The VFD display is hard-wired to the standby mode. When the VFD is on, the player is on and the amplifiers are turned on. When the VFD is off, the player is in standby mode and the amplifiers are turned off.

So if you have the VFD turned on, then the player is on. So if you want to display the clock, the player has to be on.

If you want to display the clock without playing music, there is a very nice "pause" button you can use.