Should I leave my amp turned on? (1 Viewer)

[David Barteaux]

I have Rotel 1095 amp. I plug it into a regular surge protector. I dont use the 12v trigger option. Will it harm the amp to leave it on at all times? I heard that powering on/off frequently may be hard on high current amps.

 

[Dennis B]

David,
Check out the end of this thread:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...680#post524680

 

[Ron Reda]

David,

The only time I ever turn mine off is when it's raining severely or when the weather guy predicts lightning. The reason for this is that I don't have my amp plugged into a surge protector or any kind of current limiting device...the company that manu's my amp advises to plug it right into the wall.

 

[ColinM]

I've left my sub amp on for 5 years straight, no problems. I'll do the same with the new one...

- C

 

[Arthur S]

David

Good choice of amps!

I am with Ron, my amp is plugged directly into the wall.

As to leaving it on all the time, the amps are built to safely absorb the turn on rush of power to the capacitors etc. I've had high current amps for 20 years. Always turned off and on. No problems.

If you turned it on and off 10 or 15 times a day you should leave it on. Short of that, I think you can safely turn it on and off with no ill effects.

Remember, these are high end products built to hold up under heavy usage, and Rotel has been making amps for a long time. Rotel does not expect everyone to leave the amp on all the time.

Artie

 

[Lee-c]

I agree that well built amps are going to tend to be quite resistant to breaking. But the goal is
to have the amp goes as long as possible without anything breaking. And since we are talking
about high quality amps, many owners will have no reason to upgrade the amps for a very long time,
if ever. So why not go as easy on the amp as you can? 5 or 10 years down the line it might
make the difference between something that gives out and something that keeps working perfectly.
It might, it might not; but seeing as repair costs can be very considerable on high end equipment, I'd rather
not take the chance. Not to mention the possibility of having your amp break and not being able to
use your stereo gear for some period of time. An unpleasant thought, indeed.

 

[Legairre]

I'll second the that "David, great choice in amps". I use the 12v trigger with my 1095. I'm not sure about how much power the 1095 consumes at ide, but that may be a reason to turn it off when not in use. The old electric bill. From my conversations with Rotel. Even though the manual says the 1095's power consumption is 800 watts. Rotel says it's closer to 1600 watts. I wonder if it consumes the 800 watts at ide. Obviously the 1600 watts would be at full power.

 

[Todd Hochard]

Turn it off, save the electricity, and save money. If a "high quality" amp can't handle inrush current, then it's a poor design. I've run amps for the last 15 years, and the worst that's ever happened is an internal fuse blew once on power up. Ten minutes, and I was back in business.

Higher quality amps (sound-wise) tend to draw more current at idle, due to being biased closer to (or actually in) Class A operation. Sound quality is better, but power draw with no signal is much higher. If Rotel says it consumes 800W, that's nearly 20Kw-hrs/day, or nearly 600Kw-hrs per month. That's about $60/month at 10c/Kw-hr. Leave it on 24/7 for five years, and you've spent enough to buy a nice new multi-channel Bryston!

Those Rotel numbers may be a little high, but not by much. Consider that the Bryston 4B draws 186W at idle, per their measurements. My measly Denon AVR-3300 receiver draws a measured 60W at idle (my measurements), and it gets turned off when not in use.

For reference, 600Kw-hrs/month is what my central AC load is in the dead of summer here in FL, for a 1500sq. ft home.

In short, waste not, want not. The savings from powering down (both in $$, and CO2 generation) are not small.

Todd

 

[Lee-c]

Todd raises a good point. You do have to consider how much power the amp in question draws

when at idle. I was operating under the assumption that draw would be quite low overall. But something

like a Class A amp is going to cost a ton to leave on all the time and, in that case, I wouldn't

recommend doing it. So check with the manufacturer and find out what the idle watt use is

for the amp in question.

 

[David Barteaux]

Thanks for your opinions. The Rotel comes with 3 fuses so I can be back up and running if one pops due to power up. I think your right that a good amp should be able to be turned on/off every day with no problems, and the 1095 comes with a 5 year warranty.

