On the subject of protection, lets talk case fuses as well as plug fuses

If I have a 2 amp fuse in my Quad 405 amp on the brown wire only, a short with a resistance of 120 ohms or less would cause that to blow.  Presumably the designer feels that the load on the brown wire should never be less than 120 ohms  and designed the protection accordingly.

What current would flow through the brown wire if my Quad 405 were powered with balanced mains and there was a short of 120 ohms?
Would the fuse blow?
If the short was 60ohms and the fuse in the brown wire blew, would there still be a voltage inside the casework of the 405
If there was a short of 120 ohms between the blue wire and another point (ok - earth) which fuse would blow?  Would there still be a voltage present inside the casework?

Not if there were a double pole RCBO on the output of the BMU, both legs would always trip.

You know, mostly I'm very onside with those thoughts.  Hyperbole is everywhere and meaningless.

I do listen to a lot of live music.  Sue's circle of friends are musicians, and we just enjoy gigs as a hobby.  We are in the process of doing some simple recordings of self and Sue (acoustic guitar and vocals) as rehearsals and backup since my son would like her to sing at his wedding.  First, note if we perform live the guitar would be miked and/or use its pickups, the main one of which is a fancy piezzo although mixed with a soundhole mike.  So even that simplest arrangement is already not "Pure" acoustic but stuffed through a PA (probably with the wrong sort of fuse, fitted the wrong way round)

Secondly, (and probably because live is rarely like listening to Sue sing choral works unmiked in a church or cathedral) there are times when some music does seem "in the room" and that would very much be my definition of what I am listening for on my type of system with some music

Joan Armatrading would be one such artist on her simple arrangements.  Alison Moyet on her Jazz covers another.  With the quads - I get that illusion - strongly sometimes.

Yea at the very worst its gonna blow.... and do its job

And you have reason to believe the 16A MCB on the dedicated radial won't flip and do its job?

The point is that neither approach conforms to the safety standards, but one you are happy with.
How do you know it fuses in a correct way to protect the cable? What evidence is there to show this?
We know a copper bar does not, but there is no proof these fuses do.

Sure.  I don't think anybody has suggested that a fuse will not blow at the correct value just because it doesn't choose to meet BS.  Nor even that it might explode when it blows or any other dangerous aspect.
Merely that it would not comply with regulations.  And some people will prefer not to deliberately breach UK regulations with regard to plugs and sockets.

Tedious focus?

The lack of external test certification doesn't mean that the SR devices are unsafe, or that they're likely to explode, however the lack of external test certification of any kind draws doubt that the Synergistic Research devices work repeatedly in a predictable fashion.

The CE compliant comment Kevin received means diddly - it's a self certification process, and you can write whatever you want into your criteria.
The SR devices could well have something along the lines of them being denominated by colour, that they shall be coloured the same as they are named, and that they have SR writ big on them in their CE criteria.
They pass that one with flying colours.

The fact is I can go online and order up fuses of all kinds from Farnell, RS Components, City Electrical, etc. etc., and the devices I order will all have one thing in common - the manufacturers have all submitted devices and specification sheets to external testing houses, and they have been proven to meet the set criteria.

The manufacturers do internal quality audits on a daily production basis, and they have to keep QC records for auditing purposes.
They also submit devices for continued external testing on a regular basis, just to ensure that testing procedures during manufacturing haven't slipped.
And they do all of this because the fuses they make are safety devices.



They'll use something properly tested to one of a number of world recognised standards, but you'll find that in many countries a British Standards mark is accepted without quibble.

Wow, that's quite a bit of activity in a short while and loads to take in. I'll make a couple of points and digest the rest.

I agree with Pinkie that the illusion of a performer and accompaniment being there in the room can be convincing. To me, it doesn't matter if it's "false" as long as it appears real and enhances my experience. I've also witnessed incredible "presence" from systems that aren't usually praised for their imaging. I don't therefore have a problem with someone saying the performer was "there in the room". Describing our perception of sound is a challenge, so, I tend to be more open than most to the more colourful descriptions that have become known as "reviewer speak". In fact, I have found them far more helpful than irritating over the years.

The copper bar is an interesting one. I am very open to the possibility of it having an impact on the sound. Perhaps not in the same way as an SR fuse though, because there is no claim (and no reason to suspect) an influence on the mains beyond its physical space. I must admit that I find faffing about on the floor, messing with wires and plugs to be a real PITA, so it wouldn't make A/B comparisons a pleasurable task. It may also affect my perception. I also admit to an expectation bias that swapping a fuse for my gold plated bar will make either no difference, or one so subtle as to be quickly forgotten. In other words I expect it not to make any difference to my long term listening pleasure. But then, that's just an expectation: I have expected many things in life and been confounded! 

I have only just woken up (almost noon: still not well) and not even out of bed yet, so today is probably out. I will try the experiment though. Whenever the outcome, it won't put me off trying an SR fuse though because I don't automatically assume the SR fuse cannot sound better than no fuse at all.