[BShaw]

Well done B....there can only be improvement! Mind you of course, no fuse or SDFB/MCB at all is best...but not an option for safety reasons needless to say, unless sufficient/correct rating CB protection is provided by a mains conditioner/filter power supply! So in your case, after previously removing your protection completely and in comparison, you should be able to then see (hear!) the difference from removing the IEC socket and plug (although now also with the SDFB in place) . It will actually be very interesting to hear your results regarding this, as mine came from removing fuse and IEC connection at the same time.

GOOD LUCK!

Mod is done, not the prettiest thing I ever did but it looks functionally fine. hardest part really was pairing down 9ga silver coated copper to around 12ga so it would slip through the board. I could have drilled out the board slowly but it's risky. The cable is Grey Knight Energy MK2, now wired direct to the amp with the SDFB in the circuit. This wouldn't be hard at all to reverse since I didn't even alter any of the internal wiring, will give it a run tomorrow and see if it's made any difference.

 

[MattSPL]

Mod is done, not the prettiest thing I ever did but it looks functionally fine. hardest part really was pairing down 9ga silver coated copper to around 12ga so it would slip through the board. I could have drilled out the board slowly but it's risky. The cable is Grey Knight Energy MK2, now wired direct to the amp with the SDFB in the circuit. This wouldn't be hard at all to reverse since I didn't even alter any of the internal wiring, will give it a run tomorrow and see if it's made any difference.

Nice work, I look forward to hearing the results.

Xangsane silver slugs for my DAC and Dsp arrived today. I’ll be doing MCB mods, but have tried the Slug in my Dac to see how it performs and it’s definitely improved things over an SR Purple.

 

[Zhon]

Just replaced a placeholder Bojack fuse (20 cents on Amazon) with a used QSA Light Blue ($60) in my Aries G1 streamer with the upgraded Horwege PSU. The Bojack fuse was slightly slow and restricted all the time and produced a 'honeyed' sound: bass was slightly goopy, treble was soft (though easy on ears, probably was a roll-off), and mids were slightly boring at best. It was a good style of sound to fall asleep to.

The QSA is more dynamic. Tighter bass, more open and distinct midrange, and more detailed treble. Cleaner stage and imaging. Close to transparent, though not quite disappearing. Much better than stock though. Not as organic, musical, and refined as the M-2, maybe 80% there. More linear and 'neutral' than the M-2.

Follow-up edit: After a few hours of listening, and swapping back and forth between stock and QSA light blue, I noticed the treble of the QSA has an etch to it, even though it is more detailed over stock. Stock fuse treble is less refined but at least it is not exaggerated.

Verdict: Imparts a clean, no-nonsense sound. Not as 'took my breath away' as was with the M-2 fuse, but is much cheaper. Slight etchiness/exaggeration in high frequencies.

 

[hypnos1]

Nice work, I look forward to hearing the results.

Xangsane silver slugs for my DAC and Dsp arrived today. I’ll be doing MCB mods, but have tried the Slug in my Dac to see how it performs and it’s definitely improved things over an SR Purple.

Look forward to the results of your MCB mods and comparison perhaps with the SDFB?

I have just connected a 3B one (Square D) in-line to my Vincent integrated in place of its 3.15T fuse. And already with just a cursory listen and before obvious burn-in that the MCB will need, I'm absolutely hooked on this method of protection...and all for just £7, with no need for any additional cabling - miraculous! Next in line will be my Ferrum Hypsos PSU feeding mscaler & TT2...and anything else that uses darned fuses lol!! .

As with yourself, the first try had it occasionally tripping on startup inrush...no surprise really given the fuse rating, but better safe than sorry to begin with. Might go for a higher/different rate MCB - being so cheap one can take real care finding the perfect one - but leaving the amp switched 'on' and, as for the hp amp, using the ASF 3000 Mains Conditioner/Filter supply to actually power on and off, its soft-start function avoids the trip...at the moment! The Vincent's IEC looks very impressive and has a 0.1 microfarad cap attached, so might just leave well alone and not dispense with it...for now at least.

Thanks for your own encouraging initial result boosting my confidence in giving this alternative method a try...for any DIYers out there this must be one of the best no-brainer tweaks out there lol!! ...CHEERS!

 

[MattSPL]

Look forward to the results of your MCB mods and comparison perhaps with the SDFB?

I have just connected a 3B one (Square D) in-line to my Vincent integrated in place of its 3.15T fuse. And already with just a cursory listen and before obvious burn-in that the MCB will need, I'm absolutely hooked on this method of protection...and all for just £7, with no need for any additional cabling - miraculous! Next in line will be my Ferrum Hypsos PSU feeding mscaler & TT2...and anything else that uses darned fuses lol!! .

