#511270 - 03/27/04 03:50 AM
On or Off ???
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Mateo J
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Registered: 03/23/04
Posts: 4
Loc: Toronto
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Hey everyone I was just wondering what gear including computer and external hard drive would you turn off after each session or keep running?? It's something that has baffled many for a long time...and I like to finally put it to rest. Thank you.
Mateo 
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#511271 - 03/27/04 10:37 AM
Re: On or Off ???
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Ruairi O'Flaherty
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Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 343
Loc: IRELAND
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Many threads on this over the years, do a search. I've yet to see consensus on the issue. I power everything down,
cheers,
Ruairi
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#511272 - 03/27/04 10:59 AM
Re: On or Off ???
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Thermionic
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Registered: 07/04/03
Posts: 107
Loc: London
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Hi,
This is my take on the on/off debate:
Hard-drives: Off when not needed. It's a mechanical device, the longer you leave it on the more it'll wear the head / bearings etc.
Valve-gear: Turn it off when not in use. In any valve the heaters will pretty well last indefinitely, but the cathode plating will not. I believe there are some (probably hi-fi) units that give you a "standby" mode whereby the heaters are still powered but the plate voltage is switched off, unless you have this feature I'd recommend turning valve gear off when not in use.
Solid-state: Every time you turn it on you are stressing the psu with in-rush current to the reservoir, thus stressing the rectifiers and the laminations on the transformer (some psus will have a soft-start feature to prevent wear on start-up). Not only that, but every time you turn on or off you are putting the semiconductors through a whole, or part thermal cycle.
You have to offset the "wear" introduced by stressing the psu (and also heating up capacitors that will dry the electrolyte) against the stress of putting the transistors / ics through unnecessary thermal cycles.
I'd say with regards to leaving on large format analogue consoles you should evaluate the situation on a console-specific basis, implement whatever policy you feel suits the design depending on how you perceive the balance of reliability criteria in that design. I don't think there is a "one policy for all" with regards to consoles, speak to other owners of the same unit and find out what their tech guy recommends.
Power-amps are a similar conundrum to consoles, although I'd say more often than not you can leave them on permanantly without too many adverse effects as they shouldn't contain too many biased caps.
Digi gear: Can't see much of a difference either way, obviously the circuitry will go through thermal cycles if you turn it on/off regularly but I wouldn't worry too much about it.
Modern pro-audio is very reliable, and the difference between keeping thermal cycles to a minimum or not, speaking hypothetically, could be the difference between say 15 years of reliable service and 25 years, by which time the gear will need general mechanical servicing / re-capping etc anyway.
Btw, there's also arcing in power switches to think of as well.
IMHO there is no hard and fast rule to answer your question. Take the factors into account and make a decision for that piece of gear. I guess there's always the electricity bill / one's environmental duty to think of as well...
Cheers,
Justin
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#511273 - 03/27/04 11:07 AM
Re: On or Off ???
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Thermionic
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Registered: 07/04/03
Posts: 107
Loc: London
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Issues I didn't mention:
Thermal cycling affects valve sockets, therefore they can get loose after years of being switched on/off.
The psu issues mentioned in prior post affect all gear regardless of s/state / valve / digi, although by their nature tend to be more of an issue in larger psus for consoles / pwr-amps etc where the current is higher.
Leaving gear on all the time will probably decrease the time between re-caps in any piece of gear.
J
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#511274 - 03/27/04 01:00 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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Bill@Welcome Home Studios
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Registered: 08/23/03
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When I was running my roomm commerically, I never turned off the computers. Three of them ran 24/7 for years, and the only mishap that I had was that a power supply failed in one machine. Total cost to repair, $29.95.
I turn off the tube gear.
Some of my gear doesn't even have on/off switches.
Now that I'm not in the studio every day, I only turn stuff on when I use it. If you are not running an operational studio, booked at least 12 hours a day, every day, why would you NOT turn off the gear?
Bill
_________________________
"...it's easier than hitting the kids, and almost as much fun..."
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#511275 - 03/27/04 01:07 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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Albert
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Registered: 12/23/02
Posts: 163
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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I turn off most of my gear when finished each day, but leave it on overnight when I'm in the middle of a project, nearing a deadline.
Another factor to consider with digital gear is the LCD displays. They will burn out faster if left on continuously.
