Turn off audio interface or leave it on?
 

Using a Windows PC, is it best to turn off an AI after each session or just leave it on? This is an RME.

I turn my Apollo off since there's no benefit to leaving it on.

I turn everything off including AC to the wall warts and lumps-in-lines.
~Bob

Is it wall-wart (or internal) powered, or USB-powered? If external power, turn it off, the power supply gets warm. I have my interface and monitors on a switch, turns them all on or off together.

Probably does not make a difference to the RME itself but you left off the information about how often you are using the RME.

Not quite sure what you mean (after each session)
but I turn mine off when I know I am not going to use it any more in a given day. Sometimes that may be after a single say 1/2 or 1 hour of recording , or sometimes that may be after a 4 to 6 hour day of recording and mixing etc. But always when done for that "day" as I don't stay up late into the night.

I have three interfaces: One in "Studio A" my large space where I can record multiple musicians, and two in "Studio B" (AKA a small bedroom that serves as my home office).

Studio A's interface, along with an outboard mixer, my main electric guitar amp and large powered monitors get turned off when I'm not using it. Why? Because I'm not there when it's not in use, and it doesn't get used every day.

Studio B's interfaces stay "on" because I'm there working on something nearly every day. One of the interfaces is on my mixing and mastering PC where it serves as the audio device for my monitors and headphones. The other is a dedicated recording computer where I have the bulk of my VI instrument software. My work flow may have me moving from a mixing session to recording a new part on my recording computer to back to the mix again, to listening to a reference CD to starting a new "one man band" recording project to researching some historical tidbit. At times in my life I've even worked on things when I awoke in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep.

I do this there because it's just a balm to my fevered creative mind to not have to think of which item I need to turn on (or have forgotten to turn on).

There used to be endless debates over whether it was better for electronics to be turned off and on or run continuously. I doubt that issue was ever settled. These days I expect much of the concerns is over electrical usage and it's costs in a micro and macro sense.

At the radio network where I once worked all the audio interfaces and computers (largely a whole lot of Mac Minis, Mac Pros in music studios) stayed on 24/7/365. I never knew us to loose an interface or a Mac Mini from this usage, and our service life was usually 5 years or even a tick more. Could I "kill" an interface more readily if I turned it off an on daily or even several times a day? I doubt that, but I don't have even anecdotal info.

I should try a watts meter on some of the equipment someday to see about energy usage. I suspect my powered monitors are the biggest draw in "Studio B."

To elaborate, this is a USB device (Fireface UCX) hooked to my recording/mixing computer (Windows PC) in my home studio. I have been turning it off after each session. By session I mean when I'm using that computer, which only gets used for music. My previous AI was a Scarlett USB 4Pre. It ended up having issues. Not sure if it's because I kept it on all the time or not. So this one gets turned off after I'm done for the day.

But, I wasn't sure which is worse, keeping it on all the time, or turning itt on and off each day.

Depends on if you completely shut down the PC (not sleep or hibernate).

I have had decades of experience with Windows having odd issues with devices being powered on and off. These days it happens much less, but I leave my RME UFX on all the time to ensure that won't be the problem cause. I only shut down a PC if I am away on a trip, otherwise I let it go to sleep.

For a recording computer you should turn off the 'sleep' feature. This will definitely mess up USB devices hooked to it (restarting/unplugging-replugging needed).
The 'sleep' thing came out on computers in the old days of CRT monitors and CPUs that literally cooked motherboards.

Not in my experience with 5 PCs in the house. Modern USB drivers and the Windows 10 device subsystem have eliminated that old bugaboo. And the RME that the OP has comes with awesome USB drivers.

If one is still using Win 7/8 (or earlier :eek:) then all bets are off, and shutting down is the best approach.

Of course there is a lot of hardware variation so you and MikeB could both be right, but my experience with the USB Focusrite interface on my old (Sandy Bridge era I7, around 7 years old now) with Windows 10 sleeps and wakes just fine. I think I've had to unplug/replug the interface one or twice after an OS software upgrade, that's it.

I have an Apogee Thunderbolt interface. It turns on or off automatically when I start or shut down my studio computer. It uses a separate wall wart power supply which also turns on and off with the computer. I have a pair of studio monitors attached to the Apogee and all sound is routed to them, unless I choose to have sound routed to the internal stereo speakers in my iMac.

I have RME Babyface Pro, which is entirely USB powered. It’s plugged into a hub, so even if the computer is off its still getting power. I wish it had an off switch but i suppose its fine. RME builds good equipment

My point above ^^^ was that the 'sleep' feature is really no longer needed on computers.

Plenty of easy-to-use options for that.
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