As with yourself, the first try had it occasionally tripping on startup inrush...no surprise really given the fuse rating, but better safe than sorry to begin with. Might go for a higher/different rate MCB - being so cheap one can take real care finding the perfect one - but leaving the amp switched 'on' and, as for the hp amp, using the ASF 3000 Mains Conditioner/Filter supply to actually power on and off, its soft-start function avoids the trip...at the moment! The Vincent's IEC looks very impressive and has a 0.1 microfarad cap attached, so might just leave well alone and not dispense with it...for now at least.

Thanks for your own encouraging initial result boosting my confidence in giving this alternative method a try...for any DIYers out there this must be one of the best no-brainer tweaks out there lol!! ...CHEERS!

Great to hear your MCB mod worked out.
Initially I had the C type MCB’s on my active speakers, but they would trip regularly when powering on.
The D type MCB’s arrived a couple of days ago and so far so good with no tripping issues.

I can’t really compare the MCB to the SDFB as they used in different places, but both brought really nice results.

It will be a while before I can do the MCB mod to my DAC and DSP as I’m going to make a 4 way extension block with MCB’s built in, wired to Schuko sockets. I need to get all the parts for it.
I did try the Xangsane slug in my DAC though and this is really impressive again.

 

[hypnos1]

Great to hear your MCB mod worked out.
Initially I had the C type MCB’s on my active speakers, but they would trip regularly when powering on.
The D type MCB’s arrived a couple of days ago and so far so good with no tripping issues.

I can’t really compare the MCB to the SDFB as they used in different places, but both brought really nice results.

It will be a while before I can do the MCB mod to my DAC and DSP as I’m going to make a 4 way extension block with MCB’s built in, wired to Schuko sockets. I need to get all the parts for it.
I did try the Xangsane slug in my DAC though and this is really impressive again.

Glad the D type did the trick. And what a brilliant idea to build MCBs into an extension block...so long as you know what ratings you need, or a 'quick fit' system lol?

A question - with CB/SDFB protection, why the need for a 'slug' and not simply a nice piece of such as Neotech UP-OCC solid silver wire wedged in as jumper?

 

[MattSPL]

Glad the D type did the trick. And what a brilliant idea to build MCBs into an extension block...so long as you know what ratings you need, or a 'quick fit' system lol?

A question - with CB/SDFB protection, why the need for a 'slug' and not simply a nice piece of such as Neotech UP-OCC solid silver wire wedged in as jumper?

You could use anything as a slug, but I’d be concerned about not getting as good contact if the piece of wire wasn’t the same size and tight fit.

You could possibly get something like a 3mm or 4mm carbon fibre tube and wrap it a few times in something like a piece of stripped, Neotech LEST-20 which is flat OCC Silver wire?

 

[BShaw]

Glad the D type did the trick. And what a brilliant idea to build MCBs into an extension block...so long as you know what ratings you need, or a 'quick fit' system lol?

A question - with CB/SDFB protection, why the need for a 'slug' and not simply a nice piece of such as Neotech UP-OCC solid silver wire wedged in as jumper?

I would go a step further and solder a piece of 12-14ga wire directly to the back of the IEC between the load and neutral studs, first gently filing the plating off to expose the base metal, which hopefully is copper.

 

[Ufanco]

Love seeing the mods to the SDFB, now that I have put some hours into the slugs loving the improvements I’m hearing on my system. Currently have the Ares II and the MP-701 MK2 Tube Preamp Pre Amplifier sharing one SDFB. The other SDFB is being used on the Wells Audio tube amp.

Still need to figure out better options than using adapters but for now, everything is working and the system sound has improved so super happy with this upgrade. On another forum, someone mentioned the Rigid Power 3 Hub since it uses copper strips for connecting everything inside. Might pick up on to try.

With my gear and age I haven’t noticed much difference between using slugs with or without the SDFB so this works great for me. I have the protection of the SDFB along with the improved sound quality of using slugs. Down the road, I will try out some better-quality power cords to see if I hear improvements in quality.

 

[hypnos1]

OK guys...final update on my own use of MCBs in place of fuses.

After 24hrs on my 2A (B curve) MCB in place of a 1.6T (HIFiTuning fuse) for the Ferrum Hypsos PSU feeding 15V to Chord's mscaler/TT2 as DAC/preamp out to the Cen.Grand "Silver Fox" hp amp, it's yet another revelation as to just how much (good) equipment is held back by these bottlenecks...much more so than I ever fully realised. Now, in addition to the improvements mentioned previously, the overall impression is one of a purity of sound that goes beyond mere greater 'clarity'. And the latter extends also into the area of note decay and reverb/echo, further enhancing spatial effects in my SS amp to a degree that matches any of my top tier tubes of the past...without the assistance of controversial/excessive tube 'coloring' .

