Leave my amp on?

[True Blue]

FWIW I leave my amp on all the time, I turn my CDP on in a morning and switch off when I go to bed.

I have energy saving light bulbs (full of mercury) in every room, thermostatic radiator valves and a programmable timer. Cavity wall insulation, double glazing and double thickness loft insulation.

Now does anyone mention the extra powerstation required at Xmas for all of the XMAS lights, or building Health and safety lights, what about airport lights??

No the solution is electric cars......... no hang on the electricity comes from Coal fired power stations. Oh ok lets scrap our old cars, use energy to scrap them and then even more energy to build one, oh and the ship which has to transport them running on HFO. Thats right thats the "green" option!!

Everyone uses mobile phones, sat navs, dont even get a second thought, how much fuel is burnt getting those in the atmosphere!!

When will people realise that its all a big con to impose taxes etc on us mere mortals. Yes watch what you use and dont be wasteful, but for Gods sake I am not going to feel guilty for leaving my amp on.

 

[hammill]

I never use standby. My system is turned off at the mains if I leave the room for a few minutes. If people are more worried about a minute quality difference whilst their amp warms up than they are about the future of the planet then we might as well give up.

 

[True Blue]

And dont get me started on those cars which stop and start their engines at lights to "save the planet".

1. How much fuel does an engine use at start up? - A lot because the fuel rack is hard over on the starting sequence, most of which is unused and the efficiency goes way way down

2. Thermal stressing of components leads to premature failures - fact - cost of replacements / manufacture etc

3. No lubrication at start up, increased wear in components - see 2

4. Increased LO consumption - cost - not very enviromentally friendly as all the unburnt fuel and oil goes into the atmosphere.......

5. Or into the CAT, and of course they are free to produce and ship

Environmentally friendly I think not!! Just another way of extracting cash

 

[Anonymous]

I turn everything off at night, and turn it on (standby) in the morning or when i get home from work depending on if i work from home or not. I can wait the 20 mins it takes for everything to warm up enough.

 

[Anonymous]

Presumably there are fundamental differences in the implications of continuously leaving on a valve vs conventional amp. Does anyone have any information? e.g. will it decrease the life of the valves?

 

[floyd droid]

Yes. ( In response to valve question on prev page ).

 

[Anonymous]

Yep....I'll switch on my amp in the morning and switch it off before going to bed.

 

[Anonymous]

If we go back to the age when valves was the only option, it was common knowledge that these thingies needed to be carefully warmed up before they would perform their best, and that switching them on and off would reduce their life span.

When transistors were introduced, one of the claimed benefits was that warming up would not be necessary, and that switching them on and off wouldn't hurt them.

Generally, being left on (and thus producing heat) will decrease the life span of electrical equipment.

As for the environmental angle:

Even if you might not see the difference on your power bill, electrical equipment left on (even in stand-by mode) actually makes a huge difference world wide. Even if your personal contribution won't show in the big picture, the addition of everyone's personal contributions will.

PS:

Any electrical equipment is also a possible cause of fire. I doubt the insurance company will be very eager to cover the damage if you leave your amp on when going away (or perhaps even overnight)...

 

[Frank Harvey]

Fahnsen: Generally, being left on (and thus producing heat) will decrease the life span of electrical equipment. Only without adequate ventilation/cooling.

 

[Anonymous]

FrankHarveyHiFi:
Fahnsen: Generally, being left on (and thus producing heat) will decrease the life span of electrical equipment. Only without adequate ventilation/cooling.

No, always.

Inadequate cooling will only make it worse...

I'm not sure 'over-adequate' cooling is a good idea either. I once had an amp positioned near a drafty window. It didn't last long...

 

[floyd droid]

Why , did someone nick it ?

I've taken note that this thread is becoming a vehicle for tree huggers. I think you will find that the op was interested if there are any benifits in leaving said amp on in relation to sound quality, but maybe im wrong.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Fahnsen:No, always.

Inadequate cooling will only make it worse...

I'm not sure 'over-adequate' cooling is a good idea either. I once had an amp positioned near a drafty window. It didn't last long... I did say 'adequate'. Should I say 'optimum'?

 

[Anonymous]

Cistron:FrankHarveyHiFi:

I'd leave it on all the time. This will lessen it's possibility of breaking down.

I know people will say it's not very eco and all that, but is it really going to make any difference in the grand scheme of things? Is turning your amp off when you're not using it going to save us all from roasting alive? No!! You pay for the electric - enjoy it while you can

I use a pair of lovely, thirsty Brytson 7B monoblocks which can use in excess of 1000w each - do I feel guilty? Not at all!! Sorry, but an eco friendly budget amp doesn't do it for me.....I'm sorry, but your attitude is simply ********. Do you think that your 'audiophile energy' is treated any different than the stuff the rest of the world uses? Wasted energy is wasted energy. You wouldn't let your vacuum machine run for no reason and you wouldn't have your windows open when you're heating.

Now go feel guilty, because it seems that I'm saving energy wherever I can so you can run your damn Brytsons.

I leave my Hi-Fi ON all the time too. It WILL increase the life span of the components and it WILL sound much better as oppossed to starting it from cold. That's my opinion, anyway.

