Peter Daniel wrote:
Indeed. If you are looking to save money on your electrical bill by turning a class B amp off you will soon find out that there is precious little to be gained. (If, for instance, the quintesent power is 5W and you are paying 10cent/kWh(Kilowatthour) => (5/1000)*24*365*0.1 = $4.38 per year)
/NIclas
Indeed. If you are looking to save money on your electrical bill by turning a class B amp off you will soon find out that there is precious little to be gained. (If, for instance, the quintesent power is 5W and you are paying 10cent/kWh(Kilowatthour) => (5/1000)*24*365*0.1 = $4.38 per year)
/NIclas
OTOH, leaving an amp on all the time will shorten the lifetime of
the electrolytics in it, or more precisely you use up their lifetime
quicker.
Lifetime is something that varies a lot between types and brands
of electrolytics from a few thousand hours to over 100 000 hours.
The conditions for measuring differ and many lytics aren't used
under conditions close to these specs, yet I am surprised this is
almost never considered. What do all those wonder caps like Black
Gate etc. sound like after a few years? Are they still as good, or
would a more ordinary long-life cap like Evox-Rifa surpass them
in the long run?
the electrolytics in it, or more precisely you use up their lifetime
quicker.
Lifetime is something that varies a lot between types and brands
of electrolytics from a few thousand hours to over 100 000 hours.
The conditions for measuring differ and many lytics aren't used
under conditions close to these specs, yet I am surprised this is
almost never considered. What do all those wonder caps like Black
Gate etc. sound like after a few years? Are they still as good, or
would a more ordinary long-life cap like Evox-Rifa surpass them
in the long run?
Jean-Pierre wrote:
Ah, but then I would rather have a life (en)riched with glorious music (which is made possible by not turning your components off!) than by a few dollars in the bank!
On a serious note. I sometimes turn my not so well crafted components off to prevent my appartment from being burnt to the ground...
Ah, but then I would rather have a life (en)riched with glorious music (which is made possible by not turning your components off!) than by a few dollars in the bank!
On a serious note. I sometimes turn my not so well crafted components off to prevent my appartment from being burnt to the ground...
stappvargen said:
But, on the other hand, the lifespan of semiconductors is increased by not swiching your components on and off all the time.
Yes, but I think electrolytics age much much faster than any other
type of component. Any component can break eventually and
you may lower the MTBF by on-off cycles, but electrolytics age
mainly by slowly deteriorating performance. Of course, they even
age when not in use, but at a much lower pace.
Of course, any true audiophile doesn't mind changing capacitors
once a year or so.
Christer wrote:
Very true. But I belive that even the worst electrolytic will survive >3 years in continuous operation unless the environment is extremly hostile (high temp. or voltage at or above max ratings or high ripple current). In a gainclone (class B), we have neither high heat nor current when in idle. Anyway, lets face it... After 3 years we will probably have built a new sort of (gain)clone, with new and improved(?) componets!
Very true. But I belive that even the worst electrolytic will survive >3 years in continuous operation unless the environment is extremly hostile (high temp. or voltage at or above max ratings or high ripple current). In a gainclone (class B), we have neither high heat nor current when in idle. Anyway, lets face it... After 3 years we will probably have built a new sort of (gain)clone, with new and improved(?) componets!
stappvargen said:
Very true. But I belive that even the worst electrolytic will survive >3 years in continuous operation unless the environment is extremly hostile (high temp. or voltage at or above max ratings or high ripple current). In a gainclone (class B), we have neither high heat nor current when in idle. Anyway, lets face it... After 3 years we will probably have built a new sort of (gain)clone, with new and improved(?) componets!
Yes, for many that may be true. Others want to build one amp and
then keep it aroung as long as possible. Some even sell GCs (or
other amps) and the buyers may perhaps expect the products to
still work after more than a few years (yes, I know, most things
are designed to break after a few years nowadays
).
i took it offline to transport it to a friend of mine to compare his sort-off diy digital class d amp with mine. it sounded so different i was stunned.
he works for a new company building active class d speakers, this was a prototype amp. At the beginning it clearly outperformed the GC but after an hour or two on-time we were not so sure anymore.
hehehehe...
www.elysee.nl is the company to be...
he works for a new company building active class d speakers, this was a prototype amp. At the beginning it clearly outperformed the GC but after an hour or two on-time we were not so sure anymore.
hehehehe...
www.elysee.nl is the company to be...
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