Disable Video but leave Audio on

is it just me or is this (currently) not possible?

afaik, the only way to disable the video but keep the audio turned on is to detach the audio... to not loose sync by accident, it should be placed into a compound clip.

am i right or do i just not see the obvious option?

btw, turning down opacity is a no go

Use Roles. If you need to turn all the video off, then select the Video Checkbox.
You can also create subroles for clips that you may need to turn on and off regularly.
You can do it on the fly without interrupting playback which is a bonus!

too cool!

Now if only Roles stayed off on export...

I just move the whole clip below the others in the primary. That way if I want the video it's sitting right there.
I also use this instead of how I used to work with putting clips at the end of the timeline. Now I just 'park' it underneath and turn it off.

1- Roles, in the Timeline Index, you can mute the Roles you don't want operational during playback.

2- For export, that's very easy. Export a Master File, then in the Share window set "Roles As" to "Multitrack QT Movie" and specify only the Roles you want exported. You can remove the video roles that are included by default.