On Friday, March 25, 2016 at 11:53:02 PM UTC-4, John Heath wrote:

I have heard this argument too many times as if the costumer is responsible for electrical engineering issues. The customer paid for the amplifier leading a profit for the manufacturer. It is the manufacturer that is responsible to made sure the amplifier is idiot proof. Amplifiers have current limiting circuits which means you can sort the outputs all day long without any damage. If the manufacturer can not be bothered to be responsible for their own engineering leading to output transistor failure than they are in the wrong business. There is no such thing as a costumer that is wrong as he is the one that is paying the money. The failure is always up stream from the costumer. I will now get of my soap box.

There is what I define as the Great Aunt Esmeralda issue:

Great Aunt Esmeralda is typically in her late 80s, but not frail. She has each and every one of her marbles, and is in full control of same. She is set in her ways, but neither stupid nor fearful. She resists change, but only because at her stage in life she has things right where she wants them. She also votes, every time for every election at every level and is known to do so.

As a concept, she is directly responsible for the delay of the shut-off of Analog TV in the US, until its advocates could develop a more intuitive interface. If Esmeralda had to diddle around to turn on her soaps, and missed the first five minutes of the show because the interface was not fully intuitive, she would make dammed sure her congressman knew it! Starting with her Alderman.

At the same time, Great Aunt Esmeralda understands that as a consumer, she has some responsibility to 'read the directions' as it were. And as a consumer/customer, to seek clarification when in doubt - and make damned sure that the provider of her goods and services writes directions that are able to be followed by any reasonable consumer with normal intelligence - NO MORE!

I have legacy amplifiers from AR, Dynaco, Revox and HK-Citation. EVERY ONE OF THEM cautions against shorting the outputs. Two manufacturers (AR & Dynaco) cautions against running their amplifiers with input, but no connected load. Each, in its own way, also cautions against shorting the two channels together. Several of them add protection circuits (Revox & Dynaco), some add fuses, internal or external (AR & HK) and so forth. And in every case, the directions are clear and unambiguous. Great Aunt Esmeralda would have no difficulty with them, and if she screwed up the connections resulting in a melt-down, she would be fully OK with accepting the consequences.

What you suggest is similar to making an automobile manufacturer liable for the consequences of the fact that the accelerator and brakes may be applied at the same time.... Driver error (pilot error/user error) is a real phenomenon such that reasonable accommodations must be made, but the danger of same cannot be obviated.

Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain.

Schiller.