing full power and without drawing zero power as if they were unplugged from the wall.

As for amps "running in" I can see that old valve amps might have, and I can see that things like capacitors inside the amp might benefit from a bit of "cooking" to reach a stable state, but the solid state componenets not so much. It may be true that it's our ears actually doing the tuning in, I know that's a fact with my eyes and new glasses, for example. I think it's probably more true that speakers with dynamic mechancial components need to run in: the rubber to relax a little, for example.

I would never, ever, advocate leaving a Valve Amp on all the time. A short (maybe 15 minute), warm-up time after switch on is all that's usually required anyway.

+1 Mine generates too much heat to be left on all the time, a potential fire hazard, and the electric bill would be horrendous. Mine doesn't take anywhere near 15 minutes to stabilise.

Mine is fine from the first few minutes, however it really comes on song after about 15....

I guess those big 845's take a while to warm....

The 845's reach full brightness almost immediately, I think it's the trio of 12AU7's that take a little while to fully perform at their best.

Thanks for that. Never had an amp with either of those tubes. Still not long to wait to listen to that wonderful sound though I guess.