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I was listening to different firmware versions on my DAC and a fuse blew during an upload. Are there any local places in the DC area that have these in stock? Radioshack does not carry them anymore, they basically just sell cellphones and cases at this point.

I got a couple off Amazon that will arrive Saturday but I want to get these replaced as soon as possible to see if this was some odd fluke or if something really went bad?

You might also check your local auto parts stores....

Roscoe

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I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you.

Well it appears to be an issue with the older firmware version I was trying to audition. It would initialize but the first time I restarted the DAC, the digital board fuse would blow.

At this point, I said screw it and took the 1A analogue board fuse (which was working fine) and placed it in the digital board and then placed a 5A fuse (I know, I know but the analogue board was working fine) and reinitialized/restarted with current firmware. It works fine and has been restarted a couple times now, no hiccups. I am glad I dont have a $4k paperweight. Will pop in a 1A fuse in the analogue board when they arrive tomorrow but for now I am enjoying all the extra oomph I am getting from that big 5A fuse in the analogue board.

Hey, hey! Since putting in the 5A fuese in place of the 1A fuse gave you all that extra oomph, why not replace your 15 amp household circuit breakers with 70 amp ones, your 20 amp ones with 100 amp ones, and your 200 amp main with a 1000 amp one? Think of all that extra oomph!

Danger, Danger Will Robinson!

Seriously, if fuse size makes an audible difference, and it may, the wire gauge is awfully tiny, How feasible would it be to have a large gauge wire (say, #12 AWG), run through a toroid to trip a relay when the current passes a certain threshold?

Does this exist? I'm guessing that it does, but may be quite expensive. Kind of like a circuit breaker, but adjustable to the users' needed threshold and without the thermal trip.

I'm going to regret this post, I know it.

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Stuart,
The PWD II comes from the factory with some type of fancy audiophile fuse (gold caps and a cermic body). I think the glass fuse in the analogue board sounds in the direction of a little leaner/faster/more extended than the audiophile fuse which was smoother. I did feel there is a subtle but audible difference.

As a neuroscientist, I am very skeptical of the statement made above.

I have no intention of A/B'ing fuses and at best the difference is very small. But I do like the look of a nice, shiny glass fuse compared to the ceramic body on the audiophile fuse. And if the glass fuse blows, you can see it and not have to break out a voltmeter like with the ceramic fuse. The wire in the fuse is TINY, you can barely see it.

Since it is a slowblow fuse, I wonder if a breaker would be about as fast?

In any event, DAC works perfectly know so something about the earlier firmware was causing the digital board to pull more current at startup?

[quote="TubeDriver"][/img]
I did feel there is a subtle but audible difference.

The wire in the fuse is TINY, you can barely see it.

Since it is a slowblow fuse, I wonder if a breaker would be about as fast?]


Fuses are very fast acting, but a circuit breaker CAN be fast as well. Standard household circuit breakers are inverse time, effectively slow-blow. The greater the current, the faster the trip. 21 amps on a twenty amp breaker may never trip, or it may take days, depends on a lot like the ambient temperature around the breaker, temperature of adjacent breakers, how good the bus connection is, etc.

BUT, if you are building an audiophile breaker, it can be "programmable", to suit immediate and changing needs. Use high quality relay contacts, Cardas Litz wire, if that floats your boat, etc. for the signal. Run it though a toroid and monitor the current. Set trip levels and time delay as you like.

I'm sure the smart guys on here can do it with their eyes closed. I've a couple of crude ideas.....

BTW: GFCI circuit breakers and receptacles use such a scheme (toroid) and trip with differential currents of 4-6mA and with trip times of under 1/10th of a second. So it can be done

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Walt

Is the sand supposed to damp the fuse element?

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Walt