Is there a solid fuse-like item that I can use in place of a fuse, to bypass it?

Any power connection needs one fuse and one circuit breaker ( double fail protection) Start by getting rid of additional fuses (e.g. UK power plugs) or additional fuses on circuit boards. Don’t get rid of fuses altogether lest you like sparks and fireworks

Folks could start by getting rid of a connector at one end by hardwiring power cords to their component, like in the old days.  No rules broken.   I did that with an amp that Steve McCormack rebuilt for me (not my current monos).  However, power cord sales might suffer.

P = IV. At 240 Volts (V), It would draw the same power (P -wattage) but 1/2 the current (I - amperage) than @ 120 Volts.  Basic electric theory. Hardwiring would do away w/ 2 additional "plug type" connections that can at times be iffy & limit current flow. Wires twisted properly together & wire nutted (in the wall box) & soldered in the amp would be at least theoretically a better way to go. I'm surprised the idea is not tried & discussed in our circle of audio nuts.   

This discussion is going round and round with neither of the parties agreeing on anything. This is because both sides are bringing preconceived notions to the table and refusing to see the other side.

Sound measurements would help.
The “trust ye ear” deal is getting old.

I wish that the only person who is truly without bias regarding fuses was able to lend his expertise to this discussion. Yep, where is georgehifi when you need him?

you have a wicked sense of humour..

😀👍

@yowser -   

         I, for one, appreciate @cakyol perspectives and candor! 

I, for one, appreciate @cakyol perspectives and candor!  Much more so than @pesky_wabbit's trivial comments, which truly live up to his moniker.

This discussion is going round and round with neither of the parties agreeing on anything. This is because both sides are bringing preconceived notions to the table and refusing to see the other side.

I wish that the only person who is truly without bias regarding fuses was able to lend his expertise to this discussion. Yep, where is georgehifi when you need him?

Bad idea.

The fuses are there to protect your equipment. 

Get a decent fuse in there. Ignore the statements from the highly educated cakyol about fuses and certainly do not pay heed to his justification of hardwiring your amp to the circuit breaker. Dumb, dumb, dumb… There are many here who re-fuse (see what I did there) to try and see if a better fuse does what they claim. Refuse to try because they don’t believe it. Not willing to try. Why? Because they just know… And then, if there is a sonic difference, they will come up with a mountain of other reasons why it sounds better. The same folks who can only accept a ruler flat system, with zero THD and infinite SNR. Because, that’s what the numbers say.

Sorry, what was the post about?

Right. A solid fuse. Bad idea.

@pesky_wabbit 

I think you need to learn how to use google translate 😄

I bring a bit of color, feeling and excitement

Google translate > arrogance, dogma and condescension

@jonwolfpell 

That is actually a great idea.  As long as the amp is not a class A amp, it can be permanently left on as well, which will avoid inrush current damage, in case the amp is not protected against it.

I don't see what hardwiring your power amp into a junction box in the wall is such a bad idea? Commercial / industrial equipment often does this. Especially the monster solid state amps that need their own dedicated 20 amp circuits. In fact, why not make those amps 240 volts & then they would draw a lot less current too.  The units could come w/ a heavy duty pigtail wire connected w/ your specified length & have your electrician hardwire it if you don't feel comfortable doing so yourself. When you spend $50 - $100K or more on an amp, what's the big deal? 

This would alleviate two different connection points (wall outlet & amp plug) & would have to affect the sound quality as most everything does in a high end system. 

Very bad idea.

@pesky_wabbit 

” it's what frustrated lab technicians and high school teachers do because they never made it as real scientists. Big noting themselves on forums makes them feel empowered.“

🤣

Not Recommended. However, just buy a 30 amp fuse. No need to fabricate anything. I just had an amp failure take out a $2k speaker. I now use a 1 A slow blow fuse with 9 AWG speaker wire. Yes, the floor still moves and walls pulsate with deep organ music! Amazing. A $2 fuse could have saved my $2k speaker. 

I agree that bypassing a fuse takes a step towards unsafety, so i will keep the two main 7A fuses in place. But for the other seven small amperage fuses...I’ve bought a few 6mm dia. copper rods from aliexpress and aim to whip up some small copper fuse replacements.

I’ve restored my amp with all new resistors, diodes, capacitors, and all of the power supply transistors, plus i listen at a quiet volume for only short amounts of time. I don’t feel that i am putting the power amplifier (Yamaha PC2002) under any stress at all, and it always remains cool, so i feel safe bypassing the internal fuses. I planned on using the copper dummy fuses in case i want to sell the amp and easily revert back. But who knows...i kind of like the idea of removing the fuse holders and just soldering a thick gauge copper into their places.

