Should NAC-N 272 be left on all the time?

David, As I suggested in my earlier post, why not give it a try both ways. I think you will be surprised by how easy it is to hear the difference between "cold" and "warmed up". Then you can also try between on for a couple of hours and on for a couple of days.

I hate wasting electricity but I find this isn't a waste if you listen regularly (more than once a week).

Mr Happy posted:

David, As I suggested in my earlier post, why not give it a try both ways. I think you will be surprised by how easy it is to hear the difference between "cold" and "warmed up". Then you can also try between on for a couple of hours and on for a couple of days.

I hate wasting electricity but I find this isn't a waste if you listen regularly (more than once a week).

I will indeed give this a go, but at present I'm too busy lifting carpets and floorboards in preparation for making a lot of mess in our house.  My purpose is to totally rearrange the cable routing and power feeds for all my kit (split between stereo shelving and AV shelving on opposite sides of the room), so that most of it is out of sight in wall cavities and ceiling voids. My wife will probably approve the end result, but is not likely to be delighted by the journey...  

haggis999 posted: 

I'm not getting obsessive on this subject when only 21 watts are at stake, but will probably turn my kit off overnight. I usually have more than 2 hours of background Internet radio to warm things up before any serious listening later in the day.

exactly what I do on weekdays while I leave always on friday and saturday night having more free time for the whole weekend.

However, this applies to all hi fi equipment not only Naim: any brand need to warm up to give the best but others do not suggest while Naim does

For example the wonderful power amplifier First Watt of Pass Labs does not have a standby button while others even have to unplug it to turn it off

haggis999 posted:

My new NAC-N 272 is the first and only Naim product I have ever bought, so I lack any detailed knowledge of their history over the past 40 years!

I've certainly seen references in hi-fi magazines to the perceived need to 'burn in' some hi-fi components immediately after purchase, but this is the first time I've come across the suggestion that some equipment benefits from being continuously powered on. I don't think I have the stamina to wade through hundreds of past posts when none of those I've seen so far quote any Naim sources, so I've just emailed Naim to ask them for more information on this topic.

It is common for electronics to sound better when properly warmed up due to better conductivity of electrical components at certain temperatures.

Also, repeated switching on and off may cause degradation of fine electronics over time due to induced electrostatic and thermal strains.

dzambolaja posted:

haggis999 posted:

My new NAC-N 272 is the first and only Naim product I have ever bought, so I lack any detailed knowledge of their history over the past 40 years!

I've certainly seen references in hi-fi magazines to the perceived need to 'burn in' some hi-fi components immediately after purchase, but this is the first time I've come across the suggestion that some equipment benefits from being continuously powered on. I don't think I have the stamina to wade through hundreds of past posts when none of those I've seen so far quote any Naim sources, so I've just emailed Naim to ask them for more information on this topic.

It is common for electronics to sound better when properly warmed up due to better conductivity of electrical components at certain temperatures.

Also, repeated switching on and off may cause degradation of fine electronics over time due to induced electrostatic and thermal strains.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'better' but I think electrical resistance in most materials, certainly metals, increases as they get warmer.

Morton posted:

dzambolaja posted:

haggis999 posted:

My new NAC-N 272 is the first and only Naim product I have ever bought, so I lack any detailed knowledge of their history over the past 40 years!

I've certainly seen references in hi-fi magazines to the perceived need to 'burn in' some hi-fi components immediately after purchase, but this is the first time I've come across the suggestion that some equipment benefits from being continuously powered on. I don't think I have the stamina to wade through hundreds of past posts when none of those I've seen so far quote any Naim sources, so I've just emailed Naim to ask them for more information on this topic.

It is common for electronics to sound better when properly warmed up due to better conductivity of electrical components at certain temperatures.

Also, repeated switching on and off may cause degradation of fine electronics over time due to induced electrostatic and thermal strains.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'better' but I think electrical resistance in most materials, certainly metals, increases as they get warmer.

 

It is about thousands of contact points, like microwelds etc. between numerous small components where most of losses occur.  As the components warm up the physical contacts improve and hence the losses are reduced.