Amplifier warm-up period.....

[Audioman00]

I've got an Onkyo TX-8511 Stereo receiver in my 2 channel set-up and I may be crazy but I swear if that amp is left on or has been on for about 20 min or so, it starts to sound a lot better, sounds crazy but I really notice it especially when the winters around and it's cold in the bedroom already. Wierd i guess? but somehow true, I wonder if electricity flows better when it's warm? Any ideas on this subject fellow audio enthusiasts? Thanks!

[This Guy]

your playing better music after the 20 minutes

haha I don't know, my stereo always sounds the same.

[topspeed]

Well, warming up your amp certainly allows the caps to charge, but how long could that really take? I know Odyssey recommends you only do critical listening after giving the amp...get this...2-3 weeks(!) of warm-up time. Gimme a break :rolleyes:! If you've got tubes, obviously it takes a few minutes to reach optimum temp. To be honest, I never turn my amps off so I don't worry about these things anyway.

[Florian]

My Jolida and Krell take about 30 minutes or so to warm up. The Jolida has 4 tubes and the Krell leeches so much power out of the outlet that it is impossible for me to leave it on all day. The longer they warm up the more they sound warm, faster with more rythm.

-Flo

[kexodusc]

That's a first for me. Sure, for tubes I could see it, but I've never heard that solid-state amps/receivers needed to be warmed up at all...Wonder if maybe your ears are just getting tuned to the music/sound rather than the amp being "warmed up". Err...how cold is bedroom? :D

You could try a neat trick...turn it on for 1/2 hour before playing, then pop in a CD and see if you still need 20 minutes for the sound to optimize.

[Lord_Magnepan]

Lol, who knows maybe its just me. But all my High End buddys hear the same thing. Not listening during warm up is too much money, the Krell eats power like nothing else i have seen. Darn class A.... :-)

But sooo good.

[Audioman00]

I will just leave it on alot more i suppose but, it does seem to sound better when left on for a bit to warm up, wierd, I have had other non-tube solid state amps and they didn't really sound better or worse wether being warm or not, but on the other hand they didn't sound as good as this receiver in the first place. thanks!

[Florian]

Many things in this hobby is based on believes. If it makes you feel better, then let him warm up. I warm up my equipment, but listen to it at the same time since i cant afford wasting the electricity this stuff eats. LOL

[risabet]

Many things in this hobby is based on believes. If it makes you feel better, then let him warm up. I warm up my equipment, but listen to it at the same time since i cant afford wasting the electricity this stuff eats. LOL

The tube pre-amp needs about a half hour to sound its best. The amp, SS for now, tubes on the way, sounds better for the first 15 or so minutes than stays the same. Interestingly, I need to let the TT run for a few minutes to let the speed on the OL PS stabilize, the DC motor needs to run up to temp or something, I guess.

[E-Stat]

I've got an Onkyo TX-8511 Stereo receiver in my 2 channel set-up and I may be crazy but I swear if that amp is left on or has been on for about 20 min or so, it starts to sound a lot better, sounds crazy but I really notice it especially when the winters around and it's cold in the bedroom already. Wierd i guess? but somehow true, I wonder if electricity flows better when it's warm? Any ideas on this subject fellow audio enthusiasts? Thanks!
My anecdotal experience is the same as yours. Here's a technical answer by the very talented and prodigious audio designer, Nelson Pass:

Warm up (http://diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=2228&highlight=warm)

rw

[Pat D]

I've got an Onkyo TX-8511 Stereo receiver in my 2 channel set-up and I may be crazy but I swear if that amp is left on or has been on for about 20 min or so, it starts to sound a lot better, sounds crazy but I really notice it especially when the winters around and it's cold in the bedroom already. Wierd i guess? but somehow true, I wonder if electricity flows better when it's warm? Any ideas on this subject fellow audio enthusiasts? Thanks!
As far as I can tell, my equipment sounds exactly the same cold and warm, whether it was the old HK 730 receiver or my present Quad electronics. I used to notice that when I got home from work, that my system didn't sound as good to me as it did later. The trouble with the warm up theory is that it made no difference whether I turned the equipment on when I got home or left it on all day. Actually, it often took a couple of hours for me to settle down, usually after supper, for things to really sound good. As Shakespeare says in at least a couple of places, the fault is not in the stars (meaning here the outside world) but in ourselves. Try leaving your receiver on and see if it still "warms up" when you start listening to it.

