How gullible are we?

[kena]

chebby:robborollover:Again dont laugh but I changed a 13 amp fuse to a 5 amp fuse and there was a subtle improvement but this could have been the mere fact of taking the plug out and putting it back !!

I then tried it with no fuse and again a subtle improvement, but got abit concerned I might blow something so put it back.

A 5 amp fuse (assuming it just for the hifi) is probably the correct rating unless you have some monster amp.

Using current x voltage = power (watts) then 5 amps is enough for equipment drawing up to 1200 watts before the fuse blows.

I use a 13 amp fuse on the Tacima CS929 and 5 or 3 amp fuses on everything plugged into it.

My Naim is a motest (but real) 40W per channel and it advises against anything less than 13A fuse as it may blow.

 

[Anonymous]

kena:chebby:robborollover:Again dont laugh but I changed a 13 amp fuse to a 5 amp fuse and there was a subtle improvement but this could have been the mere fact of taking the plug out and putting it back !!

I then tried it with no fuse and again a subtle improvement, but got abit concerned I might blow something so put it back.

A 5 amp fuse (assuming it just for the hifi) is probably the correct rating unless you have some monster amp.

Using current x voltage = power (watts) then 5 amps is enough for equipment drawing up to 1200 watts before the fuse blows.

I use a 13 amp fuse on the Tacima CS929 and 5 or 3 amp fuses on everything plugged into it.

My Naim is a motest (but real) 40W per channel and it advises against anything less than 13A fuse as it may blow.

I think this is more to do with current restriction than fuse blowing..............

 

[The_Lhc]

AEJim:Did you know that "gullible" isn't in the dictionary though??

Guh, ITYM "gullable"!

 

[Anonymous]

So guys are we saying then that current restriction regarding whether 5amp, 10 amp, or 13 amp will influence the sound.

Still cant work out how a audiophile fuse can cost £49.99 tho !!

 

[The_Lhc]

robborollover:
So guys are we saying then that current restriction regarding whether 5amp, 10 amp, or 13 amp will influence the sound.

I believe Trevor said it was because of the extremely thin wire that's used in the fuse, restricting the current flow. He's removed all fuses from his plugs and hardwired them (he has fuses in the conditioners and stuff for protection).

 

[Anonymous]

I found wearing black silk pants enhanced the sound profoundly...., red pants however produced an overly bright top-end..

 

[Andrew Everard]

the_lhc:He's removed all fuses from his plugs and hardwired them.

Which we have to say is not something we'd advise doing, on safety grounds, and could make for interesting conversations with both fire investigators and insurance assessors were you to have, and survive, a house-fire.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah thanks Andrew about the fire risk my exact thoughts also......................my manufacturer stipulated also it must be a 13 amp fuse only in power amp even tho only 250 watts.

 

[Anonymous]

Out of curiosity, why is it that plugs in most other countries don't have fuses?

 

[Anonymous]

Possible lower safety standards........

 

[Andrew Everard]

Not a clue, but I can imagine there'd be much sucking of teeth and muttering of 'regs is regs' if anything were to go wrong.

 

[chebby]

I remember some 20 years ago when an ex-colleague asked my advice on some new hifi.

He ended up with a Denon amp + CD player and KEF speakers and a Dual CS-505 and a Technics cassette deck.

We took the boxes back to his bedsit and I installed everything for him. I used QED 76 strand + banana plugs on the speakers and I put MK Tough-Plugs on all the mains cables. (this was before the days of manufacturers having to provide their own 3 pin plugs)

I was careful to put the recommended rating of fuses into every mains plug.

Weeks later (whilst my colleague was on holiday) his bedsit burnt down and when he returned his landlord informed him that the fire started with the new hifi !

I felt terrible/confused etc and neither of us could understand what was going on. The hifi had worked fine for weeks before the fire and my colleague knew he had switched it all off before leaving for his holiday.

About 3 days later my colleague came to work and apologised profusely. He had spoken to the insurance company and they had shown him a copy of the fire officer's report. The fire had been started by a cigarette setting fire to a bedspread/quilt.

It seems the landlord and a mate had been to the pub, got plastered and the landlord's mate was offered my colleagues bedsit (empty whilst he was on holiday) to sleep it off overnight rather than drive home. He had fallen asleep with a cigarette burning. No-one got hurt luckily but the landlord lied to my colleague - about the hifi causing the fire - to cover up for the fact he had loaned out his bedsit to a stranger without permission!

I saw my colleague's copy of the fire report and special mention was made of the fact that the hifi was about the ONLY correctly wired/fused item in the whole flat! They were very critical of all the other appliances and the state of the wiring generally.

