amp I bought 3 days ago not powering on - electrical engineer advice wanted

"thanks @yogiboy and @thecarpathian to clarify how inept and stupid I am. Thankfully it is fully documented here. "

No you are not. Many of us have made some mistakes. Just chalk it up and move on!

Buying used gear is a conundrum unless one one or one’s friends’ have the skills to get it fixed in case it develops an issue. But on the whole, buying used is a great money saver, even factoring in a miss now and then.

I feel for @parkergetdean even if I don’t understand why he won’t just leave the darn thing on 24/7. That’s the $0 fix (well, there’s the cost of electricity, but that amp’s idle wattage is probably low).

Next best is to have it fixed. It’s a nice amp, not a NAD throwaway; it definitely deserves fixing. Here’s hoping your new tech is both smart and fair. On the bright side, protection circuitry in amps of that vintage tends to be pretty simple.

I don’t understand why he won’t just leave the darn thing on 24/7.

I am 97% ok with it. It just stings a little when I look at it and don't know the next time my wife's cleans and unplugs, when will it turn back. 

More to report after the tech puts his fingers on it

Many of us have made some mistakes. Just chalk it up and move on!

It Ain't Over Til' It's Over

Next Episode:

The Tech puts his fingers on it..

 Again, you might consider that the issue is with the thermistors in the “protection” circuit which can be seen in your photo literally an inch away from the power switch. Not protection in the sense that “OMG, there is a problem, let me shut it down to protect it” or the unit blowing a fuse to protect it from something but simply it’s an inrush-current circuit to protect the downstream capacitors. This is a normal circuit operation used each time the unit is powered on with the exception being that type of circuit operates differently based on the TEMPERATURE of the thermistors in the circuit. 
 

Just my 2 cents.