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#511276 - 03/27/04 07:29 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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X-Facta
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Registered: 10/16/01
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I turn my stuff at the end of the day.
If I had a tip top studio, where I knew the wiring etc was all 100% ok I'd probably leave stuff on 24-7.
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#511277 - 03/27/04 10:05 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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Jason Poff
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Registered: 05/11/01
Posts: 330
Loc: Lexington, Ky.UNITED STATES
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What about tube mics? I remember reading somewhere that they take a loooong time to warm up. If the mic is in use pretty much every day, it might be an advantage to leave them powered up? Just something I read somewhere, no indisputable facts here  .
Jason
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#511278 - 03/28/04 06:26 AM
Re: On or Off ???
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Philip O'Keefe
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Registered: 12/17/00
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Loc: Riverside,CA,UNITED STATES
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Jason, I normally go for at least an hour's worth of warm up time on tube mics before I use them... longer than that isn't going to hurt anything, and I've been known to set up / power up early in the morning (or late the night / morning) before an afternoon session, but I don't hear any audible difference with warm up times beyond an hour. But then there's the risk of leaving a valuable tube mic sitting up in the studio for longer than absolutely necessary, where it might get knocked over. I know a certain drummer who knocked a U47 over at a certain large LA studio and (fortunately only) slightly damaged it under similar circumstances. I believe the second caught some flak over that one... the drummer didn't catch much more than a bit of a conversation with the SM. Names withheld to protect the guilty. 
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#511279 - 03/28/04 07:55 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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where02190
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Registered: 11/06/01
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Loc: Weymouth, Ma. USA
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Nothing ever gets powered down here unless we are dark for more than a week except CRT monitors. Computers get power cycled at the beginning of each day.
Electronics all have a nominal operating temp. It takes time to get there, and time to coold down, both which shorten the lifespan of components. With the exception of hardware with alot of tube components and CRT monitors, most of the gear in todays studio will idle for pennies a day. You'll save more than the electricity costs in repairs by not powering down.
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Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording.
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#511280 - 03/28/04 09:35 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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Tedly Nightshade
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Loc: applegate,OR,UNITED STATES
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FWIW, leaving a computer with a CRT on 24 hours uses about as much electricity as my whole house and studio uses in several days...
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#511282 - 03/29/04 11:38 AM
Re: On or Off ???
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where02190
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Originally posted by Ted Nightshade:
FWIW, leaving a computer with a CRT on 24 hours uses about as much electricity as my whole house and studio uses in several days...
Our two 4 computers... 2 macs, a PC and Mackie HDR24/96 at idle draw less current than one 100w lightbulb.
_________________________
Hope this is helpful. NP Recording Studios Analog approach to digital recording.
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#511285 - 03/30/04 01:44 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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miroslav
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Originally posted by Ted Nightshade:
I just "blew up" a nice old 1959 Eiko power amp the other day...
Hmmmm...
…let’s see…
…2004…
…minus
…1959...
...equals…
…45 years.
Would that qualify as..."exceeding it's life expectancy"...? 
_________________________
miroslav - miroslavmusic.com"Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important."
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#511286 - 03/30/04 03:35 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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Thermionic
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Registered: 07/04/03
Posts: 107
Loc: London
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Check this link from Fletcher's forum:
http://recpit.prosoundweb.com/viewtopic.php?t=11446&sid=5915c49ecc5f69883e18b47db23181c5
Go to the post by Vince from Speck. His explanation of the heat convection issue is the most compelling argument I've seen for "off when not in use".
If you feel a particular unit is stressed under turn-on conditions, i.e you get an audible "bbddoink" from the psu when you flick the power switch, I reckon it's best to fit a soft-start circuit.
Soft-start circuits are easy to make if you can follow a very basic schematic and solder, let me know if anyone wants one and I'll dig out a link for one I built recently, no more "bbddoinking" in my studio :-)
Cheers,
Justin
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#511287 - 03/30/04 04:21 PM
Re: On or Off ???
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miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
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Originally posted by Thermionic:
His explanation of the heat convection issue is the most compelling argument I've seen for "off when not in use".
I guess that's why some of my 15 year old gear still sounds as "fresh" as the day I got it...'cuz I turn it off when not in use.
No scratchy pots or crakling swithces yet. 
_________________________
miroslav - miroslavmusic.com"Just because it happened to you, it doesn't mean it's important."
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Hopefully it will not be hard to repair...
