My practice has been to switch preamp selector to an unused input (if changing an IC), turn volume to zero, and activate muting on both preamp and amp. Less risky?Certainly! The only remaining risk that occurs to me is the one I described in the second paragraph of my preceding post, which IMO might in some circumstances create at least a slight risk of degrading the long-term reliability of the output stage of the source component.
Best regards,
-- Al