Amplifier warm-up

[RoA]

This is what I find with my amplifiers.

Arcam SA20 Class G ... Odd, it takes a good half hour to sound its best. Until then bass is looser.

Audiolab 6000A ... sounds almost immediately as it does 2 hours later.

Hegel H95 ... as the Audiolab.

Until I had the Arcam I rarely noticed much change in my (many) previous amplifiers. Go figure.

 

[ryder]

Luxman L-590AXII

50 minutes, very good and close to optimal
1.5 hours, reached plateau, optimal

The most apparent difference between a cold and fully-warmed up amp is in bass quality. The bass of a cold amp will sound limp, uneven and not fully fleshed out. If the music doesn't have much (quality) bass, it is likely you won't hear much difference.

 

[uncl_nigel]

Aesthetix Calypso (Eclipse) and Atlas (Signature)

No idea... perhaps they sound better after half n hour... they sound good from cold... life's too short to faff around making comparisons

Besides, electricity is too expensive to leave them on 24/7

 

[molee]

My hearing is pretty shot (so I am told). The only real difference I am able to notice, in any of my stuff, on warmup is the Avondale TAPS on my LP12. It takes about 90 minutes to really come on song but the difference from a cold start is dramatic.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Naim NAP 110 : takes 15 minutes to get rid of the treble harshness.
Supernait 1 : perfect sound from the very first minute.
Treshold FET TWO preamp : (I know, it’s a preamp, not an amplifier) takes several hours to sound perfect being a bit rough before that. There is no on/off switch on this preamp so makes sense I guess.

 

[Mynamemynaim]

My old Nait 1 used to be like a light switch
Sounded crap for 30mins then "bing!" It was at its best

 

[Amber Audio]

Luxman EQ-500 takes an LP side or so

Luxman 590AXII can’t really say I notice any improvement

My old Naim 282/DTcap/300 - I remember it used to take a couple minutes

 

[Del monaco]

My Yamaha sounds great from the off.

 

[eevo1969]

Class A mono’s (Pass clone F5) around 20-30 minutes-it seems to require the time to get going but is satisfactory immediately after switch on.
Modified Quad 303 is good from the off and one of the best purchases I’ve made.

 

[Mr Pig]

You switch your amplifier off? :0.

 

[awkwardbydesign]

You switch your amplifier off? :0.

Err, yes?

 

[Barrymagrec]

Those repainted Christmas biscuit tins come in very handy....

 

[Mr Pig]

Err, yes?

Do you have to drive to the fifties to buy those? ;0)

 

[Frizzy]

Vitus SIA 025, ten to fifteen minutes to get loose in a/b, but prob 40 mins to fully get going in class a. It sounds good after ten minutes, just gets better and better with use, hours in its still getting better. I’d leave it on all time but not rich and don’t fancy shortening component lifespan.

 

[gints]

Maybe timer switches can help. Set it up to switch on when you coming home from work.

 

[Helen Bach]

mine are left on standby, so much so that the 'on' leds have almost faded! I know my amplifiers are not hi end (I run two stereo amplifiers (one per side) for analogue vinyl and DACmagic/ TV), but they have some useful features... if the amplifier doesn't like the load, it turns itself down, via the motorized volume control!

 

[John]

My manual says to leave them on 24/7 for best performance and longevity. I have confirmed this several times the last 22 years.

 

[awkwardbydesign]

Do you have to drive to the fifties to buy those? ;0)

Hardly. OTL amp, using multiple valves to get a low output impedance without transformers.

 

[tpetsch]

Chrome Bumper NAP 250's: Takes a full album -both sides- to start Swing'in..

 

[hifinutt]

Arcam a75 and a85 sound good from the off

Pass f5 clones take about half hour . Class d amps defo need a warm up period. Usually leave them on an hour before