VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rick Riley

I've been wanting to ask this for some time and it may have been asked before, but I haven't seen it. I remember the debate some time ago (20 years?) was, it's all "solid state". Power surges do more to shorten life than just leaving equipment on... so leave it on.

I have a Furman 'Power Conditioner' that powers the following: Mackie Mixer, Martech Pre, PreSonus Pre, dbx 1066, Mbox 3 Pro and KRK VXT 4's.

When work is done for the day, I flip the switch to off and shut down my computer. I know a lot of people just let their computers go to sleep, but I find with Pro Tools, I end up rebooting if that happens anyway, so I just shut it all down and start fresh in the morning.

I'm curious as to how others deal with power on, power off... and why. Thanks in advance for your response.
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Chuck Davis · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:57 pm Post subject:

I turn it all off at the end of the day. In the morning I always let the mic and pre warm up for about 15 minutes before recording. Leaving on vacation? I turn the UPS off and disconnect all power and ISDN leaving the studio completely un-wired to the outside world.
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heyguido · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 3:00 pm Post subject:

Off.... And +1 for the warmup

Why? Well, for 2 reasons... First, responsible power consumption. It's a lotta gear. Second, a regular reboot is a good thing, and in over 30 years of being a geek, I've never replaced a power supply.
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Bruce · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 4:15 pm Post subject:

I was kind of surprised to see the Apple people recommend I leave my new Mac Mini on all the time...just let it sleep between uses. I used to shut down my old Power Mac every night because I thought I heard it was good for it to go through the start-up routine everyday. I still shut down the Mini once a week or so just for old times' sake.

All the recording equipment I try to turn on and off only once a day.

B
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cyclometh · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:31 pm Post subject:

My computer stays on all the time. My preamp stays on most of the time, but that's mostly so I don't have to wait for it to warm up. At night I turn off my mixer and preamp.
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Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:46 pm Post subject:

I never turn anything off except the monitor.
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whalewtchr · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 6:49 pm Post subject:

My Mac Mini gets switched off, though I should get a power conditioner as there are regular power fluctuations in my neighborhood that no doubt plays havoc. I've blown one power supply and fried one motherboard due to either a quick off-on power outage or a spike from the power company. We have seasonal lightning storms here-when those severe ones roll through I unplug most everything in the house.

If you own a Symetrix 528e, then you know there is no on-off button, but the phantom power is always off when mic is not in use.
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Bish · Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2012 7:14 pm Post subject:

Primary systems connected via full UPS protection on 24/7 (MacPro, Drobo, network, etc.)
Secondary systems connected via surge protection switched off at night (monitors, screens, mixer, etc.)

I reboot the MacPro once a month or so to install any updates.
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Deirdre · Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 1:21 pm Post subject:

I have a power conditioner that is the source for all my high-octane gear. I shut off the gear at the end of the broadcast day but leave the conditioner on— shut off the phantom power on the preamp first.

I shut off my ISDN and unplug it from the network after the end of every session.

I unplug everything from the wall if I leave town for more than a day.
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Chuck Davis · Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 2:43 pm Post subject:

Dayo · Cinquecento Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 544 Location: UK

All the tube gear goes off at COB. PC on 24/7.

Holidays? All off and unplugged.
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dwpthe3rd · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 6:02 pm Post subject:

I just counted all the red, green, yellow and blue LEDs from where I sit and counted 28. Moving around would probably yield a few more. Gasp

Eeeek

For years I've left everything on 24/7 and don't think twice about leaving it all on when leaving town for several days, although I might shut down if gone for a week or longer. Past experience for me is things seem more apt to fail during the on/off cycle.

I also run an FCC part 15 FM'er to the neighborhood for kicks & grins so some things like computer & xmtr need to be left on always.

I sometimes wonder what the difference in my electric bill would be if I didn't have this habit.
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BALKY · Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 7:01 pm Post subject: -

My internet radio computer, and regular computer are always ON... even though I am at work, I can always get on them through remote access software.

My production computer is ON only while working.

Audio gear is the same.. only ON duaring live broadcast and production/voiceing work.

I heard long time ago that the more you turn of and on, the worse; since you know what happens to things when you warm them up and then cool it and then warm it up and cool it and so on... it starts to crack.

LOL
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