What was nice was my colleagues insistance that I go with him to choose another new hifi when he got another flat and finally got his insurance money for his burnt belongings. (My confidence had been knocked a bit before the truth was revealed.)

The landlord also 'bunged' him a fairly substantial amount (to stop him from sueing probably!) so the next hifi was somewhat nicer

 

[idc]

I read a Russ Andrews article where he was talking about the sonic benefits of leaving a hifi on all the time. He stated that someone from the firebrigade had told him that he did not know of any house fire had found the hifi as the cause. I know of a house fire that was started by a washing machine that had been left on whilst the householder was out. It caused extensive fire and smoke damage to their house and the neighbours as it was mid terrace. However, the washing was fine! As the machine was on fire it had still completed it's cycle and rinsed and spun the clothes!

 

[Fenton Beasley]

We have RCD's in Australia so there is no need for fuses in plugs.

 

[chebby]

idc:
I read a Russ Andrews article where he was talking about the sonic benefits of leaving a hifi on all the time. He stated that someone from the firebrigade had told him that he did not know of any house fire had found the hifi as the cause.

http://www.staffordshirefire.gov.uk/ccm/content/press-releases/2009/january-2009/house-fire-in-brewood.en;jsessionid=a5jTcXw1SnPd

http://whathifi.com/forums/t/128136.aspx

Probably unusual but never say never.

 

[idc]

chebby:

Probably unusual but never say never.

The moral of the story; if it has an eletrical supply it can catch fire! For a quality listening experience I have bought this............it is a bit of a squeeze getting the Grado's under the helmet, but the sound is excellent...............as you say never say never...........

 

[Anonymous]

The same Jimmy Hughes who's spent the last 20 years listening with his speakers facing away from him.

 

[Thaiman]

ChrisMM:The same Jimmy Hughes who's spent the last 20 years listening with his speakers facing away from him.

FWIW I think mr. Hughes is very knowledgable guy (I know he, sometime ,went over board in his articles).

As for sound improvement tricks, most hifi writers are as bad as each other. Put a heavy brick on top of cd player and stuck 4 rubber balls, cut in half, underneath it also suppose to upgrade the sound! There are so many "old husband tales" out there that although it read like a load of rubbish but we still try it, just in case....now I am off to a listening section with one sock on!

 

[idc]

ChrisMM:The same Jimmy Hughes who's spent the last 20 years listening with his speakers facing away from him.

His present set up seems relatively straight forward (as gleened from Hifi+ reviewers profiles)..................

Impulse H-1 speakers with Townshend Maximum super tweeters;
2x Rel subs.
Chord Pre with Mezzo power amps;
Chord Blu CD transport with DAC-64.
Musical Fidelity MF-1 turntable with SME arm and Transfiguration Aria cartridge. Roksan ArtaXerxes phono stage.
Cables; Chord Co digital interconnects; Kimber analogue interconnects;
Townshend Isolde impedance matched speaker cables. Kimber mains with Russ Andrews mains distribution blocks + Purifier and Silencer.
Supports; Mana Phase Four table, plus Origin Live stands and a Sound Organisation table. Speakers and subs sat on Townshend Siesmic Sinks.

My recollection was that not only did he listen with the speakers facing away from him, but he also had a speaker usually used in car doors, which sat on the floor inbetween the main speakers.

 

[up the music]

It's not limited to the world of hifi either.

I've just seen some PA subs where "The arrangement is complemented by a crossover designed to enhance the performance and durability of the cabinet".

How does that work?

 

[oldleodensian]

the_lhc:

AEJim:Did you know that "gullible" isn't in the dictionary though??

Guh, ITYM "gullable"!

"Gullable" sure as heck won't be in any dictionary! Anyone want to admit to being gullible enough to check if "gullible" is in there though...

 

[up the music]

Sorry, sussed it.

They're referring to "the cabinet" as including the drive units. By the using a crossover the subs are prevented from trying to reproduce higher notes. Thus they should sound better (performance) and maybe live longer (durability).

Sometimes these things take a little thinking about. At first I thought they'd gone mad.

 

[Fenton Beasley]

Wow, you're absolutely right! Gullible isn't in the dictionary

 

[JoelSim]

All sorts of things impact on sound and many are circumstance/location related.

It's weird, but I find red wine improves sound, but beer doesn't.

 

[The_Lhc]

oldleodensian:the_lhc:

AEJim:Did you know that "gullible" isn't in the dictionary though??

Guh, ITYM "gullable"!

"Gullable" sure as heck won't be in any dictionary!

<Snicker>....