If a stereo is on and the speakers are turned off, will this cause damage?

Question

I have a stereo with 180 amp output, going into an "A B C" switch, in turn hooked into three sets of speakers. If only speaker A is on, and I then install a simple on/oof switch for the speakers, and TURN OFF the speakers themselves, will I damage the stereo?

Answer 1

I'd say it would be OK, as long as you are just disconnecting all speakers when you turn off the switch. The stereo should be able to run without speakers, especially if it has a headphone jack.

Answer 2

180 amps???  Entire houses are often wired for only 100 amp service and that runs everything including the central air.  Okay, so you mean a 180 WATT system.

To answer your question, no, it will not actually damage your stereo.  Over time, say like years, your output circuits will eventually break down and fail under normal circumstances.  Leaving the amp running with no speakers might speed it up, from say 5 years to 3 years?  But such a time period is not really accurate, it's just to make a point that everything has consequences over a long enough period of time.

For the short run, for an hour or two, it's not going to hurt your stereo any to unplug the speakers.  What WILL damage the stereo is to create a short where the speakers were, but you're not talking about that (people who use combinations of 8 ohm speakers to create essentially a 1 ohm or less impedance).