Maybe it's just been routine for me, and I should have been a little bit more specific. For me personally, when powering down, in this order:
1) power amps 2) preamp 3) any other audio gear after that 4) finally power conditioners. Power amp first, so that speaker damage doesn't take place by powering down any other piece of equipment first, by sending some type of pop or snap through the power amp(s).
When powering up, the same, but in reverse order.
@fuzztone Hmmm, interesting scenario. What piece of equipment might that be, and why do you think it's doing that? If it's a power amp, no explanation needed.