There's a difference between overloading components and overdriving them. If you overdrive an amplifier (the circuit element, not the finished product) all you

There's a difference between overloading components and overdriving them. If you overdrive an amplifier (the circuit element, not the finished product) all you are doing is presenting it with an input signal with a greater amplitude than it can faithfully reproduce at the output, causing it to distort. It can still be operating perfectly happy within the manufacturer's specs as stated on the datasheet. I think you're thinking of overload, which isn't something you would typically find or hear outside of a power amp stage, typically a valve one.