Some boards have switches on each channel to disable the power. It is easy
to add your own.
I have heard several manufactures call this mod "unnecessary", "unneeded",
"only for the uninformed" etc.

Any manufacturer making such a claim is a clueless idiot whose gear should be
avoided. Line level sources get plugged into mic preamps all the time. As long
as a 20 or 30 db pad is available it oftentimes is the best way to make a rig
work in the field. Anybody who has plugged a transformerless output device into
a channel with phantom applied quickly learns why we have switches, & also
learns why you never hand a cable to a video camera operator without personally
checking that he is switched to line in.


Scott Fraser