The cost of leaving your amp on

[jcarruthers]

I have been wondering what leaving my Rega Brio-R on all the time is costing me so I bought a meter like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000Q7PJGW/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's running at 17 watts with nothing going through it and the volume turned down.

At reasonable to loud listening levels through my B&Ws it's using about 18 to 22 watts.

Not the time of day to turn it right up Neighbours may complain.

So yeah, it costs

 

[Blackdawn]

The website for the Rega brio R says:

Power consumption:

195Watts at 230/115V into the rated load of 8Ω .

Is this at full power?

 

[jcarruthers]

Nowhere near full load - as stated - reasonable listening levels.

Around or less than 9pm on the volume control.

 

[tomlinscote]

for the cost of the meter you could have left the amp on for over a year....!

 

[jcarruthers]

for the cost of the meter you could have left the amp on for over a year....!

It has planned other uses — don't worry

 

[stevebrock]

I turn my Brio R on about 9am in morning then I turn it off before bed!

The power used is neglible!

Off topic - another forumite with a Rega system...... Brio R/DAC/RP3 - cant beat it!

 

[Hi-FiOutlaw]

I live mine 24/7 ON, with the volume knob to 0 .

And yes I did note differences on living it on 24/7!

 

[jcarruthers]

When my Elys 2 finally arrives I'll let you know!

 

[bretty]

I tried it with mine a few years ago and I did find that the sound did improve noticeably after the amp and power supplies had been on for a couple of days. But I was more of an anal hi fi guy back then. Now i'm more chilled about it and I can't be arsed with leaving everything on. The hifi gets switched on when I need it and switched straight back off when i'm done.

 

[john dolan]

14 Cyrus seperates a blu-ray and tv never turned off just put into standby when not in use but they are in use 18 hours aday.

 

[BigH]

What is the fire risk from leaving amps on all the time, I certainly would leave an amp on if I was not there or overnight.

 

[BigH]

I have been wondering what leaving my Rega Brio-R on all the time is costing me so I bought a meter like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000Q7PJGW/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's running at 17 watts with nothing going through it and the volume turned down.

At reasonable to loud listening levels through my B&Ws it's using about 18 to 22 watts.

Not the time of day to turn it right up Neighbours may complain.

So yeah, it costs

Does that metre affect the sound quality?

How hot does the Brio get?

 

[stevebrock]

Strange one this.......

When I am driving my Brio R hard it seems barely warm, however when its been standing idle it is warmer.

I also notice it is warmer after using Input 1 (Phono Stage) than the other inputs.

Just an observation!

 

[jcarruthers]

I wasn't paying attention to the sound quality with the meter — but I would expect nothing at all.

The Brio-R stays at about 35 degrees c most of the time even when not playing anything — a little warmer when it's playing very loud.

The meter shows that its not really pulling any extra power when playing so I wouldn't expect it to get a lot warmer than when it's idle.

 

[BigH]

I just read Alan Shaw of Harbeth comments on this subject. He generally says leaving the amp. all the time is a waste of time, can reduce its life and is a fire risk.

Another hifi myth?

 

[jcarruthers]

Strange one this.......

When I am driving my Brio R hard it seems barely warm, however when its been standing idle it is warmer.

I also notice it is warmer after using Input 1 (Phono Stage) than the other inputs.

Just an observation!

Now you mention it — I seem to remember thinking it was cooler when running once.

I made a mistake of playing a quiet source (laptop turned down) which meant that the volume knob was artificially turned up — this got the unit very warm.

I've had an IR thermometer sitting next to it ever since and check it occasionally.

Hotter when running the phono stage makes sense as its doing more work?

james

 

[jcarruthers]

I just read Alan Shaw of Harbeth comments on this subject. He generally says leaving the amp. all the time is a waste of time, can reduce its life and is a fire risk.

Another hifi myth?

I'm pretty sure mine sounds better when it's warmed up — but its not really possibly to test it AB.

Electronic components don't like being turned off and on — at least that's what I've always been lead to believe. It probably isn't going to harm it too much — hifi for most people is probably a few times a week?

 

[Dougal1331]

So if we take an average of say, 20 Watts...

1000/20=50 so amp using 1/50th of a kWh ('unit') per hour, so if left on permanantly (idling) your annual cost would be (24*365)/50 *13.8 (pence per unit in my case...)

That would be 175.2 units per year at 13.8p each, so about £24 a year- or £2 a month to leave your amp on 24 hrs a day...

