why do hi-end fuses keep blowing, while std don't?
why do hi-end fuses keep blowing, while std don’t? Built in obsolescence, with less "blowing headroom" to get even more money out of the gullible. Mains fuses have a limited amount of turn "on cycle surges" that harden/weaken/crystalise the fuse wire inside them, eventually they blow, always at "the turn on surge" just like incandescent light globes do, because turn on is the heaviest current a fuse sees. A new fuse left getting older and older right. https://ibb.co/zSRwTd1 Cheers George |
I didn’t bother further. What is reflected in the thread is what I did and learnt, so kept the std fuses and upgraded tubes which have been running for 5 years flawlessly. The amp runs hotter with these tubes than with the original ones which has to translate into higher current draw. Per the Cable Co answer, std fuses have additional 10% tolerance which seems to be enough. I didn’t want to to go up 25% rating in the fuse from 2 to 2.5A as it seemed unsafe for the amp. So I let go of that part of my audio nervosa and lived happily ever after :-) In the past years I turned into an active system where now the McIntosh is driving mids/treble and sees a lower demand so runs cooler again. Could try hi-fi fuses again but I’m not prepared to risk throwing away money, so I stayed out. Sound is great and I found areas for more significant upgrades to sound than fuses made, so went that route. Cheers |
I’m old school ... if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. You had no problem with the stock fuse, but did with the hi-fi fuse. What does that tell you? There may, indeed, have been an objective issue with the tube, but I think this whole hi-fi fuse thing is more snake oil than not. Sometimes, when we think we hear sonic improvements from a purported "upgrade," it’s due more to the power of suggestion or expectation rather than reality. Just my $0.02. |
