and how would you describe the result?
Quick and free fuse tweak
I read about this once but tonight I tried it and was very impressed with the result. More pling from piano, more thwak from slapped acoustic bass, increased detail and space around performers.
Wrap a short piece of cream-colored masking tape once around the glass portion of a regular AC power fuse making sure not to touch the metal caps. I left a millimeter gap.
Wrap a short piece of cream-colored masking tape once around the glass portion of a regular AC power fuse making sure not to touch the metal caps. I left a millimeter gap.
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I have been applying blue painters tape to fuses for years, and have spoken about it here, on fuse and tweak threads. It is exactly what bdp24 has indicated. Reducing resonance. If you are brave, you can " lift " your power transformers from the chassis of any component, and place a layer of rubber, cork, or anything else with damping properties ( I have even used mouse pads ), with amazing results, with superior sq. Every transformer creates vibration, and this tweak is amazing. I am surprised so many companies do not do this in their designs. Enjoy ! MrD. |
Many transformers are sold by the manufacturers of the product, with rubber like pads. in the case of toroidals, a top and bottom pad. with the mounting plate and bolt. exhibit a And, in the older days, ie, mid to early 80’s... pioneer, jvc, etc..quite commonly used rubber mount isolated transformer platforms. Even in all the mid fi gear. Seriously. copper plated screws, the works. You could open up a mid-late 80’s POS pioneer rack system integrated..and find that exact thing inside of it. I wish I took a photo of it. I just dismembered one last month to raid it for a few parts. You’d not get $20 for it on Craigslist...but..open it up...and there it is. Double rubber mount isolated platform and large copper plated screws and shouldered mounts for the transformer. What we called mid fi back then is hi-fi extremism today. The wankers and haters have no freaking clue sometimes...These companies are not stupid and they know it is worthwhile to do these things, in some scenarios. Important. Critical, even. Billion dollar companies that squeeze nickels as a way of life...and they did this obviously expensive stuff -like breathing. So there is something to it, for sure. What the haters will say is that they did it in order to avoid electromagnetic hum induction. Which is true in one way, but it's not the whole story. |
@mrdecibel Thanks for the posts and original tweak info. The only reason I tried it was because lightning took out the preamp fuse. I've since done the same to 30mm slow blow antique fuses in my vintage tube power amps with noticeable but lesser improvement. I wonder how close the improvement is to the really expensive fuses. |
noromance, you can do a few turns of the tape, without any problems, as I feel a few turns creates better damping properties than a single turn, as long as you leave space between the glass and the end caps. As far as the upgraded fuses, some of them, such as the ceramic body fuses, are better damped, by design, but I still apply the tape. |
"I recently bought a box full of cardboard egg boxes and glued them to every inch of the ceiling in my lounge (5.6m x 7.5m x 2.6m). The difference is unbelievable, much more detailed cymbals and percussion." Uh, this is a goof right? The thought of egg crates just doesn't seem aesthetically pleasing on any level. It would overrule any sonic benefit. Diffusion/damping can be found for reasonable cost. |
Actual diffusers like say, Skyline, employ a random arrangement of protruding nodules or in some cases slots. I’ve experimented with egg cartons and sound absorbing tiles on the ceiling. I don’t think they do much of anything. Perfect example of a real placebo. Every audiophile’s dream is to use found objects that are 90% as effective as the real, expensive things. 🤗 |
The tape removes resonance, but cannot help with the bottleneck of the conductor used ,the steel element used as a conductor in the cheap buzz fuses , is 7x less conductive then a good Silver and or Copper element like the Hifi tuning Supreme fuses. Just look at metal conductivity index on resistance. That is the main reason why the top fuses sound that much clearer much less resistance , since all electricity runs through the fuses lessen the resistance 7x night and day better conductor . |
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Hell9 here is the facts just look at steel the Buzz fuse conductor vs Silver or Copper ,steel has 6X the resistance a Huge bottleneck .not only audible give the fuse 75 hours to fully settle in but for sure measurable. the facts are in the details . My self and others in our Audio group did blind testing several times and when the majority of fuses were replaced ,play x amount of songs ,then stock fuses ,the 4-6 listeners picked the high end fuses Every time . https://www.tibtech.com/conductivite.php?lang=en_US |
Ya know, the little damping dots by Marigo and Machina Dynamica, and the damping sheets by ASC (Wall Damp) and EAR (IsoDamp), may provide even better damping of the glass tube of fuses than does masking tape. Then there is the Synergistic Research PHT, for those who are willing to spend $99 to damp a fuse. |
On steel vs silver or gold fuses, here is my explanation on the theory of less resistance for higher end fuses. The whole idea behind a fuse is that heat causes the conductor to melt. If the fuse is made of silver or gold vice steel, since both silver and gold have much lower melting temperatures than steel you will require less heat to melt it. Resistance causes heat, thus less resistance is required to melt the conductor. This means you must have more material for the current to flow through for a given amperage fuse. More material with better conductivity results in less resistance and better current flow through that circuit. The only real real negative side to a silver or gold fuse is the cost you eat if the fuse blows. But if you’re blowing fuses then you probably have bigger problems. You could probably get a similar effect with copper, which is less expensive, but has a higher melting temperature than silver and gold. |
-ability to listen to music of your choice in more places -less bulk at home, facilitating Feng Shui -more free time for more useful activities as a result of minimal options to change and upgrade system parts -decreased probability of damage to the equipment due to weather-related electrical supply/connection abnormalities "A free prize to the first person to name four." If the prize is not free, it should be called merchandise. |
Actually egg cartons REALLY do work well, at least in a pro audio situation. When we converted half of my garage in England back in early 80,s to a practice room/ recording studio it always sounded hollow and harsh. I read somewhere at the time of applying egg cartons to walls and ceilings for acoustical treatment on the cheap. I used to get the wholesale size 24 count square trays not the carton. 4 large head short roofing tacks and it did not take long to fully line the walks and ceiling. What a massive transformation! I still have some demo cassette tapes we cut in that room and they still sound good to me. So although that poster may have been joking( I hope!). I can state they worked wonders in our situation. |
Those big square egg cartons have been used to tame the acoustics of garages by, yes, garage bands at least as far back as the mid-60's, when every suburban block in San Jose/Cupertino (and the rest of the South Bay) had a band practicing after high school got out for the day. Pictures suggest it was the same all over the U.S.A. Pro studios back then (before diffusers were developed) often had the walls of their control rooms covered in that white porous material with little holes drilled into it, like that I saw in school classroom ceilings. |