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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.
128x128noromance
mrdecibel
2,898 posts
 
Teo, so many pieces of gear that I have opened up, and transformer isolated / modified, did not have any such thing to isolate the transformers. It is quite sad, because for little money, it does wonders. As an example, I recently did an Adcom GFA 535 series II, and things improved dramatically.
noromance's avatar
noromance OP
9,404 posts
 
@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.
mrdecibel
2,898 posts
 
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. 
tablejockey
3,772 posts
 
"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. 
whitestix
684 posts
 
"Fuseheads" never rest, do they?  Proper isolation for a toroidal transformer, however, does make plenty of sense.  The egg crate placement is just a low end version of room treatment and may well be beneficial.  
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