Leaving the speakers on?

[chungjh]

SL speakers don’t have a on/off switch. It is ok to leave the speakers plugged in all the time? What has been your experience? Dr. West says it is ok to leave it on.

[TWB]

There is absolutely no reason to not leave them on 24/7/365 with the exception of lightening storms. If you plan to be away for an an extended period of time, perhaps. Personally, living where lightening is a rarity, I never unplug either of my two pair. Current draw in minuscule, so no reason there either. Why would you doubt Dr, West?

[operaman58]

My understanding is that a high voltage is maintained across the stators; would this ultimately result in the breakdown of the membrane?
I have the speakers plugged into wall outlets via remote controlled switches

My habit is to turn on the system (cd player, preamp, amp , speakers) remotely ( they are all connected to a couple of powestrips in turn plugged into a couple of wall outlets) only when listening

On weekends that may mean turning the whole system on and off 3-4 times!
I’m wondering if the stress on the electronics of turning the system on repeatedly can damage the components over the long term

When the left side amp powers on I do hear a soft thump from the left speaker; incidentally the left backplate had to have the bias replaced last year

[TWB]

Turning any gear (with the exception of class A amps which draw considerable power in standby) off and on repeatedly is not a good idea. IMO, the stress on the components (the downside) is greater than the upside. I turn my amps off and on every night, and leave everything else powered up all the time.

Unless the bias is set too high, and there is a pinging sound coming from the speakers, there is no reason to worry about the membrane.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by TWB.

[ghenschke]

I turn off the bias when not listening. That’s what I’ve done with the A-1PX panels I’ve owned since January 2012 (8+ years) and I’ve experienced no breakdown issues. Prior to the A-1PXs, I owned two different versions of M-1s and M-3s (pre and post ~2006 insulation) which I left bias-on 24/7. Both eventually had breakdown issues. Perhaps my breakdown issues were simply bad luck and had nothing to do with 24/7 bias … but my luck has been better by turning off the bias when not in use.

[Author]

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