I have KRK 6's plus a KRK 10" Sub
I have them plugged into a UPS and it's awkward to turn them off each evening.
Do powered monitors use much power when not playing?

Firstly there is no need to have your active monitors plugged into a UPS. You are just adding extra load onto your UPS and it is unnecessary. Your UPS really only needs to power your computer and monitor so you can do a save in the event of a power failure.

Secondly, yes powered or active monitors do draw power even when they are doing nothing. We call this the quiescent power draw or idle power draw. Over a year it would certainly add up to your power bill.

You really should shut everything down when you are not using your studio. It is NOT a good idea to leave anything running, especially if you go out for any period of time. People who leave things on permanently are simply wrong and silly IMO. There is nothing to be gained from it. I have been turning everything off for the last 32 years and have never had anything fail as a result. Windows also likes being shut down and rebooted as well.

You are setting yourself up for a fire hazard if you do leave things on permanently. What happens if something decides to set itself alight while you are away. It happens, houses burn down! Put your speakers on a switchable power board and simply flick one switch to bring them on and off. And in the right order of course. Speakers last when powering up and off first when powering down.

Jeff Evans


Firstly there is no need to have your active monitors plugged into a UPS. You are just adding extra load onto your UPS and it is unnecessary. Your UPS really only needs to power your computer and monitor so you can do a save in the event of a power failure.

Secondly, yes powered or active monitors do draw power even when they are doing nothing. We call this the quiescent power draw or idle power draw. Over a year it would certainly add up to your power bill.

You really should shut everything down when you are not using your studio. It is NOT a good idea to leave anything running, especially if you go out for any period of time. People who leave things on permanently are simply wrong and silly IMO. There is nothing to be gained from it. I have been turning everything off for the last 32 years and have never had anything fail as a result. Windows also likes being shut down and rebooted as well.

You are setting yourself up for a fire hazard if you do leave things on permanently. What happens if something decides to set itself alight while you are away. It happens, houses burn down! Put your speakers on a switchable power board and simply flick one switch to bring them on and off. And in the right order of course. Speakers last when powering up and off first when powering down.

+1. I always turn everything off. I have a Monster Power Pro 3500 and 2500 that everything is hooked to so turning everything off is easy.

This brings up a good point. I also turn things off and on sequentially.
 
If you turn off your interface before you turn off your monitors you will get a pop and this could damage components or monitors over time. Turning off everything together can also be harmful.
 
My monitors are always the very first thing I turn off and then I have my computer on an "intelligent" power strip so that if the computer is off it also turns off a few other things in the studio. When powering up, my monitors are the last thing I turn on. You can buy switches that turn different things on or off seperately. I have an old switcher that was made to sit under a computer monitor and it has 6 different switches on it so I can easily bring up things in order. 

Do powered monitors use much power when not playing?

 
Most powered monitors use class AB amplification, which will use a small amount of power when not passing audio.  Not as much as class A, but still it is good practice to turn your equipment and computers off.  
 
BTW, after getting into the practice of turning absolutely everything off when I am not around, I saved almost $100/month on my electric bill.  

There are a number of things that always been the norm with speakers and amps and musical equipment. If you do these then you will get use to it and probably have no problems. You turn down the volume before turning on a stereo amp or just in this case - powered speakers. You have AC noise cancellation unit or surge protector units, for various reasons - bad thunderstorm with lightning, whatever the weather, power brownouts, or power line failure which can also be used with a UPS. You turn down volumes on synthesizers, anything like a guitar amp and can turn down the volume also before shutting down.
 

M_Glenn_M
Do powered monitors use much power when not playing?

My Rokit 6's pull 264mA when powered on, no sound. This translates to 31.68 watts of power. At, let's say $0.13 a kwH, this equals about 0.0988 cents a day in power consumption (if left on for 24 hours), or $2.96 a month (30-day month), or $36.09 a year.
 
It adds up! ...and it looks like I'm buying a switch; one that's less than or equal to 36 bucks!