OK. Maggie owners...

[Nick B]

Why not eliminate the Fuse in everything we use ? I can attest to the fact that a copper,silver or graphene slug makes your speaker or component sound better. IMHO the fuse at the IEC is a regulation for UL approval and not safety. Internal fuses though must remain for safety. My 2 cents.


charles

I've not dabbled in fuses yet, so have no idea if they'd make a positive difference or not. But I might give it a go soon. I would have to see what's out there and what is reasonably priced.

[Admin]

Why not eliminate the Fuse in everything we use ? I can attest to the fact that a copper,silver or graphene slug makes your speaker or component sound better. IMHO the fuse at the IEC is a regulation for UL approval and not safety. Internal fuses though must remain for safety. My 2 cents.


charles

I was looking at a tube amp recently that had the Swiss Digital Fuse Box installed. Just started reading up on it a bit. Do you have any experience with that product or anything similar, and if so, what are your thoughts?

Nick

[rollo]

Yes it works very well. However at a cost. Reason I tried slugs. I have had tubes melt transformers, caps blown, power surges, NEVER did a fuse save a thing.
BTW reason Chinese Components use a Wall wart. They avoid the UL fuse requirement. Get it yet ?


charles

[Nick B]

Yes it works very well. However at a cost. Reason I tried slugs. I have had tubes melt transformers, caps blown, power surges, NEVER did a fuse save a thing.
BTW reason Chinese Components use a Wall wart. They avoid the UL fuse requirement. Get it yet ?


charles

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have only replaced a couple of fuses in all these years. So every IEC has a fuse in or near it and that is the fuse that can be replaced by a Sluggo? And all internal fuses stay in place... yes?

[mresseguie]

Hi, guys!

I've used an Icepower 1200AS2 Class D based amp <assembled by that guy in Canada who reputedly disappeared with people's money> for several years now. He offered to bypass the fuse upon request (I did so.). It's been trouble free all these years. I'm finally replacing it in a week. It's been powering my 82.5dB Fritz LS/5-R speakers in Taiwan.

[Nick B]

Hi, guys!

I've used an Icepower 1200AS2 Class D based amp <assembled by that guy in Canada who reputedly disappeared with people's money> for several years now. He offered to bypass the fuse upon request (I did so.). It's been trouble free all these years. I'm finally replacing it in a week. It's been powering my 82.5dB Fritz LS/5-R speakers in Taiwan.

Hi Michael,

I think I had the same amp for a while or a very similar version. There was a guy over at AC who made an amp called the Mivera. I think he was banned over there. Is that what you're talking about?
Nick

[Jack]

I've still got  one Mike's amps boxed up in a storage unit.

[Nick B]

I've still got  one Mike's amps boxed up in a storage unit.

My recollection was that I replaced the Mivera with the AVA SET 120 Control amp and what a nice improvement that was. Thanks for the suggestion!

[mresseguie]

Good morning, Nick & Jack! It's 8:05 on Sunday morning here, and I've just started my first cup of coffee.

Yes, it's one of the Mivera amps. My Fritz LS/5-R speakers are so inefficient that I had to get a 'monster power' amp in front of them to persuade them to sing. It actually sounds okay with these speakers, and it's very cool running, but I'm on the verge of moving to new speakers which are less needy of such raw power. The Mivera amp will go to a friend here who will happily put it to use.

I'm scheduled for a two-hour speaker audition this afternoon. The audio shop specializes in Fyne Audio (F1-8, F1-10S, and the 500 and 700 series) and Accuphase gear. Rather than waiting for prey to walk in off the street, they schedule 2-hour private sessions for prospective customers. Real estate in Taipei is trememndously expensive, so this showroom isn't much larger than my master bedroom in Oregon. Even so, there's a decent selection of Fyne speakers, and a nearly full corrall of Accuphase gear. I'm not quite reday to buy their expensive Accuphase amps, but I don't mind basking in their glow for a couple of hours.

Imported speakers (like the Fyne) tend to be ~20% to 25% more expensive here than in the US because of an import duty intended to protect the domestic market. Of course, this means the domestic audio manufacturers charge ~20% more to reap higher profits.   

I'll primarily listen to the F1-8 standmount model today. A couple days after I was scheduled for this audition, I fortuitously discovered a pair of Daedalus Audio Muse speakers for sale in the US. They're on hold pending my decision. I've spent upwards of two years searching for a used pair of the Muse to ship here. (I had actually found a fellow in Virginia who had been toying with the idea of selling his pair a year ago, but he apparently decided to keep them for a second system.)  After this audition, I'll ponder whether I want to go the easy or more difficult route to acquire new speakers for our home in Taiwan.

[Nick B]

Hi Michael,

How did the speaker audition go? Charles has mentioned the Fyne speakers a couple of times. The guy who was the president of the Vegas audiophile club that I belonged to some years ago had an Accuphase amp. It looked beautiful and sounded great. Would love to try one, but even very pricey on the used market and probably too large and heavy for me anyway.

