Amps on standby or off?

[mcwilson]

I have an ATI 8500.1 Pre/Pro and two ATI 300X Amps in my HT system. The Amps don't have a remote, so I generally leave them on standby. That way, when I turn everything else on with a remote, I don't have to walk over to the rack and power up the amps. Is there a reason why I should not do this. The amps don't get warm at all if I leave them over night on stand by.

Just curious.

Thanks,

Mark

 

[hopjohn]

Nothing at all wrong with doing what you are doing other than using some electricity, so long as they have adequate air ventilation. In fact some amp manufacturers recommend you leaving their amps in standby, except for when you know you won't be using them for extended periods.

Also keep in mind that start-up is hard on electronic components, and may actually wear them out more quickly than just leaving them on in some cases, particularly if you find yourself turning them on and off frequently.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I have an ATI 8500.1 Pre/Pro and two ATI 300X Amps in my HT system. The Amps don't have a remote, so I generally leave them on standby. That way, when I turn everything else on with a remote, I don't have to walk over to the rack and power up the amps. Is there a reason why I should not do this. The amps don't get warm at all if I leave them over night on stand by. Just curious. Thanks,
Mark

You may want to find out what the stanby power it is using, multiply it by 24 and by 365 for the annual consumption and waste.
You'd be surprized. A computer uses 150watts on average= 3.6kW per day, and 1.314 megawatts a year, just for your computer, if left on all the time.

You may shorten the component life as some parts are running all the time and it is using up its lifetime. Same as a light bulb, best to turn it off.

 

[MDS]

This is one of the age old topics that's been debated for a long time.

One side says that components endure the most stress during startup and shutdown and thus it's better to leave them on all the time.

The other side says the components are designed for a very long lifetime and can take hundreds of thousands of startup/shutdown cycles and there is no reason to keep them running all the time and waste electricity.

I happen to agree with mtrycrafts. Unless it is more convenient for you to leave it on all the time and you don't mind the associated extra cost for electricity that goes with that, just shut it off when not in use. The lifetime of the equipment is going to be about the same either way.

 

[RJB]

My two cents worth...

Having been in the IT business for over 25 years, I can tell you that through plenty of empirical observation, electronic equipment prefers to be left on.

The largest factor in premature equipment failure is caused by thermal effects. Many of the surface mount components, IC's & processors run very hot ( have you looked inside any new amps or PCs recently? ). Cycles of heating and cooling cause the 'packages' and their soldered connections to expand and contract, leading to and increased possibility of failure.

Almost all recent equipment will use only somewhere between .5 & 1.5 watts of power in standby. Basically, without going into details, standby mode powers off all current drawing devices in the unit and maintains a keep warm supply of power the the solid state devices.

All this being said, it's mostly a matter of personal choice...