@ an above poster, the Nelson Pass amplifier you linked is one he designed for the DIY community, so yes it does have fuses. But you’ll see that there are other of this designs that don’t have fuses, for the very same audio-degrading reasons that have been mentioned in this thread.

I don’t claim to have any revealing system. But by taking noise reduction measures, one step at a time, from different areas of your audio chain, me or anyone can systematically sensitize their system such that if a fly lands on a wire and takes a crap, while you’re listening to music, you may jump back and say "wow what the hell was that?" or "wow, i’m hearing things in the music i never heard before!"

@pesky_wabbit 

besides I'm not even a quantum metaphysics 21st century boy....

Noice!

I would not have guessed you were a BR fan. 

Looks like it’s currently out of stock, but here you go. I use these in my Magnepan 1.7s. I’ve owned Maggies for 40 years and never blew a fuse, so didn’t feel that I was taking much of a chance. Bypassing them made a significant sonic difference. :)

Do you want to give your insurance company an excuse not to pay you if your equipment starts a fire, albeit a small chance ?

I agree in principal but disagree on the last bit. It isn't a small chance that the insurance would be invalidated it is a very real possibility.  Waste money on something else like having the electrical utility replace your house supply line back to the nearest pole with audiophile approved wire. It won't make any difference either but after spending thousands doing it I can almost guarantee that you'll think there is a big improvement.

it's what frustrated lab technicians and high school teachers do because they never made it as real scientists. Big noting themselves on forums makes them feel empowered.

FFS guys, will this schiit never end???

cuckyol and his ilk, do you have nothing better to do. We all get it, you can't hear properly or won't even try. Great, just move on. It appears your system, if you have one, sounds so poorly that you need to entertain your self by harassing other members. Get a life.

  And if I grab the speaker cable like a Pentecostal preacher grabs a snake, it is not pulsating mechanically.

Oh really? How do you know that. Provide proof that that is happening. What makes you think that you can actually feel the tiny vibrations created in cables transmitting power. Your statement is illogical, irrational and irrelevant.

@nonoise and theaudiotweak, this is very frustrating I know but perhaps if we don't directly engage these ... these ... people they might move on, but don't hold your breath.

@OP, fuses do make a difference and I have put this challenge out before. A simple and free experiment is to just change the fuse direction of one of your components and listen for a change in sound. This is easily heard in my system. If you hear no change, great, you are now free from the dreaded 'snake oil' and can save lots of money. 

I have now hard wired a heavy jumper across the fuse in my power amp, why?,  well because it sounds even better than a pure Cu.rod as a jumper.                                    

Will the thread police avoid having a conniption. Understand this is my house and my equipment and I'll do as I like. I live in a stone cottage with walls 2 ft. thick and so many leaks in the roof it will never burn down 😎 and I don't need to worry about insurance, I don't have any. 

not on yer nellie noskie

not even a nice try

failed to address my issue at all and instead deflect to unrelated conceptual terms of ridicule

besides I'm not even a quantum metaphysics 21st century boy....

do we have to ascribe some cakyol approved physical explanation for the propulsion system used by the mysterious flying objects detected by USAF combat aircraft before they are deemed real ?

Isn’t that analogy just a deliberate oversimplification of the quantum nano metaphysics involved in demonstrating the many and varied characteristics of audio fuses as are so often conveyed in colorful language here on AudioGon?

do we have to ascribe some cakyol approved physical explanation for the propulsion system used by the mysterious flying objects detected by USAF combat aircraft before they are deemed real ?

or would he just refer all the pilots to an opthamologist?

UL certification is not legally required in America. 

There may be commercial considerations, and perhaps some codes may require it, though.

I understand that Underwriters Laboratories is a non-profit organisation dedicated to testing the safety of electrical products.

I bought the Magnepan  by- pass solid silver tubes from OCD Mickey.

I had to cut and polish  them to suit my fuse holder and treat them with contact oil  in my Elac Navis active speakers.

Very Nice

@theaudiotweak you can state facts. But fact which are not germane to what we are discussing is smoke-n-mirrors stuff.

It is appearing that you are spruiking total BS.

🙄

Shear is a component of all vibrating surfaces.. Speakers, walls, violins  cellos their strings and bow vibrate and generate shear just like a fuse vibrates when its host is turned on and running. Tom

@theaudiotweak 

Your speakers drivers are flexy and they operate on shear an compression.

Shear travels from the moving coil and dust cap and both sides of the cone and a polarity of this shear wave is reflected back down the cone corrupting the next wave launch. A fuse contains an element that vibrates with electricity, you can see it in the video posted before it blew..that vibration is never totally mitigated. Transformers vibrate so they will also generate shear and pass it down the line. And so it travels.Tom

^This^ sounds like total, unadulterated (or maybe adulterated) BS.

