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Exposure Owners do you leave your amps on 24/7

Conster

pfm Member
I know this thread has been discussed in the Naim community but I am wondering which Exposure owners leave their gear on all the time vs powering off when not in use. I generally leave mine on 24/7 except when I am away for more than a few days or if I know a serious storm is coming.
Curious what other owners do. Also curious about power conditioners. Haven't found one that has improved the sound except suck the life out of the music
 
I do keep mine switched on 24x7 unless I’m away for a few days. Use a conditioner only for source, amplifiers directly into wall socket.

It does take a few days for the amps to come on song. However, I do notice Naim amps do not take as long, probably newer amps, newer parts, does not require as much time to warm up. Just a guess.
 
do electronic componants have a life span?
They do! Generally all components can be expected to fail after a certain number of hours of use. Many passive components (modern resistors, film capacitors, diodes) will last for a long enough time that it makes little sense to worry about them. Other components (electrolytic capacitors, some integrated circuits) may fail in a shorter period of time. This failure may not be catastrophic, but may result in the component no longer functioning as it should, and therefore changing the sound to some degree. Some components, when they do fail, can end up destroying other components as well.

Generally, use of the components (i.e. power running through them) will hasten their failure, and therefore many posters here and elsewhere express concern that leaving them on 24/7 may lead to an earlier need for repair or replacement.

Incidentally, this is why Naim recommends servicing their equipment every 5-15 years. It's primarily to replace the failure-prone electrolytic capacitors, but also to ensure that all other components are operating within the factory specification.
 
I'll give the same response I always do to this subject... switch it off! Electrolytic capacitors especially have a rated life given in their data sheet. It's one of the main specs on which one chooses caps for a job.

One sometimes see's posts saying "my amp was designed to be switched on permanently"... no it wasn't and if the manufacturer says otherwise it's a blatant lie. There are no circuit techniques or topologies that require permanent powering and, other than trying to maintain cool internal temperatures, no techniques that either require or enable permanent powering. Temperature is the biggest enemy and gear that runs warm or hot will wear it's electrolytics out much faster than cool running gear. I've had all sorts of stuff in for repair that's been powered up 24/7 and have often had to completely re-cap such equipment due to knackered electrolytics even if it's only 3-4 years old.

If you're going to be using the system on and off throughout the day then sure leave it on all day but switch off at night, weekends away, days when it's not in use.
 
The Exposure 3010s2d apparently improves measurably over the course of 30 mins so I leave it on if I'm listening on and off during the day, as JEz suggests. I'm a child of the '70s so I assume anything left on overnight is definitely going to explode and burn the house down.
 
When I had the 2010s, I did the same as Seanm.

I recently did some experiments with my Naim 152/155/FC XS and found that they sound better after 3 days powered on.

M.
 
I switch mine off when not using it. It sounds great as soon as I switch it back on again. Maybe it'd sound greater still if I left it on 24/7, but as a child of the 60s I worry not just about the house burning down, but the leccy bill too.
 
My Exposure X is on 24/7. I bought it in 1990 and had a factory 're-cap in 2011. When I bought it from Chris Brooks Audio, I enquired as to whether it should be left switched on. An employee replied with the question, do you turn your car engine off at traffic lights? Strange how one remembers certain comments forever.
 
An employee replied with the question, do you turn your car engine off at traffic lights? Strange how one remembers certain comments forever.

Now yes, with the start/stop function used by the most of the models.
BTW, I'm a child of the '80s ...

M.
 
My 16 monos make a huge thump when I power them up and I am always worried that something will blow therefore I tend to keep them on
 
My Exposure X is on 24/7. I bought it in 1990 and had a factory 're-cap in 2011. When I bought it from Chris Brooks Audio, I enquired as to whether it should be left switched on. An employee replied with the question, do you turn your car engine off at traffic lights? Strange how one remembers certain comments forever.

well the answer these days is yes?

I am a child of the 50s and and dont want the valves to melt
 
I bought a 6,7,8 combination in 1989 and it was left on permanently until about 5 years ago. It was still sounding good when I retired it and it was never serviced. I do leave my ATC amp on standby when not in use these days, but it does run hot unlike the Exposures.
 
My Exposure X is on 24/7. I bought it in 1990 and had a factory 're-cap in 2011. When I bought it from Chris Brooks Audio, I enquired as to whether it should be left switched on. An employee replied with the question, do you turn your car engine off at traffic lights? Strange how one remembers certain comments forever.
Well, no, but I do turn it off when I park it in the garage at night.
 
I'll give the same response I always do to this subject... switch it off! Electrolytic capacitors especially have a rated life given in their data sheet. It's one of the main specs on which one chooses caps for a job.

One sometimes see's posts saying "my amp was designed to be switched on permanently"... no it wasn't and if the manufacturer says otherwise it's a blatant lie. There are no circuit techniques or topologies that require permanent powering and, other than trying to maintain cool internal temperatures, no techniques that either require or enable permanent powering. Temperature is the biggest enemy and gear that runs warm or hot will wear it's electrolytics out much faster than cool running gear. I've had all sorts of stuff in for repair that's been powered up 24/7 and have often had to completely re-cap such equipment due to knackered electrolytics even if it's only 3-4 years old.

If you're going to be using the system on and off throughout the day then sure leave it on all day but switch off at night, weekends away, days when it's not in use.

i don't think it's QUITE so cut and dried (not that i wouldn't prefer a more cut and dried solution!) I've blown out rectifiers from simply switching them on (admittedly with older gear that needed maintenance - thinking a 1974 yamaha synthesizer in this case - among other sundry items) transient loads are a major killer too - at least in well worn components ... this is the reason why most (professional) computers etc are left on 24/7 ... I guess my approach is more a 'moderate' one - leave the gear on for a few days at a time when i'm doing a lot of listening then try to leave it off for a while if my needs are lesser ...

heat CAN (and does) kill components and cause leakage (something no one here seems to talk about) and failture in capacitors but good circuit design and over spec'ed components CAN abate this to some degree ...

just my two pfennigs
 
My Exposure X is on 24/7. I bought it in 1990 and had a factory 're-cap in 2011. When I bought it from Chris Brooks Audio, I enquired as to whether it should be left switched on. An employee replied with the question, do you turn your car engine off at traffic lights? Strange how one remembers certain comments forever.

funnily enough though - now we do ... i guess those starter motors must be something else in newer cars
 
This thread is seriously depressing.

Global warming increased by bollox paranoia from people who imagine differences if their HiFi hasn’t been powered up for days.

Seriously depressing.


yes! i would say at least in the interest of conservation one SHOULD maybe bias one's views in that direction
 
From the Exposure 17 pre amplifier manual:

"Typically, full performance conditions are reached within 24 hours. We, therefore recommend leaving the preamplifier’s power supply switched on continuously. There are no associated penalties with regard to reliability or longevity (indeed, electronic components generally have longer lives when powered up continuously), and this practice ensures optimum musical performance whenever you wish to enjoy music on your system."

From the Exposure 18 amplifier manual:

"Power amplifiers typically reach stable operating conditions more quickly than preamplifiers (Usually less than an hour), hence the desirability of keeping them continuously powered up is a bit less than with preamplifiers. There is little reason that the power amplifier may not be left on continuously, but would point out that prudence would dictate switching the power amplifier off when one is leaving one’s residence for long periods of time (e.g. a holiday). Electrical storms or catastrophic mains faults can occur without one’s knowledge while one is away with potentially tragic results for one’s amplifier and loudspeakers."
 


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