 

[Thomas_A]

One aspect not brought up..or did I miss it..is sound quality. I know some amp companies recomend to leave it plugged in and on.... keeps the caps fully charged and a constant sound. How much of an effect this may have.. not sure...but many I have talked too ,,, have noticed a diff. that maybe 2 hrs of play is need to get the amp back to "where it was" ..and this is after breakin..

I'm looking at an odyssey amp/s myself..and they recomend this.... not sure what the take on this is...but its listed on thier website...

Thomas a.

 

[Craig Woodhall]

I always turn off my amps, mostly to save electricity.. Not so much to save on my hydro bill but just because it is the responsible thing to do.. Im no tree hugger but just think how much power would be used if everyone left their equipment on all the time all over the world!? Look at the problems with power shortages down in California already.. I just fire up my amps 10 minutes before I plan on watching a movie and I can't tell a difference in sound quality. My Cinepros work just fine on a 10 minute charge I always worry that one day there won't be enough electricity and my $20,000 investment will be worthless, hehe!

 

[Todd Hochard]

Yeah, I'm no tree-hugger, either (well, maybe a quasi-hugger )- Heck, I drive an old (no emissions controls) Z28.
And, notice, too, that the companies that make the most expensive (and biggest power consuming) equipment, tend to be the ones to tell you to leave it on all the time. IMO, the sound quality argument has always been specious, at best, and is a weak/self-important carryover from tube days. There are SO many other things that have a much larger effect to worry about (including your fatigue level, and attitude). If it's not right after 10 minutes, I don't want it.
And, think about this- if it took my car two hours to "run at its best," you can be sure I'd take it back to the dealer.
Todd

 

[Craig Woodhall]

hehe, I totally agree, Todd.

 

[Ron Reda]

Straight from the Odyssey website:

Even after the initial break-in period, the internal components lose their charge each time the unit is turned off. The full re-charging can take hours (and sometimes days!). Therefore, the best sonic performance is achieved when the components are kept fully charged at all times. This essentially means leaving your equipment on at all times--if you are comfortable with that arrangement. If not, at least be aware that it will take some time for your unit to warm up and fully charge each time you power up. These charged-based performance issues are applicable to most electronic equipment, and are especially critical in high-end solid-state gear such as Odyssey amplifiers and preamplifiers.

Thomas_A,

If you decide to go with an Odyssey amp, you won't be disappointed...it has completely renewed my interest in music to where I use my once HT-configured system primarily for CD listening!

 

[Legairre]

Anyone know if leaving the amp in standby mode and using the 12v trigger will leave the components charged?

 

[DaleV]

If the engineers of amps felt that the amps needed to be on 24/7 they would have designed them without on/off switches. Just a power cord would have been cheaper.

 

[Earl Simpson]

Where I live , we can get a wide flux in volts and current. The surge protector drains excess volts of 330 and above to your grounding conductor. Can I ask a Really dumb question????

Why would you ever run equipment without a surge protector with a proper rating.

PS/In 15 years I have never lost anything plugged up to a surge protector(school and home).

 

[Thomas_A]

Ron... thanx for the input... I have been into audio for quite some time..and finaly starting to look at seperate amps..since my taste has refind quite a bit. The comments about the stratus amps have really hyped this product...I just need to wait a bit..and convince the wife what I'm doing ...
thier website is very useful...I wonder how thier speakers will sound?

 

[Oliver]

I am very glad that some people like Todd mention a much overseen problem concerning the pure waste of energy when leaving your gear on without cause, running and consuming electricity. To produce electricity resources are used that are gone for ever. Also the electrical production produces environmental pollution, my and your water and air in affected. I do absolutely not find this waste tolerable only because someone is willing to spend the extra $ on his electricity bill. I believe that a major thinking ahead the wall plug is what could change this waste. Some dramatic price raise on electricity surely do that job pretty good too.