Switch Off!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Guys,
Was wondering whether most of u guys switch off the electronics from the wall outlets when not in use or leave them on standby?Reason i ask is a lot of manufacturers urge u to leave things on standby.
I know the consumption of current in standby is minimal but is it safe? A few years ago a relative of mi ne had his house gutted as the Phillips TV set shorted!!!!
Regards

I generally switch off all the electronics. The stand-by power for some of the equipments has been reported to be as high as 10W. Thats too much power wastage.

I specifically don't know the standby power of my equipments. But I don't care, I switch it off when not in use.

Regards,
Prasad Redkar.

I too switch it off. To save electricity and also my equipment because here in mumbai there are sudden fluctuations

Hi,
Let me add that i too shut it off. I didnt know there were power surges/voltage fluctuations in south mumbai! Apart from the cdp which has a standby feature all the rest of the equipment shuts off completely so my guess is consumption if any should be minimal.
Was asking for opinions as there is a theory that the equipment mainly amplifiers perform better if the mains supply is left on!!! And i too dont really know the amount the seperates consume on standby.
Regards

Apparently, the pure Class A amps attain their optimal operating steady state when the circuitry (be it solid state device or valve) is "warm". So, switching it on for half-hour or so before playback should help. I do recollect reading years ago about an ultra high-end valve amp that (ideally) should always be on...However, the advances in Material Sciences and CAD for sophisticated circuit design etc. have allowed more forgiving and user friendly AND environ-friendly devices now. I switch off my entire HT (incl. sub). Amen.

Depends on the equipment.

Some are designed to be left on at all times. My last preamp didn't have a power switch or standby option and the manual stated that it reaches it's optimum level 10 hours after being initially powered up, hence must be left on. My CDP also does not have a standby option and needs to be left ON. These generally consume 8-10W. Equipment which have a standby option, normally consume negligible power as only the power control / remote sensor circuit is kept powered up through a secondary small transformer.

Tube amps/preamps should not be left ON but kept on standby as tube life is unnecessarily consumed. It is recommended to turn on Tube equipment and Class A amps, 20-30 mins. before a serious listening session to allow them to reach thermal stability.

If you need to leave equipment ON make sure you have adequate power protection (surge, voltage, etc.), specially if no one's around. There are spikes/surges in power lines all over the world including South Mumbai!

I think there should be no question here, even in case of tube that require warm-up etc. We should switch it off, to save electricity and all the lil wattage we save is going to help go green and save co2. in that sense switch off. with co2 credits catching up maybe in a few years to come saving electricity would also be incentivised i guess.

Hi, that's interesting...i.e. the 10 hours leadtime for optimal level...Which preamp was it?

Pass Labs X1

Enough & very valid reasons have been given for switching off completely, from saving the eqpt ,to saving your house to saving the planet.
I am a follower of this practice too.And yes, half hour warm up does make a diff.
I had noticed that the music sounded better at night, after 11 pm on.One of the reasons could be lower ambient noise, both within the house & without.
Then I learnt another reason, viz, lesser noise in the electical mains bec of many daytime concerned loads being switched off.
An cost effective solution to the noise prob is using a good quality Isolation transformer( the better solution-AC Regeneration devices being pretty expensive ).
Any similar experiences on this?