Do I NEVER shut it off…?

The only piece of audio equipment that ever came close to starting a fire was a carver receiver I had in the late 1980's, it shot a big flame out the top cover, so I suppose if I would have put a magazine on top of it there might have been a fire.

I had this exact question regarding my First Watt J2. So I called Nelson Pass. He said what turns his amp on earlier in the day if he knows he’s going to listen to it.     
So that’s what I do.    

If Nelson says so, I don’t need no freakin science.     😀

g_nakamoto - Standby is actually like off. If you want the best sound a 1 hour warmup should be fine.

I used to turn off my Plinius amp every two weeks when the cleaning ladies came just out of paranoia and immediately turn them back on after they left. When I talked to the Plinius service guy (yes there is one in the US even though their sales efforts have focused more or Asia/Australia/New Zealand) he told me not to turn it off ever - they don't go anywhere near the equipment, but I was worried just in case there was a new person in the crew.

They are very well designed and use minimal electricity when not playing. He said that powering everything up puts stress on the parts and will make the amp age faster. Of course he offered to recap and update everything in my amp (even though everything sounds better than ever). SS amps can last for decades without worry. That's the beauty of them - plus some sound really nice.

Other amps may not be as well designed - check with the manufacturer. Fans, tubes, whatever may have different recommendations. For me, I'd hate to have to wait an hour for warm up time. Often, I'll just play one record or a side. Turning everything on and off for that is nuts.