Did you make a decision on the Daedalus Muse?

[mresseguie]

Nick,

The Fyne F1-8 sound pretty nice. Their big brothers, the F1-8S, sounded almost the same. I had expected a bigger difference. Perhaps it was the very small demo room - smaller than a child's bedroom! I don't know if the culprit was the very small room or the speakers themselves, but the imaging was not especially 3D. I get better imaging from my Fritz LS/5-R speakers. Even at the discounted price, the standmounts are $10k, so I'm not exactly rushing to buy them.

I'm still trying to get better information regarding import duties, and whether I can avoid them, but I will very likely buy the Muse. Even with shipping charges and possible import duties, they will cost ~$2k USD less than buying the F1-8 here. I already know I love how they sound, and I'll have the unique bragging rights to having the only pair on the island. 

The 'wall' of Accuphase gear was most impressive. There's a heck of a lot of expensive gear tucked into that small showroom.   

[Nick B]

Nick,

The Fyne F1-8 sound pretty nice. Their big brothers, the F1-8S, sounded almost the same. I had expected a bigger difference. Perhaps it was the very small demo room - smaller than a child's bedroom! I don't know if the culprit was the very small room or the speakers themselves, but the imaging was not especially 3D. I get better imaging from my Fritz LS/5-R speakers. Even at the discounted price, the standmounts are $10k, so I'm not exactly rushing to buy them.

I'm still trying to get better information regarding import duties, and whether I can avoid them, but I will very likely buy the Muse. Even with shipping charges and possible import duties, they will cost ~$2k USD less than buying the F1-8 here. I already know I love how they sound, and I'll have the unique bragging rights to having the only pair on the island. 

The 'wall' of Accuphase gear was most impressive. There's a heck of a lot of expensive gear tucked into that small showroom. 

The small sized room must've been a disappointment, but it's understandable because of the value of the land. If you get the Muse, that size speaker would work well in your new location?

[Jack]

Though the Muse is the smallest speaker in their lineup it's still a pretty big speaker based on the specs on the website.

[mresseguie]

Nick,

The Fyne F1-8 sound pretty nice. Their big brothers, the F1-8S, sounded almost the same. I had expected a bigger difference. Perhaps it was the very small demo room - smaller than a child's bedroom! I don't know if the culprit was the very small room or the speakers themselves, but the imaging was not especially 3D. I get better imaging from my Fritz LS/5-R speakers. Even at the discounted price, the standmounts are $10k, so I'm not exactly rushing to buy them.

I'm still trying to get better information regarding import duties, and whether I can avoid them, but I will very likely buy the Muse. Even with shipping charges and possible import duties, they will cost ~$2k USD less than buying the F1-8 here. I already know I love how they sound, and I'll have the unique bragging rights to having the only pair on the island. 

The 'wall' of Accuphase gear was most impressive. There's a heck of a lot of expensive gear tucked into that small showroom. 

The small sized room must've been a disappointment, but it's understandable because of the value of the land. If you get the Muse, that size speaker would work well in your new location?

Jack wrote: "Though the Muse is the smallest speaker in their lineup it's still a pretty big speaker based on the specs on the website."

There's a tendency for rooms here to be pretty reactive if not treated. No matter which room you're in, it's just a concrete box. It doesn't take much bass to create a boomy sound in rooms like this. Hissy highs can get nasty fast. The Muse are rated 32Hz to 20kHz 'within 2dB'. Anything lower than 32Hz (or even 40Hz?) is going to be boomy without some sort of acoustic treatment. I do have permission to add something to the wall behind the listening position so long as it's attractive. [Interestingly enough, the Fyne F1-8 is rated to 32Hz +/- 6dB. That 6dB is stretching the lower frequency capability a bit.]

As much as I love my Apollos, they very likely would overpower my listening room here. I had originally intended to ship them here, but I want them where I can hear them more each year. We spend more time in the US than in Taiwan, so that's where they will remain.

Audio gear here tends to be ~20% more expensive than in N. America. I've listened to quite a few pairs of speakers here, and the Muse will easily best most of them for less money. Prior to this pair of Muse popping up for sale, I had been on the verge of having a pair of Troels Gravesen speakers built here.

[Jack]

Michael

Have you had a chance to visit the dealer that carries Reynaud yet.  There are three speakers in their line up that would likely work well in your room. From lowest price to highest they are the Bliss, the Cantabile or the Voce Grande like Nick owns.  The Bliss is a bookshelf along the lines of Fritz's normal line size, the Cantabile is a small and thin floorstander, while the Voce Grande is a larger bookshelf with attached stands. It would be around the size of a Harbeth C7. I think you would appreciate their voicing and a bonus they are a transmission line design with front facing ports.