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The sound will greatly improve for tube gear.

The tubes are more stable and better sounding.

placebo, voodoo, I don't know.

Any piece of electronic equipment has a optimum operating temperature, hence fans in computers, vent-holes in DSS receivers and heatsinks on high-quality amplifiers. When your system is at its optimum temperature best performance will be realized. Class A circuit topologies, when intelligently executed, are designed to operate best at higher temperatures. This is not neccessarily an apology for certain manufacturers who under-design certain facets of their products which neccissitates a "cooking" of the circuit to bring it into trim. The bottom line is this: Since a warmer signal path offers less resistance to current flow and therefore (provided no delicate or digital circuitry is at risk) will sound better.

This whole audio thing has been a goddamned mystery to me for years now. I'm multi-thousands into this thing and still just don't give a flying f#&k whats inside.

No doubt thermal stability has an effect. As an owner of tube electronics it takes about an houe for all to settle in.

Yes, but I believe its "audio suggestive"!

semiconductors in CD players and preamplifiers, specially do not generate much heat. Therefor it may take a whole week to reach thermal equilibium. So, I never tun my components off. the situation becomes easier with tubes as they get quite hot, so thermal equilibrium comes fster. Ans at the cost of replacement output tubes which are at best good for 3000 hours. I would shut it down after a session.

Half an hour: Listenable?! Two hours: Enjoyable!... -------------------- Pass Aleph 3 ML 380s

tooobz be that way.

You know, I'm always puzzled by my system. Sometimes, it sounds rich, expansive, every note is in the right place, the sound stage is huge, the musicians are playing in my den. Other times, there is a hardness or brittle sound to the highs and the bass sounds muddy. Is it me? Is it leaving it on for a hour before listening to anything? Is in the air conditioner? The dryer? The entire power grid? Gremlins?

I leave my system on all the time. Everyone tells me that this is what to do and it definately sounds better than when used direct from cold; then again I am much better an hour after I wake up.....!!

Yes, my source(CD/SACD) and pre-amp are on all the time, and they sound so much better (warmer, more pellucid). My Pass Aleph 2's require one hour (per Mr. Pass) to morph from a thin and reedy sound to full, glorious bloom. Anyway, when they are too hot to touch, I know they are ready to boogie.

What a silly question to ask someone whose system is predominantely tube electonics!

This is true of my system since I introduced a tubed preamp into it. I can now tell a difference when it's warmed up, much more than before when everything was solid state.

Actually, it is hard to answer the question. My preamp, DAC and CD transport can not be turned off (unless I pull out the plugs) so I have no experience what they sound like when they are cold. And the power amp (Krell FPB-300) is in standby mode when it is not in use. Although the power amp gets much hotter when turned on than when in standby mode, I have not been able to hear any difference between cold and warn power amp.

Tube Pre needs to warm up for about an hour.

It's got to do with karma. The longer my system is on the happier the employees are at the local utility company.

After a half-hour of being on, the system sounds sweeter, more defined with greater spaciousness than when turned on.

Tubes warming up and power supplies smoothing out. Not necessarily technical explanations; however they can be translated into quantutative measurements if you need to.....

Solid-state equipment, well broken-in.

Playing it over real wood logs make it sound warmer than those Duraflame jobbies.

Actually, I have no idea if or why the system sounds better warmed up. Sometimes I think it does, other times, I'm sure it doesn't. And some days the system sounds so much better then it does on other days. This leads me to believe that the variability, for the most part, probably doesn't rest with the system warming up, but rather, on the listener, mood, was it a tough day, etc. And food for thought- ever notice that the system sounds best when you have the peace of mind just to sit back and relax?

Leaving all gear on sounds better than cold. About 30 mins of play times heats all the solid state up to operating temp. and gets the spaker drivers and subwoofer amp going.

My equipment is actually, HIGH QUALITY, as is most equipment, aside from tube based junk (sorry Cary, I don't even buy a guitar amp if it uses Sovtek crap tubes, and sorry BAT, but you can keep your tubes the hell out of my CD's signal path) that's only useful in vintage guitar amps (WHERE DISTORTION REALLY MATTERS!!!) Why I say this is that my system is kind. It charges the capacitors and makes no sound at all. Ahhh... Then ...like magic... it pours forth beautiful sound after it's little silent solid state "warm up".

Electronic components behave differently at different temperatures. Hopefully the manufacturer of the equipment has designed it to sound its best at its operating temperature.

I let my car warm up too.

components are designed to an optimum operating temperature, which certainly wouldn't be in the ramp up from cold-- that's my best guess!

Tubes need to warm up to sound their best.

I leave my phono preamp (Rotel)on, but I feel the Krell is wasting too many watts idling the 18hrs/day I'm not listening to it.The Krell doesn't need long to "warm up".