Everyone here is free to offer an opinion. You have been dowright rude - no two ways about it. There was no reason for it.

You owe David an apology.

 

[chebby]

If it has an 'off' switch then it gets switched off. (Except essentials like the fridge, and the light on the landing for safety, and the heating system, and the radio/alarm in standby.)

I am not saving the planet, I am saving my pocket/bank account. For the same reason we are using low energy bulbs and the 'Eco' setting on the fridge and switching off all computers when not being used.

My Naim dealer would advise against the nightly switch off but he never mentioned any arrangement for subsidising my electricity bill

I also just don't like leaving stuff switched on for the other reason voiced above here somewhere, safety.

 

[Anonymous]

always switch everything off good for my pocket as the amp alone draws 100w when idle and good for the planet

chebby i think some naims draw only about 7w when not in use not sure about yours

 

[Anonymous]

I emailed Sugden about it but no reply as of yet...

 

[Anonymous]

EvilWolf:I leave my Hi-Fi ON all the time too. It WILL increase the life span of the components and it WILL sound much better as oppossed to starting it from cold. That's my opinion, anyway.

Everyone here is free to offer an opinion. You have been dowright rude - no two ways about it. There was no reason for it.

You owe David an apology.

Read his posts again and enjoy the bigotry. I didn't insult him, I (harshly) criticised his attitude. David felt attacked in his manhood and his priviledge to blow energy out of the window. Thus his response with this ever-so-slight undertone of violence. Fact is, we're simply lucky to live in a developed country. Do the people in -- lets say -- Africa not have the right to run 1000W Brytsons? I'm sure the moon would be happy about the cacophony of music emitted from earth if everyone on the planet had such a set-up, but it wouldn't last long.

I'm no treehugger, I'm simply a scientist with a critical perception of things.

Oh and I like your purely anecdotal evidence on HiFi equipment lifetime when run continuously.

Again apologies for redirecting this thread. I don't have evidence whether permanent on and off switching would harm a transistor-amplifier. I would suspect no more than it would affect your computer, which runs at very high temperatures.

 

[chebby]

This subject always ends up being a bit of a wind-up....

It's only energy. Watt's there to get cranky about?

coat - I - get - will - my (re-arrange)

 

[True Blue]

Any component, mechanical or electrical will suffer premature failure through repeated switching sequences, it is caused cyclic stressing, and add onto that thermal stressing and the components lifespan is severely shortened. So for my quiescent power consumption (at rest / standby) is 20Va (commonly known as Watts) I will be leaving it on.

 

[Frank Harvey]

chebby:My Naim dealer would advise against the nightly switch off but he never mentioned any arrangement for subsidising my electricity bill

rolfl

 

[Frank Harvey]

Cistron:Read his posts again and enjoy the bigotry. I didn't insult him, I (harshly) criticised his attitude. David felt attacked in his manhood and his priviledge to blow energy out of the window. Thus his response with this ever-so-slight undertone of violence. Fact is, we're simply lucky to live in a developed country. Do the people in -- lets say -- Africa not have the right to run 1000W Brytsons?I said "you know where I work" because it's usually the case that most people who insult people and their thinking are usually the sort who only ever see the outside world when their mother lets them, and talk the talk safe in the knowledge that no one knows who they are.

If you really think that turning a couple of amps off can save the world then I'm all ears for your proof. Has it never occurred to you that global warming (if it exists) may actually be a natural process that no one can do anything about? I bet the dinosaurs were really ****** when they realised they'd have survived if they'd have turned off their Brystons. Mind you, they couldn't could they - they didn't have fingers.

Personally, I think there will be World War III before the possibility of us being wiped out because it's too warm.

 

[True Blue]

I'm more concerned about the polar magnetic shift which is well overdue, ozone thinning is the start then magnetic shift N->S and vice versa.......2012................

 

[JamesOK]

FrankHarveyHiFi:

If you really think that turning a couple of amps off can save the world then I'm all ears for your proof.

The point is - if everyone thought like that about all things (not just a couple of amps) if all the stuff about global warming is true, we would be in a lot of trouble.

FrankHarveyHiFi:

Has it never occurred to you that global warming (if it exists) may
actually be a natural process that no one can do anything about?

Very fair point - from what I know we have no absolute proof that global warming is real and not a natural process. However we have no proof its definitely a natural process either.

FrankHarveyHiFi:

I bet the dinosaurs were really ****** when they realised they'd have survived if they'd have turned off their Brystons. Mind you, they couldn't could they - they didn't have fingers.

At least proof that a lack of fingers can severaly inhibit your love of music.

FrankHarveyHiFi:

Personally, I think there will be World War III before the possibility of us being wiped out because it's too warm.

Yes "we" may all be fine. However, future generations may not. I am using the word "may" based on my comment above about absolute proof.

 

[Anonymous]

It wasn't anecdotal evidence.....I said it was my opinion and qualified my statement appropriately. The bottomline is, you don't pay for my electricity, so just take it easy and do what you see fit for yourself without abusing others for their opinions/practices.
You don't pay for their electricity either - they do.

Seeing that you're a scientist, maybe you can do us a huge favour and substantiate your views with the relevant scientific evidence.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

BREAKING NEWS

Slickensmooth's amp found switched off- Third World War a mistake.