Valve amps: when and when not to leave on.

[uncl_nigel]

Never heard of it, but just googled and it looks to be made in Thailand and I can’t find a UK importer. Are you sure it was designed for UK 240V mains? A lot of grey-import stuff from the east is designed for 220V and will cook on UK mains.

I certainly don’t consider the countless stories of exploding eBay Ming Das etc to be any reflection on valve technology at all, more that using the correct mains transformer for the country’s mains is rather essential! 220V and 240V are two very different things.

It had an official UK importer at the time I purchased it in the UK - it even got a review in HFW.
As for 240V, it was running on 230V in France at the time of the "incident"

Very true. The crap valves that come standard with such things, plus el cheapo high voltage electrolytics used right up to their ratings, are an episode of the big bang theory waiting to happen as well... but without Sheldon! This is true even at 220V and with a 220V unit on 240V mains I wouldn't leave one on whilst going for a piss!

It was fitted with Golden Lion 88s which it came with. Nothing to do with new valve going pop on their first couple of switch-ons. And the caps had been upgraded by Living Voice.

 

[Alex S]

Very true. The crap valves that come standard with such things, plus el cheapo high voltage electrolytics used right up to their ratings, are an episode of the big bang theory waiting to happen as well... but without Sheldon! This is true even at 220V and with a 220V unit on 240V mains I wouldn't leave one on whilst going for a piss!

Don’t go for a piss then, just piss on the amp as a precaution.

 

[davidsrsb]

When you consider the price of any power valve these days, let alone a NOS 300B and their lifetime of only thousands rather than 10s of thousands of hours ie months rather than years of actual operation, leaving them on unused is incredibly expensive.

 

[GT]

When you consider the price of any power valve these days, let alone a NOS 300B and their lifetime of only thousands rather than 10s of thousands of hours ie months rather than years of actual operation, leaving them on unused is incredibly expensive.

You're right, leaving any valve(s) on for hours whilst not in use is not only a wast of energy but reduces valve life. The WE 300B, which IMO has the only right to use the 300B reference, has a minimum life expectancy of 10,000 hours. In practice and if the amplifier is carefully designed it is easily possible to get at least 10 years use from one set of WE 300B's.

 

[Marky-Mark]

Just because a power switch is on the back does not mean anything should be read into that.

I agree - stuff should be switched off if not in use. I was brought up that way. About everything. And in point of fact, I can't think of another electricity-powered thing in my home that doesn't have an On/Off switch or is not drawing power if not in use. I've had Cambridge and Nad gear with two, one front and back. Then there was LFD with none. I think that was about having a shorter, simpler circuit ... ties in with their no remotes or text above knobs telling you what they do. Very Apple-ish. Now I have another Nad thing without one. It's form over function. I shouldn't have to take extra steps to turn something off or on if it's pulling juice. It's a silly, vain design choice.

 

[Mike Reed]

My Sony 40 " TV doesn't have an on/off switch. Alternatively it does, in a place I've yet to find. Keeps the electronics warm on stand=by, I suppose.

 

[gints]

If there is switch off button on remote, how many people will go to the unit and will switch it off one more time?

 

[Marky-Mark]

My Sony 40 " TV doesn't have an on/off switch. Alternatively it does, in a place I've yet to find. Keeps the electronics warm on stand=by, I suppose.

I think my LG is the same. There's a touch sensor that puts it to sleep. I don't mind that too much. But the components I'm referring to don't have a stand-by feature - they're on 24/7 unless you unplug them, and that can be inconvenient if they're racked or stacked in some way. Pet peeve. Not a very big one, actually ... I'm mostly just bitching!

 

[davidsrsb]

My Sony 40 " TV doesn't have an on/off switch. Alternatively it does, in a place I've yet to find. Keeps the electronics warm on stand=by, I suppose.

These days equipment without an On/Off has to have a very low standby consumption, 0.5W for many devices and 3-12W for various networked gear.

 

[Mike Reed]

These days equipment without an On/Off has to have a very low standby consumption, 0.5W for many devices and 3-12W for various networked gear.

Didn't know that, David; comforting, but my Sony is 7 years old, and I wonder if those reg's applied then. Whatever, the only fault I've had with over 40 years of big Sonys, was the last CRT which developed a dry joint as a consequence of switching (the man said).

 

[davidsrsb]

Equipment that stands by at 0.5W might as well be switched off for the On/Off shock effects