Seeking advice on what is the best way to keep my electronic devices alive. The ones that I don't use regularly.

Do I need to boot/power then up every month? 6 months? Annually?

Does it vary depending on device? e.g does an amp need more care than say a DAC?

I'm asking as I had an integrated amp that hadn't been used for a few years. Previously it had been performing well for many years. Tried to power it up and it didn't respond...
I have a quite a few other bits and pieces that I'm now worried about but would like to prolong their lifespan.

Any thoughts? 

It looks like the oxide layer on electrolytic capacitors deteriorates when they are not used so it appears you should power up your electronics from time to time. The electrolyte will gradually degrade over time regardless. The amount of loss likely depends on quality. My own experience is I haven’t had an issue with most of the electronics I’ve left off however a set of bookshelf speakers had a bad distortion which I haven’t investigated but suspect is a capacitor.

Much of my main gear doesn't get used a lot now but I do power every item up several times a year even if I don't used it. Usually leave it on for several hours but If it's tube gear I do try and have a session instead of just wasting precious hours on the tubes.
I still have three main headphone amps and those I do rotate through my bedroom system where they're usually left on for the duration of their stay.

Switch them on occasionally. If it hasn’t been switched on in a long time, the electrolytic capacitors (usually power supply caps) will probably have increased electrical leakage. In that case it would be good to use a variable power transformer such as a Voltac, to bring up the mains power slowly. Old tube equipment responds well to this treatment. Just remove the tubes first and don’t increase the voltac above around 210V without them in it.
Most electrolytic caps are self-healing these days. The oxide layer on the aluminium electrodes, if compromised, re-forms with electrical current. The amount of current is an indicator of the health of the cap. It should be very low (uA) in a healthy cap. If the re-forming current that causes a cap to heat up exceeds the boiling point of the electrolyte inside, It may pressurise the internals of the cap and pop the safety pressure vent. If it does that, it’s time to replace the cap.
A lot of old caps have a little electrolyte leakage around the pressure vent. If that’s the case, it would be best to replace it/them.
Transistors are usually fine but can absorb moisture through their plastic cases. That can cause the internal connections to oxidise and lose contact, perhaps intermittently. Resistors can change their value over time from moisture absorption, depending on what technology they are.
Switch contacts are usually silver and will have tarnished over time, causing intermittent contact. Press them in and out or turn them a few times to rub off the tarnish. Use contact cleaner if necessary. Some switches are gold plated (rare). These shouldn’t be pressed or turned too many times as it wears off the soft gold plating.
So the upshot of all this is to store old equipment dry and out of the garage, and dust-free as dust can cause moisture to sit very close to the electronic parts.

AMR-iFi R&D

So in genereal

Switch on every 3 to 4 months?

Leave on for half an hour or so? Or is longer required?


Looking for a least effort/most gain regime!

Also, is it a matter of just powering them up or does a signal have to be passed through them?

That would require a lot more effort!

For a class A amp the answers pretty clear. Class AB amps have a fair bit of power being consumed when they’re not powering anything. Other equipment perhaps need to have a load on it and I would suggest a few hours for no other reason than it sounds about right! Not really sure if any of this will have much benefit hut it’s always nice to power up and listen to your old gear.

I've got a few "spare" Headphone Amps, dac's, integrated Amps, SUT's, tuners, turntables.

Hooking them up to power with a load would be a right PITA! But I guess annually could be workable/pleasurable.

Jan 13, 2023 19:11:40 GMT 12 stuzzo said:

For a class A amp the answers pretty clear. Class AB amps have a fair bit of power being consumed when they’re not powering anything.

I think you meant

For a class A amp the answers pretty clear. Class A amps have a fair bit of power being consumed when they’re not powering anything.

Jan 13, 2023 20:37:13 GMT 12 RdM said:

Jan 13, 2023 19:11:40 GMT 12 stuzzo said:

For a class A amp the answers pretty clear. Class AB amps have a fair bit of power being consumed when they’re not powering anything.

I think you meant

For a class A amp the answers pretty clear. Class A amps have a fair bit of power being consumed when they’re not powering anything.

No I did mean class AB, they do have a reasonable current without load. My Plinius P8 consumes about 100w just turned on.

Class A amps consume less power with loading than without, I believe.