People on an expensive hifi forum complaining about electricity cost while their kit is on stand by never fails to deliver the comedy.
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I think Covid has resulted in some winners, and many losers. Some have lost their job or businesses, and in no way can you blame them for not having been prepared for something like this. Sadly there will be people on a financial knife edge at the moment. Iāve certainly seem people admit here that they sold their Naim kit to bring in funds for basic household bills.
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There are two reasons to switch off the Naim; one is to save money as the other is to do the right thing for the environment. While we leave our Naim on - there are only three boxes of it these days - we do as much as we can to reduce energy use, exactly as @Innocent_Bystander says above.
I really do hope that all future Naim equipment has proper standby functionality that allows it to reach peak performance instantaneously or at least very rapidly, whether forced by legislation or done voluntarily. With the impact of global warming on weather patterns being seen every day, itās really not right to be making stuff with toroidal transformers that need to be powered up 24/7 to work at their best. Of course, itās a relative drop in the ocean compared to powering a ship or flying a plane, but that is no excuse for avoiding making these changes.
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Can anyone enlighten me on the pros and cons of switching off my SN3 when not in use? I started switching it off at night a while ago but after 2 weeks or so the left channel failed - presumably a relay and itās off with Naim now for repair. On the basis that was an unfortunate one-off component failure what is the feeling re caps in the psu - do they suffer from switching off and on? Iām not really concerned about sq as I hear negligible difference when turned on from cold.
Why do we care?
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Iāve read a few times that heat cycles (power up & down) wear components down quicker than a constant temperature. Although this seems logical to me, Iām not sure if itās actually true.
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Because we do?
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The more significant question is, if anyone doesnāt care, why not?
Understandably the financial aspect may not be something for personal concern if someone is fortunate enough to have plenty of disposable income, such that the rapidly rising cost of living is of no concern, or for whom the adage ālook after the pennies and the pounds look after themselvesā means nothing, However, why would someone feel the environment is not something to care about - an environment they, their families and friends, and all other people, share?
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Nail, hammer, head.
On a point of detail does the Uniticore have a standby mode?
Ignore that guys, Iāve done what I should have done in the first place and read the spec.
To me, that seems to be the exam question.
If you are into saving money (and given the prices quoted above who could blame you!) then inadvertently bringing forward, or promoting, the onset of replacement/servicing of our expensive black boxes will surely outweigh electricity costs. If you are into the environment then the environmental impact of more frequent shipping and consumption of parts could massively outweigh what is saved by turning these systems on and off twice in the 24-hour cycle. I would add that I donāt personally know whether that on/off cycle effect theory is sustainable; it would be interesting to know whether Naim have any data they could add so that users can make an informed decision.
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This is so hypocritical. By reducing the standby time of the audio equipment you take one of the smallest affects on the environment and improve it. While using your SUV to go by a sandwich from McDonaldās 
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What a ridiculous analogy.
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Ignoratio elenchi
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Ignoratio elenchi
If I were to ever buy anything from MacDonalds, Iād ignore the pushbike that is my normal means of local transport, and ignore the branch just couple of miles away, and instead hire a limo to take me to the airport, charter a private jet to fly me halfway round the world, with another limo at the other end to get me to McD, then of course return the same way. After all, Iād need my head examined if I wanted one in the first place!
As for hypocrisy, I admit to having or doing some things that are less than ideal for the environment, but in what way is it hypocritical to try to reduce my impact on the environment as much as practicable while still having reasonable enjoyment if life? And while little things may be insignificant on their own. a multitude of little things by a multitude of people can add up to something significantā¦
Oh, and you havenāt answered the question as to why anyone would not care?
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I understand the Naim kit has been designed to be left on - which I choose to do at present - I am open to other suggestions and like to think about it.
If I ever get the chance to buy hi-fi at this level again, maybe at that point I would think about the impact of it being left on. It was not something I thought of at the time in my excitement.
I think we all have different ways of doing things to minimise our impact on the environment and getting into value judgements about who is doing it best or who is most hypocritical is maybe not really the best way to discuss the subject.
Perhaps simply sharing what we do might make someone else say thatās a good idea and then do it too.
We are all caught up in the world as it is so no one is āinnocentā in the sense of managing to live without a contradiction.
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tu es Corydon
We should do everything we can to reduce our environmental impact. Every little thing adds up to be part of something bigger.
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