Is there a basic rule of thumb regarding Power Up and Power Down order for components in a home stereo system?

I am Currently running at home in one system a:

Turntable (Technics SL 1200MK5)
CD Player (Sony)
Power Amp (NAD 2400 THX)
PreAmp/Tuner (NAD 1600)

Trying to avoid any pops or surprises in turning on, turning off components. I have sometimes heard a slight pop in the speakers when turning off the pre-amp.

Related Question: I have heard some believe it's best to leave some electrical device on all the time (computers). The logic being the most wear and tear happens at power up. I do leave my computer on 24 hours (monitor off), but wouldn't want to do the same for a home stereo. On the other hand, I usually leave the stereo on, but idle (no record spinning, no sound) for an hour or two if I plan on spinning something within that time frame. If I'm not planning on using beyond that time I always turn everything off.

Or, is it better to turn off even if you will be turning everything back on an hour later?

I don't think it matters about the sources, but I've heard on here by some very knowledgable guys that it should be amp on last, off first. So you would probably want to turn on your pre, then sources, and then the amp. As an extra safety measure you would want all your volume or gain levels turned to zero when powering up or down.

I have a hard time remembering stuff so I made a label and stuck it to the front of the rack right below the amp shelf.:beer:
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w160/bigstereo/Zenithtubeamp006.jpg
Looks like I need to do some dusting.

My power amps are powered up last and powered down first.

Good practice to also check the volume level on the pre-amp before powering up and turn all the way down when powering down, as mentioned before.

My power amps are powered up last and powered down first.

Good practice to also check the volume level on the pre-amp before powering up and turn all the way down when powering down, as mentioned before.

The NAD 1600 PreAmp/Tuner has a auto-low level circuit at power up. It's like it's on "mute" when you first power up.

Thanks for the tip--I'll make sure to turn down the volume dial Before I turn unit off.

What they said ^^^ :thmbsp:


Related Question: I have heard some believe it's best to leave some electrical device on all the time (computers). The logic being the most wear and tear happens at power up. I do leave my computer on 24 hours (monitor off), but wouldn't want to do the same for a home stereo. On the other hand, I usually leave the stereo on, but idle (no record spinning, no sound) for an hour or two if I plan on spinning something within that time frame. If I'm not planning on using beyond that time I always turn everything off.

Or, is it better to turn off even if you will be turning everything back on an hour later?

If you intend intermittant use throughout the day then yes it is best to leave a PC or a Stereo on for the duration of the intermittant use. However, PC's are not designed to be left on all the time - Servers are (they are just PC's with attitude :D) and they are designed with this in mind. Remember that if you do leave equipment on for long periods - say overnight - then they are subject to the vaguaries of the local power supply, brownouts, spikes you name it :yikes:

Mains power is pretty stable in the UK - however, I hear all kinds of horror stories (on AK) about US power, like - wide (~20v) voltage variations, spikes, brownouts, etc etc.

John

My tube tuner goes on first as it needs some warmup time. I hit the switch on the preamp/power amp combo next. It has a protection circuit that prevents turn-on bumps.

Turn off is the pre-amp/power amp switch first, then sources.

On the subject of protecting your gear from surges etc...
I try to make it standard procedure to unplug my system from the wall outlet when I'm finished with it. I once had a fairly new totl VCR get fried by lightning years ago. I've been paranoid of unsavory things coming through the power lines ever since.

Power on sequence -
1. Sources and or processing/eq
2. Preamp
3. Power amp

For power off, reverse the above.

FWIW, I leave my main computer on essentially 24/7. It does get shut off if I'm going to be away from home for more than a day.

In general, I think the fewer on/off power cycles the better.

May depend on the amp- especially the power amp. My living room unit is a Soundcraftsmen A2502 power amp which is powered on last and powered off first. Many stories of these amps "blowing" by being powered on at the same time as all the other components. May not be unique to the Soundcraftsmen line- but I'm not taking any chances on this fine audio gear.

I agree with the consensus. I was told by D. Glass at Crown Audio that the best way to remember the power amp ON/OFF sequence is LOFO...or LAST ON, FIRST OFF. He also said "always turn all volume controls fully CCW (counterclockwise or zero) before powering on or off. :thmbsp:

Power on sequence with the signal flow.
Power off sequence against the signal flow.