It really isn’t actually. But maybe you think you are an expert?
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Or maybe they really are an expert?
Can’t get any clues. He hides his profile. So possibly a troll actually.
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Everyone’s an expert on here, or so it seems
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Electrolytic capacitors degrade chemically, not electrically, whether there is current stored in them or electrons flowing through them is largely irrelevant to their longevity. Electronic components generally speaking suffer more from the temperature variations from the constant on and off everytime you use them.
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Or you could use the search facility and read the existing plethora of threads and posts on this issue.
If people were doing this they would be more informed, more helpful and more polite? Or, may be at least more informed:)
@davidhendon - specially for you, from Naim:
“Yes, leaving on will reduce life. However, if the SN3 at idle is not very warm so not too much effect.
Turing it on/off is fine. It can ultimately stress the rear mains fuse. Caps, transistors etc are fine.
Also never powering it will reduce life. If caps do not get used the dielectric does not form.
My advice is use and enjoy.
Once run in it’ll come on song in an hour or so after a power down.
Some listeners are more sensitive, Roy G and Paul S did not like turning their active systems off.
I leave mine on 24/7”
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It doesn’t really matter who’s saying that, they are desperately wrong.
I’d suggest you do what feels right for you. Why not leave it on continuously for a couple of weeks. Then turn it off each night for another couple of weeks. See if you notice the difference, and if you do, think whether the energy use is important.
When I had Classic boxes they were left on all the time. Nowadays, my Nova is set to go into standby after 10 minutes. It sounds perfectly fine from switch on, yet uses a lot less power, which in this day and age, with new reports of the climate disaster every day, seems the right way to do things. Fortunately the New Classics have a similar standby arrangement, so hopefully your dilemma will be less of a thing as we move ahead.
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There seems to be many differing opinions and thoughts on this subject. I asked the same question after I bought my SN3 new a couple of months ago and then added the HICap DR. What i have never heard is what Naim says….it does not answer this question in the manual. Thanks.
The post that garçon quoted is here, from Steve Sells:
The SN3 manual says, “Better and more consistent performance will be
achieved if the system is left switched on for long periods.”
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My SN1 stays on 24x7 except for holidaya. Most electronic failures will occur during a switch on surge.
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Thanks @ChrisSU. I read that too but always thought it was in reference to break in and overall sq not necessarily longevity. I leave it on 24/7 unless I am away or T-Storms are in the area now.
Everyone at Naim has always advised to keep all amps turned on except during thunderstorms. My active Nap 250 system takes a couple of hours to sound right after being unplugged.
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This is my experience: Two of my devices, a Mission Cyrus Two, and an Atoll CD player, both with circuits that are on all the time, the Cyrus phono stage and the Atolls stand by circuit.
The Cyrus power caps for the phono section got bad after maybe 4 years, and the Atoll power caps in the standby section after maybe 10 years.
Those were the only electrolythics that went bad.
I draw my own conclusions.
hmmmm i wonder how many sn1 users have left their amps on for almost 10 years,
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Leave it on. It will sound its best shortly after you start a listening session. I always just turned off the display lights and muted the unit when not in use when I owned an SN3.
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I left my Lingo 1 on for 21years except when decorating or away on holiday. 
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