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  1. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    Skin effect is real enough, though a problem at frequencies well (decades) above audio, but I do not recall in decades of dealing with it on my day job that skin effect itself induces directionality. But it has already been said that science, math, physics, theory and all that jazz is...
  2. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    As much as adding any other sort of super-duper expensive directional fuse?
  3. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    Drift velocity is very, very low, see e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drift_velocity -- that article lists about 23 um/s for 1 A in a copper wire. It depends upon both the current and voltage difference unless the wire is superconducting. But for AC, they move back and forth, there is...
  4. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    The whole Al wire panel thing was a disaster that took years to undo with copper pigtails and proper Al/Cu interfaces for service inlets and panels. I am sure there still many, many of them out there. I had power conditioners in mind as part of the problem masking the real (underlying) issue...
  5. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    It might have been interesting to loosen and retighten connections on the original panel just to ensure oxidation and/or reduced contact pressure did not cause higher connection impedance that led to the sonic differences. Nice job with the panels! I think a lot of 'philes spend a lot of effort...
  6. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    I can't speak to "sonic gain" and such, but the rest of it is (ahem) sound advice. The safety ground is also important. One thing nobody ever does is to go back every few years and retighten all the connections in the service and inspect outlets, especially those subjected to high current...
  7. DonH50

    Tinnitus Resulting from Covid or Vaccines

    Just saw this; my best wishes for a full recovery, Dave! My wife and brother are still suffering long covid symptoms to varying degrees after several years now, and I know some folk who have had severe reactions to the vaccines, so have some feel of how hard it is to deal with. Not sure where...
  8. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    Going by this: You said "the signal moving toward the wall" (way from the speaker) can be ignored, yet current flows in a loop, so in any two-terminal device such as a speaker the current that goes in must come out. If you break the loop, no current flows, so I do not see how you can say the...
  9. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    Since you were conflating "wall" and "speaker" wires for directions I was confused. So you are saying that, for any two wires (planes, conductors, whatever) completing a circuit anywhere in the system, the fuse only matters if it is in the "positive" wire, where the (AC) signal flows "toward"...
  10. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    The AC wires for wall power coming into an amplifier are decoupled from the speakers by the power supply. There is virtually no relation between the wall power and the signal for any competently designed amplifier operated within its design specs. Current exists in a loop, see Maxwell's...
  11. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    There are cables (low-level and speaker) that include networks at one end, and those networks are generally meant to be at either the source or load end, so checking is a good idea. Some pro audio cables, typically patch cables, include arrows not for directionality but to indicate which end is...
  12. DonH50

    Tube pre amplifiers

    Sorry, I have no idea the internal circuits without looking at a schematic, so your best bet is to ask them. Balanced does not always mean fully differential, which requires more devices for tube preamplifiers (and SS, but the extra devices are usually buried inside ICs). You can always get a...
  13. DonH50

    Tube pre amplifiers

    If you are looking for more "tube sound" then balanced, or at least differential, connections may not be the best choice. Unless you have very long interconnect runs, and noise or ground loop problems, my opinion is that unbalanced would better provide the sound you desire. The structure of...
  14. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    Measurement error is not real? DBT's do not yield useful info? We must have attended different classes and had much different experience over the years on the scientific method and testing methodologies. In any event, since you've descended to insults again, I'll stop now. The one thing we agree...
  15. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    There are several reasons for this, here are a few of the bigger ones IME: 1. Older equipment sometimes connected the neutral ("ground") prong directly to chassis, or through a small resistor, to provide shielding. Before polar plugs and outlets were required, it was common to try the...
  16. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    Sorry, missed it among the chaff. But I was really going down the "proof of listening" DBT path that is so maligned.
  17. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    There is a random element in any measurement. Nothing is perfect, including a measurement system. It has finite resolution, dynamic range, accuracy, and precision, plus there will be run-to-run variances that should be assessed through multiple trials and such. IIRC the absolute accuracy and...
  18. DonH50

    Fuse and Cable Directionality

    The measured difference is tiny and somewhat random as one would expect making milliohm resistance measurements. It will be swamped by differences in connectors and cables to the speakers. In general to reduce voltage (IR, current times resistance) drop you'd want the largest conductor, thus...
  19. DonH50

    Magnepans 1.6 no sound

    Double check the cables and all connections with the integrated amp turned off. If you have an ohm meter, or know someone who does, you can see if an internal connection is broken inside the Maggies. It is strange that both speakers would have died at the same time, however, making me wonder if...
  20. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    Short answer: I don't know. But note the transformer's max input spec does not matter unless you are pushing it; what you need to know is the voltage required at the input of your amp to produce full-scale output. Transformers get very nonlinear (distorted) when overdriven so applying no more...
  21. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    Yes to the voltage, with the caveat that amplifiers typically deliver more voltage (with higher distortion) than their rated specifications. As for ESLs, older Quads would not handle a lot of power, but I have not kept up with their current line. Sound Labs, Sanders, perhaps other ESLs can...
  22. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    400 W into 8 ohms is 56.57 Vrms and given 28 dB(25.12 V/V) gain requires 2.25 V for full-scale output. I would try the DAC's 2 V output setting. That provides 399 W, barely under rated spec, without overdriving or significantly underdriving the amplifier. Using 0.6 V only provides 28 W from the...
  23. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    What is the input sensitivity of your amplifier? The equations get a little complicated, but I'd start by choosing the DAC output that most closely matches the amp's rated input, erring on a little more voltage from the DAC.
  24. DonH50

    How Does the Output Voltage of DAC Affect the System's Sound Quality? Does it Matter if One is Using a Quality Preamp?

    Specs for audio components are usually Vrms (and Arms for current). Power is normally average power in W (there's no such thing as rms power). The noise floor is often a lower limit on DAC performance, so the only practical way to provide higher SNR and SINAD (~THD+N) is to increase the output...
  25. DonH50

    It Finally Happened: Not One, but TWO Heart Attacks

    Scary tale, glad you are recovering!
  26. DonH50

    ARC SP-6A Tube Preamp

    I doubt an extra 10~20% in capacitance is enough, may be something else going on. Without tools and techie knowledge it may be hard to figure out the root cause; it may be a combination of things. Could even be tubes drawing a little more current that, added to everything else, is just enough to...
  27. DonH50

    ARC SP-6A Tube Preamp

    A bit of technical babbling, got long, sorry, but may be helpful for some. Many DIY mod folk do not realize adding a lot of decoupling (power supply) capacitance also increases the current and places stress on the power supply. In addition to blowing fuses, regulators (SS or tube), wiring and...
  28. DonH50

    Benchmark ABH2 Mono Block Configuration

    Ah, I was looking at your comment from the wrong perspective. The actual (speaker) load impedance does not change; the impedance at the speaker terminals is the same whether the amp is bridged or not. I agree, the effective load seen by the amplifier does change, however, and is halved. I...
  29. DonH50

    Benchmark ABH2 Mono Block Configuration

    Bridging doubles the output impedance, not halves it, but yes damping factor is halved. DF = Zload/Zamp and Zamp is doubled. For short peaks most clipping is voltage-based IME.
  30. DonH50

    Benchmark ABH2 Mono Block Configuration

    I used one many years ago and have touched on them now and then since but not recently. They are very reliable, old-school amps (heavy and hot). Sonically they bested Crown that was all the rage for high power back then and also Phase Linear (the least-reliable amp I have ever owned). Bryston is...

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