Am I alone in leaving my Pass Labs Amp on 24/7/365 (Except During Storms)?

cjf

Well-Known Member
Nov 19, 2012
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Hello,

I'm curious if any other owners are doing the same thing or not? I'm in the camp who believes power cycling is worst/harder on equipment than just leaving it run at all times but I'm open to hear thoughts on why this may be a bad idea.

I haven't really crunched the numbers yet to see what the long term costs will be by doing this but I suspect its no worse than leaving a space heater running 24/7.

My expectation is that my amps (XA60.8's) will last 20yrs before needing a rebuild under these conditions. Am I expecting too much? Anyone have a pair they have been running for a long time on a almost constant basis? If so, how long?

Thanks
 
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MtnHam

Industry Expert
Jan 12, 2014
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Nothern California Wine Country
I turn mine off/on every day. I don't worry about the cycling. My power cost is $0.25/kwh, or $3.60/day for my X260.8's to idle, or $1315/year! I can think of many better things to spend the money on, not to mention the guilt I would feel for being so environmentally irresponsible if I left them on 24/7.
 
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BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
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Since I only use my good stereo on Friday and Saturday night, I turn the amps on Friday morning, and off when I retire Sunday morning.
 

Karlos5000

Well-Known Member
Sep 26, 2018
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81
Ann Arbor Michigan
XA30.5 user. I turn on before listening and off before bed. I do hear improvements afer 30 minutes of warming up but they are subtle and do not prevent good listening in the first 30 minutes.
 

PeterA

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2011
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I really enjoy my XA160.5s . I usually turn them on a few hours before listening and then turn them off when done. In the Winter, I may leave them on for the whole weekend or a bit longer and I do turn off the heat in the listening room. These monos are space heaters which effects my use in the Summer. I turn them on just before listening, and off immediately when finished. I often leave the windows open in the Summer just to cool off the room. They add roughly $30 to my monthly electricity bill.

My XP22 and XP27 are left on all the time.
 

MtnHam

Industry Expert
Jan 12, 2014
275
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335
Nothern California Wine Country
XA30.5 user. I turn on before listening and off before bed. I do hear improvements afer 30 minutes of warming up but they are subtle and do not prevent good listening in the first 30 minutes.

I too have a XA-30.8 in my city system, and agree completely with your remarks.
 

cjf

Well-Known Member
Nov 19, 2012
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Interesting information...Thanks for the replies.

I'm a bit confused on actual cost per day/month..etc for running these amps. My monthly electric bill doesn't nearly reflect what the math tells me it should be. But I'm sure its me doing something wrong.

According the the documentation for the Pass XA60.8's at idle they pull (400W/3.3A) per mono block. According to a recent electric bill my cost per kWh is $0.0715.

800w per/hr X 24hrs/1000 = $19.20 per Day or $576 @ 30Days

My electric bill is only $200

Something is off, but I'm not complaining : )
 

cjf

Well-Known Member
Nov 19, 2012
452
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948
Doah...looks like I see the error in my math. I forgot to multiple the cost per kWh after the Monthly cost figure...

So it looks like I'm at $41.20 per month or roughly $494 per year to run these puppies 24/7
 

MtnHam

Industry Expert
Jan 12, 2014
275
50
335
Nothern California Wine Country
"According to a recent electric bill my cost per kWh is $0.0715."

Where do you live? It seems you are in one of the lowest cost states. When I add in all the miscellaneous additional charges on my PG&E (Calif) bill, divide by the usage, mine is $0.25/kwh!

Residential electric rates in 2018:
https://www.chooseenergy.com/electricity-rates-by-state/
 

Cyclotronguy

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
78
13
313
N. CA
As we look all the way back to the very first Pass Labs / Aleph-amps of early '91 we don't see any particular difference in reliability or mortality between those that have been in industrial service running 24/7 and those at home that are turned on and off on a regular basis.

Kent English
Technical Support
Pass Laboratories
 
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zog

Well-Known Member
Oct 8, 2013
20
1
133
I leave my 150.8s on all the time. The benefit is no waiting time for warm-up.
 

RickS

Well-Known Member
May 23, 2018
64
93
123
NW Indiana
I was leaving my freshly Pass Labs refurbished X250 I just got a week ago on all the time and could steadily hear improvements from day to day. But the last couple of days I shut down at night and fired it back up after work and, apparently it’s still breaking in and improving while in standby.
This amp has turned out to be a real treat for me.
 

cjf

Well-Known Member
Nov 19, 2012
452
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948
I use to own an X250, in fact it was the 4th Amp I ever owned. It was great indeed. Funny thing was, a few Amps before the X250 was an Adcom GFA555II which I also loved (and beat the hell out of).

It was only later on that I realized Mr Pass had a hand in creating the Adcoms. It all made total sense later :)
 
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MtnHam

Industry Expert
Jan 12, 2014
275
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335
Nothern California Wine Country
The damage is only to your wallet. After they have been on about 3 hours they most likely are fully warmed up and I would expect little if any further sonic benefits.
 

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