I do not have a fuse riding on the speaker driver’s cone.

And if I grab the speaker cable like a Pentecostal preacher grabs a snake, it is not pulsating mechanically.

The transformers vibrating would only vibrate a fuse in the holder if the holder was on a flexy piece of metal… But most of the fuse holders are mounted in the chassis and freely floating on the inside.

Even if the fuse holder was flexing, the fuse holder is holding the fuse itself in by using springy clips that maintain contact better than a brush in a motor does.

I do not see how some other stiff fuse would not also have the same mechanical interface concerns, that a certified and UL approved glass cased fuse would have?

But I could be wrong, so Are there some graphs, or links, showing the effect that you are describing?

"I use my ears...."

As I said before, a visit to an audiologist will help

your trivial sensory experience has been negated by ’expert‘ opinion.

consider yourself chastised by a higher authority…;)

Your speakers drivers are flexy and they operate on shear an compression.

Shear travels from the moving coil and dust cap and both sides of the cone and a polarity of this shear wave is reflected back down the cone corrupting the next wave launch. A fuse contains an element that vibrates with electricity, you can see it in the video posted before it blew..that vibration is never totally mitigated. Transformers vibrate so they will also generate shear and pass it down the line. And so it travels.Tom

 

cakel

Anything that moves generates shear.

Your speakers and all materials and surfaces even the fuse..

A polarity of shear left to regenerate will keep reproducing shear especially in a glass tube.Tom

I’ve never heard of this… in an electrical sense.
Do you have a link?

And my equipment is not noodlely and flexy to the point of the fuse holder having movement.

cakel

Anything that moves generates shear.

Your speakers and  all materials and surfaces even the fuse..

A polarity of shear left to regenerate will keep reproducing shear especially in a glass tube.Tom

The longer this thread goes the more I think about Mad Mike Hughes.  The professional flat-earther and his demise. 

Hahahah.

@theaudiotweak 

What a load of bs !!!

The fuse is the entry point for electrical noise to enter and to have shear wave energy  generated and regenerated inside a glass pulsating distortion capsule. This interfering shear wave energy goes onto influence every signal in the chain and beyond.

Open your  brain.

Tom

Your forehead must have some major calluses.😃

"I use my ears...."

As I said before, a visit to an audiologist will help :-)

@cakyol ,

Silly boy, I don't worship anything so talk like an adult (that's a sign that you're losing the argument, which there has been many...again folks, check out the past threads).

I don't read schematics and designs. Not anywhere near versed in it. Doesn't matter a whit. I use my ears. Have you ever tried to listen to a fuse, just for sh*ts and giggles? I did, and there is a difference. Cheap and easy enough a thing to do instead of banging your head against the wall.

All the best,
Nonoise

@nonoise

A bit more education for you and the fuse worshippers.

Below is a power supply designed by Nelson Pass for a few of his amplifiers. Notice the ample use of thermistors in his circuit to perform inrush current protection. In addition, look at the stability resistors in series on the secondary side of his supply.  Examine and understand that the thermistor in series in the AC circuit is almost equal to many fuses in series, as far as the resistance is concerned.

https://www.passdiy.com/project/articles/burning-amplifier-1

@cakyol , 

Again, like every time this has come up (just check out the threads folks) you miss the point you make quite intentionally. The amount of corrosion you speak of would be a ridiculous amount to do what you say it will. Again, not the point I was making.

To say a fuse has no effect on the sound and if it did, it's due to a worsening of conductivity, then please explain how a fuse that works the same as a bog standard one, made of better and purer metals, couldn't conduct better.

Designers never looked past the conventional wisdom that all a fuse is good for is protection so they use the cheapest crap they can find, made of very poorly conductive properties. 

Anyone here knows that no fuse gives one the best sound possible. Amp designers (it's out there folks...you look it up) has related how an amp they designed that sounded wonderful, ending up sounding worse once they implemented the fuse for production.

I believe that Ralph, a wonderful amp designer who posts here, doesn't use fuse protection and uses circuit breakers in his designs, which is one way of getting around the "sound" of a fuse.

This discussion has been going on for decades and your side never seems to get it and gets their kicks on forums like this for questionable reasons.

All the best,
Nonoise

@nonoise

As usual, you are missing the point....

If the corrosion is bad enough to the point where it introduces excessive resistance to the circuit, everything will be affected of course. The device may not even power up properly, let alone just the sound aspect of it.

Better question is why would you do this?

Get a good fire extinguisher a fiberglass rod and thick rubber gloves. Like the tech that works on my Tesla.

Original Poster

b. 1972

d. 2022

Great Father, Devoted Husband, Bad Tweaker.

Do not do this.