Leaving your gear switched on?

[Hifiver]

Do you leave your amp, phono stage, CD player and turntable switched on or plugged in when not in use? I have been doing so, but wondering if it poses a fire risk, wastes electricity etc.

Does either leaving things on or switching them off each time affect their lifespan?

 

[Shrek]

I turn mine of.But allow it to warm up and find it sounds better at lower volume when warm.No fire risk .

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

Certainly wastes electricity, nothing these days, needs to be left switched on.

 

[DougK1]

If my appliances abide by EU regs of not consuming more than 0.5 watts on standby they're left in standby. Unfortunately, this does not include any chi-fi boxes as they don't seem to abide by EU regs.

 

[Jasonovich]

Mine are either on standby or switched off but the switch on the mains is left on.

 

[Noddy]

On standby, and plugged in to a surge protector in case of lightning strikes.

 

[abacus]

All modern equipment is designed to use less than 0.5w on standby, which is the best way to do it as it allows it to automatically upgrade overnight, and reduce strain on the components of always staring from cold.
NOTE: The 0.5w is a basic setting which all manufacture follow, however if you want additional features to continue running (Network connection etc.) in standby then they will consume more power, which is why you always get a warning when switching these features on.
Some components (Like OLED TVs) have to be left in standby otherwise it will reduce their lifespan, as they perform maintenance program's overnight.
A typical full AV system left in standby with all features on will usually use around 1 unit of power per week.

Bill

 

[Gray]

One of the reasons people give for leaving stuff in standby, is to avoid giving repeated power-up shocks to components.
It's worth them remembering that a unit's standby consumption is <0.5W because most of its components are off.
They'll still be getting the same power- up as it comes out of standby.

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

and reduce strain on the components of always staring from cold.

That may have been a problem in the past but, with modern electronics, it's a non-issue. Then there is what @Gray rightly points out in the post before this one.

 

[RJW232]

During the weekends I leave them switched on. On weekdays they're switched off when not in use.

 

[Vincent Kars]

Depends
At the time I had a Class-A amp, I switched it of as it consumes a lot of power in idle mode.

turntable

At the time I had one, I stopped the motor to remove the record. Never left it spinning idle. Do you?

DAC, mine doesn't have a power switch so I leave it on. It goes in standby when no signal is presented.

 

[Al ears]

All modern equipment is designed to use less than 0.5w on standby, which is the best way to do it as it allows it to automatically upgrade overnight, and reduce strain on the components of always staring from cold.
NOTE: The 0.5w is a basic setting which all manufacture follow, however if you want additional features to continue running (Network connection etc.) in standby then they will consume more power, which is why you always get a warning when switching these features on.
Some components (Like OLED TVs) have to be left in standby otherwise it will reduce their lifespan, as they perform maintenance program's overnight.
A typical full AV system left in standby with all features on will usually use around 1 unit of power per week.

Bill

The only thing left in standby in my place is Sky Q box and the TV....
Thankfully none of my hifi needs software updates....
🙂

 

[JoelSim]

Components that have off switches are switched off (ie Primare amp). My streamer and Leema amp only have stand-by, and my plugs are all inaccessible tbh.