I could go on and on about the significant benefits to performance delivery, but most have been covered already by different folks. And although my hp amp benefited more from this tweak, the measly £5 I spent on Hypsos's MCB (an ebay UK 'pre-owned' Merlin Gerin that actually looked unused) represents by far the best bang-for-buck tweak I've ever managed to achieve. To say I'm mightily - and pleasantly surprised is an understatement to be sure lol .

I wish you all equal joy with your own dealings in removing/minimising the effects of this ubiquitous performance gremlin/enemy!!

 

[MattSPL]

OK guys...final update on my own use of MCBs in place of fuses.

After 24hrs on my 2A (B curve) MCB in place of a 1.6T (HIFiTuning fuse) for the Ferrum Hypsos PSU feeding 15V to Chord's mscaler/TT2 as DAC/preamp out to the Cen.Grand "Silver Fox" hp amp, it's yet another revelation as to just how much (good) equipment is held back by these bottlenecks...much more so than I ever fully realised. Now, in addition to the improvements mentioned previously, the overall impression is one of a purity of sound that goes beyond mere greater 'clarity'. And the latter extends also into the area of note decay and reverb/echo, further enhancing spatial effects in my SS amp to a degree that matches any of my top tier tubes of the past...without the assistance of controversial/excessive tube 'coloring' .

I could go on and on about the significant benefits to performance delivery, but most have been covered already by different folks. And although my hp amp benefited more from this tweak, the measly £5 I spent on Hypsos's MCB (an ebay UK 'pre-owned' Merlin Gerin that actually looked unused) represents by far the best bang-for-buck tweak I've ever managed to achieve. To say I'm mightily - and pleasantly surprised is an understatement to be sure lol .

I wish you all equal joy with your own dealings in removing/minimising the effects of this ubiquitous performance gremlin/enemy!!

Great description of the MCB’s effect on the way the music is presented. This is exactly what I’m hearing too.

 

[BShaw]

Great description of the MCB’s effect on the way the music is presented. This is exactly what I’m hearing too.

Matt and Hypnos - do you have a suggested brand of quality MCBs? I'm in the US so maybe this isn't something that you can answer, but I don't know if there are better quality products and I'd like to implement this on a few of my "boxes".

 

[hypnos1]

Matt and Hypnos - do you have a suggested brand of quality MCBs? I'm in the US so maybe this isn't something that you can answer, but I don't know if there are better quality products and I'd like to implement this on a few of my "boxes".

Hi B.

I'm more than happy with my Square D and Merlin Gerin Multi9 (now by Schneider) - both 'pre-owned' but look like new. And at £7 and £5 (incl free delivery) respectively represent an absolute steal! The latter came (the next day) from circuit breaker specialists on ebay UK who, I think, also deliver free internationally. And as it appears MCBs rated 240V are fine for 120V, there should be plenty of choice - perfectly good 'pre-owned' ones at great prices...no need whatsoever IMHO to pay some of the ridiculous prices out there lol!

Other good quality makers are such as Eaton, Hager, GE, Siemens etc., but often at prices I personally regard as unnecessarily high. I myself made sure they're of the design with inlet and outlet from top and bottom for ease of connection.

Good luck with your own projects...my own have achieved tremendous results for absolute peanuts. Must have saved a good few hundreds of ££££s.

 

[MattSPL]

Matt and Hypnos - do you have a suggested brand of quality MCBs? I'm in the US so maybe this isn't something that you can answer, but I don't know if there are better quality products and I'd like to implement this on a few of my "boxes".

If you want to go all out, I’d look at these type. I use a Gigawatt MCB in my consumer unit, which appears to be a rebranded carling D series

https://www.carlingtech.com/hydraulic-magnetic-circuit-breakers

The more regular types would include Hager, ABB, Siemens and Allen Bradley(which is physically identical to ABB except the switch colour.
Currently using ABB on my speakers.

 

[BShaw]

If you want to go all out, I’d look at these type. I use a Gigawatt MCB in my consumer unit, which appears to be a rebranded carling D series

https://www.carlingtech.com/hydraulic-magnetic-circuit-breakers

The more regular types would include Hager, ABB, Siemens and Allen Bradley(which is physically identical to ABB except the switch colour.
Currently using ABB on my speakers.

Those look excellent, thanks to both of you. The M series looks very compact, that’s the one I’m inclined to go with.