Magnepan owners. Fuses or what


I read with interest that some Maggie users have removed the fuses from their speakers.  Supposedly for clarity and increased current.  I have the 3.7 model with two small fuses on the backside.  Are these the ones that get replaced?  And what goes in instead?

boxcarman

I don't own Maggies but I am a huge fan of eliminating fuses.  this is an expensive hobby and unless you are getting by on a shoestring budget, you can afford to repair things if they break.  (the fuse is there to keep equipment from failing, but doesn't always do that job).  There are 3 kinds of fuses in audio (that I can think of):

1.  Mains fuse  this fues in in the 120V main power supply line.

2.  Heater current fuses in tube amps.

3.  Fuses in the signal path to protect transformers, drivers, etc.  

The fuses in the Magnapan are the 3rd variety.  I think that fuses have no place in the signal path. while a lot of people don't agree with me about eliminating type 1 and 2 fuses above, there is generally not the fear of replacing the fuses in the Magnapan speaker that protect the drivers (usually the tweeters).

Some go so far as to rewire to totally bypass or eliminate the fuse holder, which has been criticized for being magnetic. I agree with that plan if you can but to just put a copper slug in the fuseholder will get you 98% of the benefit.

Go for it.

Jerry

Yeah but I’ve blown a fuse on an older Maggie. I suspect the fuse changing thing gets into the psychoacoustic area and I’m not willing to risk speaker damage for a placebo effect.

A fuse perhaps adds a tiny resistance to the higher currents. None to lower ones. So does every other wire and connection in the path from the amp.

I suspect this is OCD overkill stuff but would love to see someone like Amir measure it and/or some good lossless recorded comparisons.

We could always do just one speaker and with a mono sound source, compare them and then switch speakers because no two Maggies are exactly the same.  

 

 

If you have the steel jumpers change them out.  You will be very surprised at the positive change.

I replaced the fuses in my 20.7s with solid copper cylinders.  If there was any difference it wasn't big enough to notice.  If I go back to fuses maybe I will notice a bigger change.  But I don't play music that loud and I've never blown a tweeter so not really sure what I need a fuse for anyhow.  

It's not just the fuses than are sonic-degraders, it's the entire fuse block: it's filled with parts made of ferrous materials (steel). Bypass the entire fuse assemble, and install binding posts of your choice in the stock speaker-connector holes. Cardas posts slide right in.