Depends on the amplifier and the quality of protection circuitry.Well, they would have had a hard time shorting through the electrical tape and 3" of air I put between all the loose wire-ends before any power went into the cabinet. Just curious, but wouldn't a direct short trigger an immediate shutdown rather than waiting almost a minute after I turned up the volume? I may be a newbie to audio electronics, but the concept of a short circuit is not new to me. I've rewired half my house and it hasn't burned down yet. [Sorry, but I'm terrible with emoticons, so I don't know which animated GIF I should insert here; please advise.]
Some amplifier manufacturers like Bob Carver used to demonstrate his amplifiers by applying a direct short to show their durability.
Since the wires were wisely taped up to avoid a short perhaps your amplifier might not take to well to a three ohm load(Emit) playing music vs just testing
(May I suggest a butt plug)
Also