Help with fuse bypass in Magnepan 1.7i

[zenworm]

Has anyone bypassed the fuse on a 1.7i specifically? I read that it's a simple move of the wires but this wasn't the case for me. As you can see in the first photo, the yellow wire connector is stamped to the fuse box, and the yellow wire crimped on pretty tight. I gave it some decent force and it wasn't budging.

Additionally I heard the cardas small post works fine, but again this wasn't the case for me. The cardas post was slightly too large in diameter for the Magenepan wire connector to fit over.

Anyone who has done this and could offer some guidance as to how you accomplished it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Welcome to wbf. why do you wanna remove the fuse for? It’s there for a reason.

 

[Gregadd]

Void your warranty. You will need that when you blow your speakers.
Just wrap them in aluminum foil if you are hell bent on destruction.

 

[zenworm]

The fuse block contains ferrous steel and the wiring around the fuse and attenuator is not the best quality. There are also a lot of "steps" a signal has to go through that I'd like to bypass.

I saw a meaningful increase in sound quality by stepping up to better fuses, now I'd like to see the difference by bypassing it altogether. Others that have done this have said it is an incredible increase in detail.

I am aware it voids the warranty. I'm willing to take that risk and pay out of pocket for a blown ribbon. In 5 years of owning Maggies, I've never once blown a fuse, and I listen, at times, at very loud levels.

 

[DonH50]

The 1.7i does not have a separate ribbon tweeter; the speaker would have to be returned to be repaired.

Back when I was a tech replacing the fuse with a solid wire or bypassing it by soldering the wires together was somewhat popular for a while (and not just for Maggies). Gave me a lot of business, and the warranty does not cover stupidity.

"Incredible increase in detail" sounds like hyperbole stemming from perception bias.

Don't forget to replace the crossover, because if you can "hear" the fuse the crossover's "sound" will be much, much greater, and you still have all those thin traces bonded to the panel that make up the actual "voice coil" of the speaker (not really a coil for a planer dynamic speaker).

Why not just get a larger eyelet or just solder the wire to the post?

 

[zenworm]

Yeah I think unfortunately given how the wire to the fuse box is crimped and stamped, I'd have to cut and resolder. I'm fine with a reversible change of wires, but not keen on cutting and resoldering, so might just skip this mod and live with my upgraded fuses.

 

[steve_o]

Another way to bypass the fuse is to wrap the fuse with copper foil.

 

[Davetea]

Another way to bypass the fuse is to wrap the fuse with copper foil.

That is the worst of all methods! You still have the crappy fuse, and now you have an impure piece of copper, as well! VERY bad idea, IMO.

 

[Davetea]

Yeah I think unfortunately given how the wire to the fuse box is crimped and stamped, I'd have to cut and resolder. I'm fine with a reversible change of wires, but not keen on cutting and resoldering, so might just skip this mod and live with my upgraded fuses.

No, it's easy peasy - remove the connector (the black one from the bottom of the fuse holder, but at the binding post side) then replace the eylet of the black wire with an eyelet with a male spede connector, then plug the yellow wire straight onto that - job done, and VERY easy to go back to standard.
Also, while you're there, bypass the tweeter resistor/jumper arrangement completely, if you're not using a resistor that is, to gain another step in,,, blah blah blah - you get the idea! That jumper is a solid piece of cruddy metal, which if replaced with a short length of decent speaker wire, will give good sound improvements.
But the BEST idea is to just move, (the terminals/spades are already there) the yellow wire to the top left terminal, and you'll do both jobs at the same time, and is fully and easily reversible. You can leave all the other wires in place.

 

[steve_o]

That is the worst of all methods! You still have the crappy fuse, and now you have an impure piece of copper, as well! VERY bad idea, IMO.

It's a bypass. If someone is not comfortable using a soldering iron, they can try this experiment very quickly. I do not do this myself, because I would rather not risk damaging the tweeters without a fuse in place.

 

[Davetea]

It's a bypass. If someone is not comfortable using a soldering iron, they can try this experiment very quickly. I do not do this myself, because I would rather not risk damaging the tweeters without a fuse in place.

It is NOT a bypass if the fuse is still active, then you wrap it with a crummy piece of copper foil! It's only a bypass if you 'blow' the fuse itself first, then wrap it. Your suggestion is THE worst suggestion in this topic.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Has anyone bypassed the fuse on a 1.7i specifically? I read that it's a simple move of the wires but this wasn't the case for me. As you can see in the first photo, the yellow wire connector is stamped to the fuse box, and the yellow wire crimped on pretty tight. I gave it some decent force and it wasn't budging.

Additionally I heard the cardas small post works fine, but again this wasn't the case for me. The cardas post was slightly too large in diameter for the Magenepan wire connector to fit over.

Anyone who has done this and could offer some guidance as to how you accomplished it?

Thanks in advance!

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View attachment 86644View attachment 86645

Looking at the pictures, you won't be able to do that without some hardware work required.

Cardas binding posts: as previously stated, you need a larger eyelet to fit them. You will need to resolder them.

If you are absolutely sure you want to bypass the fuse just solder the yellow wire straight to the bottom left eyelet. Strongly advise you not to do that, but it's your call.

 

[FLEMKE]

Everything attached to the speaker is low quality. This is my upgrade done 5 years ago.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Everything attached to the speaker is low quality. This is my upgrade done 5 years ago.

Very tidy and very good components. Excellent job! Is that a ribbon coil from Jantzen?

 

[FLEMKE]

Very tidy and very good components. Excellent job! Is that a ribbon coil from Jantzen?

Thanks! I did that work 5 years ago. The coil is Goertz.

 

[AMR / iFi audio]

Thanks! I did that work 5 years ago. The coil is Goertz.

Solid work. How would you describe the difference after the mod?

 

[Davetea]

Thanks! I did that work 5 years ago. The coil is Goertz.

Great job, can you say what the values are please.