themal stress on speakers due to turning on/off

Hi all. THis is my first post and I just wanted to ask a question and see what others think. Alot of people don't turn off their computers and leave it on all the time because the thermal stress of turning on/off the computer is bad for the hardware and can wear it down faster. I was wondering if any of you do this with your recievers/speakers.....if it's really an issue. SHould I just leave my reciever/speakers on when I'm not using it and just turn down the volume? or do you guys not worry about it and just turn it off.

The power consumption of receivers when no music is playing is quite minimal, and in truth you could probably leave it on all the time and not notice any degradation in performance for years.
In theory, heat does shorten the lifespan of some electronics, however so it's probably not the best thing to do. Not sure how big of a deal it would make considering a modern a/v receiver likely won't be used for 10-12 years by original owners anyway.
There'd be even less "stress" or current fed to the speakers.
Turn it off though, never know when a family pet, child, visitor, etc well sit on a remote and crank some crazy music to obscene levels late at night or whatever. Can't see any benefit to leaving things on all the time. Are you that short on time?

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Originally Posted by laiels

SHould I just leave my reciever/speakers on when I'm not using it and just turn down the volume? or do you guys not worry about it and just turn it off.

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Hi Laiels! Welcome to the forums.

It's not so much a thermal issue as it is a power inrush surge issue. Frequent on/off cycling of electronics does incur some "wear". Also, many components sound best when warmed up and thermally stable. I'm of the leave-it-on camp so long as there is adequate cooling. The only exception would be for the tube monoblock amps in the music system. The output tubes would wear out far too rapidly and they are kinda expensive to replace - all 16 of them! It does, however, take the amps about three hours of warmup for optimum performance.

rw

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Originally Posted by laiels

Hi all. THis is my first post and I just wanted to ask a question and see what others think. Alot of people don't turn off their computers and leave it on all the time because the thermal stress of turning on/off the computer is bad for the hardware and can wear it down faster. I was wondering if any of you do this with your recievers/speakers.....if it's really an issue. SHould I just leave my reciever/speakers on when I'm not using it and just turn down the volume? or do you guys not worry about it and just turn it off.

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I generally turn my receiver and amp off if I know I'm not gonna use them in the next several hours or day. One thing I do always always always (and is now a totally ingrained habit) is to turn the volume down before I turn anything else off. If not, the initial startup "thump" to the speakers is much more dangerous than any thermal worries.

Thanks for all your tips and info guys. The reason I was concerned is because I do plan on having my speaker system for a good 15 years. (I'm not a huge audiophile so I don't really need the latest greatest thing). I am more than satisfied with my current set up: Yamaha VX-800 reciever, Klipsch Reference series speakers and subwoofer.....and don't feel the need to upgrade to the latest greatest stuff if I'm already more than happy with what I currently have.

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Originally Posted by laiels

Thanks for all your tips and info guys. The reason I was concerned is because I do plan on having my speaker system for a good 15 years. (I'm not a huge audiophile so I don't really need the latest greatest thing). I am more than satisfied with my current set up: Yamaha VX-800 reciever, Klipsch Reference series speakers and subwoofer.....and don't feel the need to upgrade to the latest greatest stuff if I'm already more than happy with what I currently have.

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If what you say is true, you are a wise man. Enjoy what you have and don't think twice.

However, the "Over/Under" is 5 years, here's $20 on "Under" :D

Hmmmm.....I've already had my current system for over 5 years. Where's my $20?:cornut:

I think he meant from the point you joined the forums. Good luck with that.