[Rhythm Willie]

If someone's got nothing better to do, how about comparing slow blows with fast blows etc.

I've wasted lots of time and money experimenting with cables and connectors, at least fuses don't cost much.

[andyr]

But isn't the downside that your opening up your expensive gear to irrepairable damage?

And the upside is what exactly?

Being rational I think its better to look in other area's before considering such a move. There's gains to be had in many other area's that aren't subtle or psychological with less risk. I do agree its cheap but so are the words 'I told you so'

Yes, it is, ShinOBIWAN ... and in my original post, I commented that maybe this tweak should only be done with power amps like Naim which incorporate protection against excessive current on the PCBs, which shuts off the supply.

As to "opening up your expensive gear to irreparable damage" ... some people do actually do this in the search for better sound!     Owners of the bigger Maggies which have the true ribbons (smaller Maggies typically have "quasi-ribbons) often remove the fuses which Magnepan put there to protect the ribbons - the theory being, the fuses will blow before excess current blows the ribbon apart.   

They do this and take the risk because it sounds much much better.

Regards,

Andy

[ginger]

I'm sure this is just another of those things which fall under the general form of Beranek's Law

The original quote:

It has been remarked that if one selects his own components, builds his own enclosure, and is convinced he has made a wise choice of design, then his own loudspeaker sounds better to him than does anyone else's loudspeaker. In this case, the frequency response of the loudspeaker seems to play only a minor part in forming a person's opinion.

L.L. Beranek, Acoustics (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1954), p.208.

The more general form:
Any change we make in the expectation that it will sound better, DOES!

Don't put your amp at risk - anything you substitute in place of the fuse should have the ability to become open circuit at the same current. Another fuse of the same rating comes immediately to mind.

Cheers,
Ginger

[jules]

hmmm ... I think there's a flaw in the Law 

Still, who am I to contradict Mr. L. L. Beranek, specially when the law is so appropriate

Jules

[ShinOBIWAN]

Yes, it is, ShinOBIWAN ... and in my original post, I commented that maybe this tweak should only be done with power amps like Naim which incorporate protection against excessive current on the PCBs, which shuts off the supply.

As to "opening up your expensive gear to irreparable damage" ... some people do actually do this in the search for better sound!     Owners of the bigger Maggies which have the true ribbons (smaller Maggies typically have "quasi-ribbons) often remove the fuses which Magnepan put there to protect the ribbons - the theory being, the fuses will blow before excess current blows the ribbon apart.   

They do this and take the risk because it sounds much much better.

Regards,

Andy

Well good luck, it all just seems a little hardcore to me.

[Geoff-AU]

Sex without a condom - I remember that one, dimly....... 

Ciao Baby,

shouldn't that be "hello, baby"? 

/tangent

[Felipe]

It depends on the perspective i think.....

- you could be saying "YES WOMEN LETS DO IT" -> hence "hello baby"
- you could refuse the most pleasurable experience posted above and say "No thanks. Ciao baby"

 

[AKSA]

Hmmm, in light of that infamous feminine ambiguity, I reserve the right to throw in a double entrendre, particularly since at my age I no longer have a hankering to ride my hog at speed over a cliff......

Seriously, Andy, I don't like the idea of tossing the rail fuses - remember, there's no speaker fuse or polyswitch, some protection is always wise even if there is a slight sonic penalty.  To me it's like ditching the fuel load to gain a bit of altitude.....  sound physics, but foolish strategy.

Cheers,

Hugh

[andyr]

Seriously, Andy, I don't like the idea of tossing the rail fuses - remember, there's no speaker fuse or polyswitch, some protection is always wise even if there is a slight sonic penalty.

Cheers,

Hugh

Who mentioned ditching the rail fuses, Hugh?   

My post was about some people (possible only Naim owners  ) ditching the mains fuse.  In the case of AKSAs, surely the DC rail fuses would in fact still provide an adequate level of protection?  And with an RCD in your circuit-breaker box, you have all bases covered?   

Regards,

Andy

[AKSA]

Andy,

I just wrote a long response;  then lost it......

No, I cannot under any circumstances recommend removal of the mains fuse.  It is not legal, it is unsafe, and it is courting disaster.

I really don't understand why you are debating this;  I don't wish to be rude, but it's absolute lunacy.  I still hold with my original aviation analogy.  Crazy!!   

Cheers,

Hugh

[multibit16]

I agree with Hugh on this, theres other more safer mods you can do to improve your Hi-fi rather than mess about with the fuses, sure they do degrade the sound a bit but not enough to make me want remove them and be unprotected

[fos]

Why not replace the mains fuse with a circuit breaker? Most circuit breakers have silver contacts!

The circuit breaker would have to be rated correctly and beable to break the maximum fault current (which may be many times the actual breaker rating) otherwise in the event of a hard short the circuit breaker contacts can fuse together and fail to open. 

I work on a ship as engineer and we have quite a large electrical distribution system. The protection system we use is circuit breakers for the mains 3 phase and 220vac (no fuses fitted), and either isolation transformers with fuses or mini circuit breakers for control power .

Fuses are better for short circuits, circuit breakers better for overload situations. Circuit breakers have have a tripping curve which is % of rated current against time. ie the bigger the fault the quicker they will open. but not as fast as fuses.