I have had the experience of others destroying my speakers many times.
As Kev says, in the PA biz you do what you have to do. When I used to run my own rig, I never actually put anything in line other than a limiter set to 'brick wall' at a given point. This worked fine as long as the operator agreed not to change the setting. I could well understand that some operators did not need or like this but too many just didn't care enough about my equipment.
Then, in my little home setup, a good friend of mine blew the drivers on my monitors. For many studios this is not uncommon, but I cannot afford to replace the buggers, so I now have fuses on the leads.
At first I tried to tell myself that it sounded bad, but the truth is that I cannot really tell the difference between the standard leads and the fused ones. I listen at low levels and the monitors are not the most revealing, but I am certain that for my purposes, it doesn't make any difference. I am also willing to consider that my hearing is not perfect, but all the more reason to save $. Speaker cable audiophoolery leaves me cold.
Oh, and another friend blew several of the fuses, so I reckon that even if there is a small sacrifice in quality, it could be worthwhile in my case.