[Otto]

Yeah, I figured there's gotta be an amp on somewhere, or you wouldn't be getting much out of that speaker!

The only reason not to leave an amp on all the time is to save energy (which is a perfectly fine reason). The only reason I don't leave my main amp on all the time is because it has a pretty good auto-detect circuit. I leave computers on all the time, my sub amp is on all the time (in the basement) and so is my "zone 2" receiver. I also leave the refrigerator on all the time.

I do turn off my "rears" amp because it's class A and tends to run pretty hot. I only turn it on when I'm watching movies (I sure do wish my preamp would send a 12v trigger based on 5-channel usage!).

I believe that power cycling electronics is harder on them, but I doubt it'll kill them outright.