[Briz Vegas]

Only last Monday I finally received my SR7  through Australian customs. $1900 dollars Australian  it cost me to land the dual rail version.   Today I managed to kill it while trying to trouble shoot a fault.

Maybe I am the only dim wit out there but on the back of the dual rail SR7 are two black plastic screw type buttons that are the same overall size.  One is the fuse which screws off and one is the power setting, only I was fault hunting and assumed that both were fuses of slightly different sizes, one for each rail.

My power supply has a 9v rail and a 16 volt rail.  I discovered a few hours ago that the 9volt rail was not working.  In my case the 9v feeds a Weiss INT 202 that automatically switches from FireWire power to 9v DC power when it detects a power supply.  By chance I unhooked the FireWire cable and the Weiss went dead, meaning that it wasn't getting any power from my new power supplies second rail.  I started by plugging in the Weiss's own wall wart and that worked fine, so the Hynes or the cable was faulty.  I then checked the lower fuse and it was fine, then I checked what I thought was the upper fuse, it was stiff.  So I went looking for a better screwdriver, unsuccessfully.

  At this point I stuffed up by plugging it in to give it another try on the Weiss.  I had unknowingly reset the power to 120.  Apart from the size on the plastic screw slot these things look identical, until you put a torch light on them and see the 120 240 on the upper plastic button.  It's really easy to miss, particularly when your brand new power supply isn't working ( I should say that the 16v rail had been working fine, only the 9v was missing in action).

I have yet to find out how much damage I have done, and unfortunately the fuse looks clean so it's not just a blow fuse. The power light on the unit no longer comes on. On top of that I also have the faulty 9v issue which started this whole sad saga.  This may now be academic due to my error.

I have sent Paul a request suggesting a redesign or at least a clear label for the non experts out there.  Sure, it looks neat having two similar black plastic buttons, but the results of mixing them up in my case was possibly catastrophic.  ( hopefully not, but it's not looking good at this point, I'm hopeful of finding a good tech in Brisbane who can at least properly assess what has happened). 

Probably most users will never go near the fuse of the power selector, however it's worth taking a few minutes to familiarise yourself with ALL of the switches.  There is no manual or trouble shooting guide with the unit (something else that would not hurt).

Very depressed ATM.

[jtwrace]

Can you post a picture of what you're talking about?

[Briz Vegas]

Ha.  You got in before I could post a picture.  The power selector is above the fuse to the right of the power plug.  There is some burring on the selector as it is soft plastic and my screwdriver was a little small.   They are labelled but it's cut into the plastic so it's hard to see in artificial overhead light, particularly for those of us over 40.  I only saw my error when I used a torch light.

[Briz Vegas]

Better photo.  This is why I needed a torch.

[Aleg]

Briz

I feel for you after having had to wait such a long time. (I am still waiting for my SR7 announcement).
I am greatfull for pointing out an easily made mistake and hope you get sorted really soon.

Cheers

Aleg

[Briz Vegas]

Well I have a local tech, my usual local hifi dealer, that has agreed to help me out in Australia and Paul is being very helpful as well which is great.  I have most likely damaged the regulators so they will need to be looked at.  Even with just the laptop running things were sounding good so it's frustrating to be back to square one.  Will just have to see how things go from here.  Fingers crossed, for a smooth recovery.  I update if and when there is something to report.

[Briz Vegas]

Hey, I might be in luck here.  It's not what I have seen in the past, blown fuses are usually blackened, but this fuse filament looks broken to me.   Fingers crossed on this one.

[wisnon]

For me blown fuses are normally just broken internal wire like you show. Whew, likely you dodged a bullet there, but still you need to repair the 9v rail.

[Briz Vegas]

All sorted.

The new fuse has the unit up and running and the 9v issue was diagnosed by a local tech at my hifi store.  Turned out to be a transit related issue at the units 9v power connector and not unusual given that the SR7 is built with audiophile performance in mind, or at least that is what my tech guy told me ( it's the sort of solder used apparently). There was also a fit issue with the plug for the Weiss at the end of the supplied lead, which was just one of those things. 

After 6 hours last night the sound of the unit in my system had opened up nicely in an audio sense.  I have learnt that the results of a new component are very much related to the balance of the system.  I was very happy with the sound prior to getting the power supply and had started to wonder if the new power supply could be detrimental by revealing too much detail. My system is tuned to my eclectic music tastes.   I like  early silly stuff such as B52s, Devo and the like, early Delta blues, some jazz, interesting electronic stuff like The Knife and Bjork, Beatles, Bach, Handle, Mozart, Corelli, Beethoven symphonies, Rokia Traore........basically any well written stuff.  Initially the sound revealed detail but was shut in and phase effects (virtual surround if you like) were almost absent.  After a bit of run in the familiar sound was back but a better version.  In particular the system is punchy, musical and rock in', it has a great energy about the sound.  Black keys no longer seemed to struggle with compression, Ben Harpers latest collaboration benefited hugely.  I  don't get it when peopl say high end audio only suits audiophile recordings.  A well balanced high end system makes music simply more engaging and.......delightful.

While the power supply was running my SSD with maximum RAM ( for a 2010 model) MacBook direct and the Weiss interface via FireWire the sound was more detailed but it was kind of boring, not engaging. Now with the Weiss and computer powered direct the multirail is proving its worth.

So in conclusion, high praise for the unit, my tech was impressed with parts choice etc.  I think Paul Hynes Design needs to look long and hard at managing delivery times, the Paul Hynes Audio solution really needs to come on line ASAP.  When you get you unit and you are enjoying the music you do quickly forget these things however.  The SR7 is the perfect addition to my system and allows the digital to edge out my new vinyl gear.  It's very very good.

My system
Naim DAC with XPS 2DR
Conrad Johnson CT5 and LP70s valve amps
Vivid Audio B1
Nordost Valhalla cable loom, with one Odin from the wall, 2 QV2 and 2 Qbase power boards, dedicated circuit.
Nordost TC sort cones
...and the above listed digital components powered by the SR7 with Nordost silver shadow digital interconnect.and some aftermarket FireWire cable that I forget the name of ATM.

[Aleg]

Hi Briz

I'm glad to hear things got sorted fairly easily for you.
I also am glad to hear you like its effects also so quick after introducing it to your setup. That holds a promise for further improvement IMHO.

I hope to hear from Paul soon about my SR7 (was due about 4 weeks ago, but I'll just wait) it is worth waiting for.

Cheers

Aleg

[Briz Vegas]

Credit where credit is due.  The SR7 multirail seems to have run in over the past 2 weeks or so.

Excellent performing unit Paul.  It's transformed my system, which I had though was sounding pretty good.  Listening today I'm quite taken aback with what this system does, although in some respects it close to reference quality so maybe I should have expected it to sound this good all along.

Paul, you asked about the plug size for the Weiss.  This might be tricky as it looks almost identical.  The one you used was just slightly loose,  in that it had a slight wiggle to it, but it was so marginal I didn't think it was a issue until we tried 3 or four others from a set that my tech guy had.  They were all different colours and the one that was snug enough was back.  It has been shrink wrapped so I can't see any numbers.  ( looks like I need to do some dusting)