This question is for those of you that have recording studios or studio experience. Is it proper procedure to leave all the recording equipment and the sound board in stand-by mode 24/7? Our church has a small sound board (mixer?), cd/cassette player/recorder, projector, and all the related systems, that are left turned on, I suppose in stand-by condition, because someone told them that is the way it should be done to prevent problems with the sound systems. I would think that heat buildup would be more of a problem in the long run, not to mention the electricity bill, than wear and tear on switches. What do you pro's recommend? On or off?

Hi Bud, There are of course two schools of thought on this subject and it also depends on the equipment. The biggest strain on the components in an electronic system, usually takes place at 'Switch On' and many failures occur at this time. If the majority of the circuits are solid state then provided they have adequate ventilation, they should not really wear out when left powered up. It was a bit different in the old valve days(Tubes to you in USA) , since they slowly deteriorated all the time they were powered up. Most of the electronic equipment in my home workshop and music studio is left switched on 24/7 including my desktop PC. The only things which I switch off, are items which I don't use very often and those that consume a lot of power. Also, all the PCs at my workplace are left switched on 24/7.
Items such as sound mixers, CD and cassette players don't consume much power so shouldn't contribute a great deal to the average power bill. I don't imagine the projector is left fully powered up - that would certainly bump up the electricity bill!
The lamp is of course the most vulnerable component in a projector but some makes incorporate a surge limiting device which protects the lamp during power up.
No doubt, you will receive some more views on this subject.


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Willum

there is a school of thought that says that the temperature difference in heating and cooling when switching on and off, is worse than the relative constant temperature of leaving switched on all the time, from a reliability point of view. There may be something in that for poorly designed and badly built (soldered) components, a good design it should not matter. Others say permanent power leads to a shortening in component life.

there is also a school of thought that sound quality is better if electrolytic capacitors and A/D and D/A converters are powered permanently.

check your insurance policies for fine print about fire hazard! you could fall foul in case of disaster.

The majority of sound studios and TV studios never power down their equipment... unless of course the components need repair or maintenance.
Good luck, Paul

I power down all the equipment and computers in the studio every night at bed time after cleaning the computers hard drives.
My REASON: FIRE DANGER
All equipment is covered and 16 space racks side by side generate heat. The 21 inch Mitsubushi Computer Monitor generates a lot of heat. A short could generate a fire. I have been burned out once, one child was lost and one was saved. I check every night every since for fire danger. Why be half safe.
Best to all from
Bebop

I asked the person that donated the board to the church and she said they had called the manufacturer and was told to leave the board in standby condition 24/7. They claim to have had a lot of trouble with the board when they turned it on and off each time it was used, and now they have none. The insurance angle, though, does raise a concern, and I will have to ask about that, too. Thanks for your help, guys!

Bud,

I have been mixing sound in churches for many years and we always turn off the gear at the end of the day. The brands I have used are Soundcraft, Yamaha and Mackie. Never any trouble of this kind with any of them.

Apart from some of the suggestions already raised, one problem that could occur in a church environment is if someone inadequately trained (or just not trained at all) switches on the equipment. With the general rule being that the power amps should be turned on last and turned off first, and that when turning on or off the volume of the amp should be set to minimum, an inexperienced operator could do some speaker damage turning equipment on or off in the wrong order. Of course, there are also plenty of other ways in which an inexperienced operator can blow the system, but that could be a reason behind the manufacturer's recommendation.

Hope this helps,
Mike