Hi!
No, only audiophools use expensive mains wire. With a good power supply such things won't have an impact. Don't get distracted by such silly details even if the audio gadget industry tries hard to make you believe these things matter.
There are 1000 other things in an amp to optimize before it makes sense to think about the fuse or mains wiring.
Thomas
No, only audiophools use expensive mains wire. With a good power supply such things won't have an impact. Don't get distracted by such silly details even if the audio gadget industry tries hard to make you believe these things matter.
There are 1000 other things in an amp to optimize before it makes sense to think about the fuse or mains wiring.
Thomas
If you ever scoped the AC mains, it is often noisy and dirty with some harmonic content. Actually having some resistance and inductance on the lead doesn't hurt. It would help the line filter cap clean up that mess at least a little.
Hi!
Yes, that might help but just very little. Much more effective against high frequency noise on the mains is a screen winding between promary and secondaries in the power transformer. This winding basically 'interrupts' the coupling capacitance between primary and secondary. Instead with screen winding (which is connected to ground) primary and secondary now have a capacitance to ground rather than between each other.
I get my power transformers even wound with two independent screens. The first one which is closer to the rpimary is connected to protective earth. The second one to signal ground.
There is a hype going on in Germany recently about fuses. There are vendors who offer special 'good sounding' fuses for a lot of money. This trend has been fueled by some glossy HiFi magazines which promote this crap. They do serious listening tests between various fuses, yet fail to realize that the amp they test these in have crappy power transformers and crudely designed power supplies.
Thomas
Yes, that might help but just very little. Much more effective against high frequency noise on the mains is a screen winding between promary and secondaries in the power transformer. This winding basically 'interrupts' the coupling capacitance between primary and secondary. Instead with screen winding (which is connected to ground) primary and secondary now have a capacitance to ground rather than between each other.
I get my power transformers even wound with two independent screens. The first one which is closer to the rpimary is connected to protective earth. The second one to signal ground.
There is a hype going on in Germany recently about fuses. There are vendors who offer special 'good sounding' fuses for a lot of money. This trend has been fueled by some glossy HiFi magazines which promote this crap. They do serious listening tests between various fuses, yet fail to realize that the amp they test these in have crappy power transformers and crudely designed power supplies.
Thomas
Fuses are sooo simple, but also sooo effective for most common faults.
There are two sides to the fuse equation that are worth considering. The fuse should reliably pass all normal (ie. maximum) currents, which requires a service life margin (typ 125%) plus a waveshape margin (eg. ss diode/large filter capacitor) plus a surge margin (eg. transformer in-rush).
Equally important is an understanding of the prospective fault currents that can occur due to various typical faults. Some faults have relatively high prospective currents due to a low resistance fault path and a high current capability from the source. Some faults have relatively low prospective currents, such as a short on a preamp HT due to RC power supply filtering.
Fuses can hold up for many seconds/minutes when the fault current is not much above the fuse rating. They are a key safety addition, but should not be relied on to save an amp from all woes. Like making sure your power supply caps have a voltage rating that will survive when valves are pulled out, it is good to make sure that heat stress under a chassis will not cause other safety problems (eg. running mains cable near parts that could overheat).
Ciao, Tim
There are two sides to the fuse equation that are worth considering. The fuse should reliably pass all normal (ie. maximum) currents, which requires a service life margin (typ 125%) plus a waveshape margin (eg. ss diode/large filter capacitor) plus a surge margin (eg. transformer in-rush).
Equally important is an understanding of the prospective fault currents that can occur due to various typical faults. Some faults have relatively high prospective currents due to a low resistance fault path and a high current capability from the source. Some faults have relatively low prospective currents, such as a short on a preamp HT due to RC power supply filtering.
Fuses can hold up for many seconds/minutes when the fault current is not much above the fuse rating. They are a key safety addition, but should not be relied on to save an amp from all woes. Like making sure your power supply caps have a voltage rating that will survive when valves are pulled out, it is good to make sure that heat stress under a chassis will not cause other safety problems (eg. running mains cable near parts that could overheat).
Ciao, Tim
Just a comment!
There are some things that work and yes you can hear a difference.
I do believe in this case your money would be better spent on better power Tx's or rectification / cap's etc.
If you don't like fuses bypass DC fuses with polypropylene caps and save your money for better components!🙂
Regards
M. Gregg
There are some things that work and yes you can hear a difference.
I do believe in this case your money would be better spent on better power Tx's or rectification / cap's etc.
If you don't like fuses bypass DC fuses with polypropylene caps and save your money for better components!🙂
Regards
M. Gregg
Dump fuses in DIY projects
Use a Circuit Breaker instead!
They are cheaper than them crazy "audiophool" fuses and are more reliable 😉
Use a Circuit Breaker instead!
They are cheaper than them crazy "audiophool" fuses and are more reliable 😉
I guess that $3,000 power cord does not seem like a good idea after you look at a fuse? 😀
The rules of electricity tend to go counter to "audiophile" rules... but no worries. Audio is a religion. You gotta have faith! ABX blind testing is of the devil!
As others have mentioned, don't sweat the small stuff that does not matter and take care of the big stuff that does. Nothing really destroys the imaging of a speaker faster than when it is played in the middle of an electrical fire.
The rules of electricity tend to go counter to "audiophile" rules... but no worries. Audio is a religion. You gotta have faith! ABX blind testing is of the devil!
As others have mentioned, don't sweat the small stuff that does not matter and take care of the big stuff that does. Nothing really destroys the imaging of a speaker faster than when it is played in the middle of an electrical fire.
goes to show how much audiofoolery goes around 🙂
Next we will be talking about sapphire crystal housing for the fuses will bring out the extra sparkle in the music
Next we will be talking about sapphire crystal housing for the fuses will bring out the extra sparkle in the music
If the equipment is for UK-use, where they have the fuse in the power socket, you also have to install a fuse in the equipment itself?
Second, when the equipment has a Power Entry Module installed right at the IEC socket (anti-RF coil and X2 poly cap), is that not sufficient?
Second, when the equipment has a Power Entry Module installed right at the IEC socket (anti-RF coil and X2 poly cap), is that not sufficient?
The general principle with fuses is that they give most protection to the next thing in line. The fuse in a UK plug is there to protect the cable, and to a lesser extent the rest of the house. For most audio, the plug fuse would be 3A, protecting a cable rated at 3-5A.
The mains fuse in the equipment (0.5-1A?) is mainly there to protect the transformer from a rectifier short or protect the house from a transformer short. The plug fuse wll not do this, as 750W into a small transformer will get it very hot very quickly yet the 3A fuse will be perfectly happy.
The mains fuse in the equipment (0.5-1A?) is mainly there to protect the transformer from a rectifier short or protect the house from a transformer short. The plug fuse wll not do this, as 750W into a small transformer will get it very hot very quickly yet the 3A fuse will be perfectly happy.
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