 

[stevebrock]

I really like to keep most of my elecitrical stuff on to be honest!

My MacBook Pro is never turned off, just in sleep mode when not being used!

My Hifi gets turned on once a day!

Same with my Panasonic Plasma, just on standby mode.

Aren't they most likeyl to fail when being turned on? Its logical that everytime you turn something it on it momentarily stresses the electrical circuits?

I have an EON smart meter thingiemejob that tells me my daily/weekly useage so I know the consumption isnt worth worrying about!

 

[BigH]

But Alan Shaw says; "Now, the fact is that the working life of the capacitor is related to its powered life. Sitting on the shelf in the cool store room, unpowered, unworked, assuming that the case sealing is good, the useful shelf life will far exceed it's operational, powered life. This implies that to extend the life of your solid state electronics it should be completely turned-off when not in use. Not standby mode (where the PSU is obviously still charged up and working) but fully off."

Yes turning on/off maybe not a good idea but turning it on when you want to use it and then off when you have finished for the day would be alright.

My amp. (Arcam) has lasted nearly 20 years, now if I left it on 24/7 how long would it have lasted 10 years? who knows.

 

[BigH]

So if we take an average of say, 20 Watts...

1000/20=50 so amp using 1/50th of a kWh ('unit') per hour, so if left on permanantly (idling) your annual cost would be (24*365)/50 *13.8 (pence per unit in my case...)

That would be 175.2 units per year at 13.8p each, so about £24 a year- or £2 a month to leave your amp on 24 hrs a day...

I think the average kWh cost is a bit higher now but yes its about £24-£30.

 

[Overdose]

I have been wondering what leaving my Rega Brio-R on all the time is costing me so I bought a meter like this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000Q7PJGW/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's running at 17 watts with nothing going through it and the volume turned down.

At reasonable to loud listening levels through my B&Ws it's using about 18 to 22 watts.

Not the time of day to turn it right up Neighbours may complain.

So yeah, it costs

Why not simply turn it off when not in use?

 

[cheeseboy]

I really like to keep most of my elecitrical stuff on to be honest!

My MacBook Pro is never turned off, just in sleep mode when not being used!

My Hifi gets turned on once a day!

Same with my Panasonic Plasma, just on standby mode.

Aren't they most likeyl to fail when being turned on? Its logical that everytime you turn something it on it momentarily stresses the electrical circuits?

nahhh, think you're just worrying unecessarily. no reason why not to turn off if not in use....

 

[Singslinger]

I just read Alan Shaw of Harbeth comments on this subject. He generally says leaving the amp. all the time is a waste of time, can reduce its life and is a fire risk.

Another hifi myth?

I'm pretty sure mine sounds better when it's warmed up — but its not really possibly to test it AB.

Electronic components don't like being turned off and on — at least that's what I've always been lead to believe. It probably isn't going to harm it too much — hifi for most people is probably a few times a week?

Alan Shaw also says cables make no difference to the sound and all amps sound the same when used with his speakers. Naim recommend leaving their amps on all the time and in fact place the on-off switch on the back of their gear. I used to own a Naim NAC 82 preamp, 2 Hicaps and 2 NAP 135 monoblocks, all of which I left switched on for about 18 years (except for when I went on holiday, maybe 2-3 weeks per year) with absolutely no ill effects.

To be honest, I believe keeping them on all the time actually prolonged their life. Even after all that time, they still worked perfectly.

 

[BigH]

I just read Alan Shaw of Harbeth comments on this subject. He generally says leaving the amp. all the time is a waste of time, can reduce its life and is a fire risk.

Another hifi myth?

I'm pretty sure mine sounds better when it's warmed up — but its not really possibly to test it AB.

Electronic components don't like being turned off and on — at least that's what I've always been lead to believe. It probably isn't going to harm it too much — hifi for most people is probably a few times a week?

Alan Shaw also says cables make no difference to the sound and all amps sound the same when used with his speakers. Naim recommend leaving their amps on all the time and in fact place the on-off switch on the back of their gear. I used to own a Naim NAC 82 preamp, 2 Hicaps and 2 NAP 135 monoblocks, all of which I left switched on for about 18 years (except for when I went on holiday, maybe 2-3 weeks per year) with absolutely no ill effects.

To be honest, I believe keeping them on all the time actually prolonged their life. Even after all that time, they still worked perfectly.

Yes and Naim used to say you have to use at least 3.5m of Naim speaker cable with their amps. otherwise they would blow-up!