There were some few minutes of warm up effects in an old Mission integrated amp (I don't know which model, it had Mission sculpted on the front and was rated at 60 watts). This exhibited quite bizarre behavior for a few minutes such as brief cut-outs in one or the other channel which would upset the image. My dealer had it in used and told me this was characteristic of that amp. But at the time, it was the most capable amp in the store and he also had a used pair of Mirage M3si speakers I wanted to audition. A few minutes after being being turned on, the Mission amp worked just fine and would probably be quite satisfactory, but I don't consider this sort of behavior as a plus characteristic for an amp! It is a relatively minor inconvenience, however.

Tube amps do require some warm up for 20 minutes or so, but then I see no reason to get a tube amp.

[theaudiohobby]

Most of my recent amplifiers requires a couple of minutes warm up to sound their best, I generally prefer to have my amplifiers warm up for at half an hour before any serious listening, where the amplifier has been off for a few days, a warmup is mandatory before listening.

[Florian]

My big Krell takes awhile, and sounds best when served HOT :p

Funny thing is that the more i push it then colder it gets, i think its because of the pure Class A design. It sucks power like crazy, and the one that is nt needed gets transformed to heat. After 1hr you can burn your hand on the heatsinks......but sooo sweet.

The bastard eats so much power its not even funny. I need to take a VIDEO of my power counter, its like a horse on a racetrack. Goes around, and around and around... :D

[Geoffcin]

Not just tubes;

The best sound I ever got out of my old PS Audio 200c was right before I sent it into thermal protection! The amp was unharmed of course, but I miss that REALLY warm sound....

[Florian]

Hello my moderator friend :-)

I am getting newly rebuild 1ohm Apogee Scintillas :p

[RGA]

Are you buying those Apogees from Peter Qvortrup?

Warm-up period -- depends on the amp in question perhaps. My amp sounds better when it starts cooking -- it takes about 7 seconds before any sound comes out - so that is a very very important warm up no?

[Lord_Magnepan]

No, i am buying properbly the most perfect pair in existance. Completely rebuild from the ground up with Gratz ribbons, new handmade wooden cabinet, new internal wiring, new feet, renewed crossovers. I even get a 1 year warranty :-)

And the personal reasurence of gratz (australia) himself since he handmade all the new ribbons for it.

You can burn your hand on my amp after a while, and two meridan mono amps one day melted internally on the Apogees :-) But i asked Krell, and they reasured me that i wont have any problem with the 1ohm load.

[texlle]

I often forget to turn off my Jolida when I go to sleep so it will stay on for days at a time. But it normally sounds best after letting it warm up a minimum of 30 minutes. Sounds even better after an hour. ;)

[Lord_Magnepan]

I can only say the same about my Jolida JD3000b Pre AMP. And my Krell runs best when hot as hell, as he will be on the 1ohm Apogee's :-)

[psonic]

Mine also sounds much better after 30min or so. Aside from the prior said ideas it could be associated with speaker components warming / loosening up, IMO.

[RGA]

Judging by the responses it may have a lotto do with the capacitors. I know AN is freaky about their Black Gates which are extremely expensive (maybe the most expensive in the industry) and they require time to get their best -- there was an article about Black Gates by world renouned Electrical Engineer Martin Colloms about Black Gates and their measuresd sonic differences/improvements -- he also did a Blind test at the AES where people could and did hear the difference just between different caps. Not that that proves anything in the least bit but some may find it interesting -- but where did I see this?? darn it all. I'm sure other caps may be having such warm up issues too.

[psonic]

I am suprised nobody feels source (CD player) or speakers may be a big contributor here. They may warm up and sound better also (especially the speakers) after some time. You always hear about the amplifier warm up, never speakers. Yet speakers have moving parts...the amp is SS electronics (generally). Anyone have thoughts on this?

[Florian]

Thats an interesting point, while i am sure that Tube CD Players require a warmup period i am unusre about speakers. eventough it coulb possibly be....

[grigore]

Any amplifier must bi warm-up for at least 1 our becouse it's circuitry must atain the right tempetature.