You know where I get the fuses for my amp? AutoZone. $3 for 6. I tend to blow one once a week if I power it off and on again too fast while messing with connections. $50 is crazy.
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I recently got my Quad II amps restored. They appear to be quite early, from the era when the amps were made and used in mono, though I haven't verified what year. Through a stupid move on my part, one of the fuses cracked-(the fuse holders are original- they conceal the end of the fuse but don't fully protect it). When I managed to extract it, and pulled the fuse from the other amp, they had the markings of the original fuses supplied with the amps- Belling Lee. I speculate that those fuses may have been in the amps since the '50s, when they were built. I replaced them with Littelfuse pieces of the original spec--I guess they aren't "original" in the purist sense, but it's a good quality fuse. A five pack was $1.68. I suppose, like anything else in this hobby, you can look for any slight improvement - current passes through these things, so it is part of the power supply, and just like other things, may yield an improvement, I don't know. (I do know that some audiophiles advocate "audiophile" fuses but never crossed that bridge simply because other things were more important). For example, with these amps, I sought out a matched quartet of original GEC KT-66 tubes, along with other period tubes. That, to me, was money well spent. The amps sound glorious on the Quad ESL. (Second system). |
I’ve turned my equipment on and off as much as anyone here and I’ve never had a fuse blow on me.This is what happens to a fuse over many switch on surges. Same fuse 5 different ageing periods, it hardens, carbonises, distorts it’s straight (new) shape because of flexing and will blow in the end. And it’s the only reason a fuse can sound better when changed. Is that when you change one that’s on the right that’s seen many switch on surges for just a brand new one of the same. https://i.stack.imgur.com/0uqWX.jpg Cheers George |
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