Least Biased Fuse Review I Have Seen So Far
Might be worth noting that this fuse hasn't even been burned in for any appreciable time either/
Aftermarket fuse to tame a bright system?
Been reading all the interesting posts here, I've recently switched over to Audioquest silver interconnects and speaker cables, the improvement is easy to hear over OCC copper - lower noise floor, more clarity, greater transient snap, larger soundstage etc.... BUT.
I would say my system still has body, but the top end is now bright/harsh. Could an aftermarket fuse tame this, so that I can still retain the clarity and other benefits of silver? I'm concerned that this potential solution may make my system more dynamic, and potentially give it a U or V shape sound profile - which is definitely what I don't want.
101 responses Add your response
@bolong $595 directional fuse…
And if it’s still not an improvement - smoke a joint, wait 20 minutes and re-evaluate |
@gavin1977 I owned Thunder, Tornado and Hurricane. Here’s my free advice…take it for what it’s worth… Start closest to the speakers and work your way up the audio chain. Going from the source down will be less effective. So…speaker cables, power cord on the amp, interconnects feeding the amp…those are the most critical cables and will make the most difference in your case…with emphasis on “your case”. Brightest interconnect should be (if you have to have it) from source to preamp tamed by the equivalent quality copper from pre to amp - this always worked best in my system. Placing the Hurricane on the amp will also help with your problem |
My overall impression of the Audio Magic M2 fuse is that it reduces distortion. I would not call that "meddling with coloration." This whole process was illuminating in that regard - much of what listeners may be calling brightness, bassiness, etc. may be more a matter of distortion and not something that needs to be "tamped down." That said, room treatment is also crucial. |
Tried a few different approaches this afternoon - I have found that the Dragon Source power cable was a bit too much, switched it for a Thunder copper cable and things improved a lot, but this is still with the Dragon silver interconnects and speaker cables. So the power cable change has helped a lot, perhaps just too much silver in the system. I’ll continue to play with different set ups. |
I am new to this/these forums, so I will just add my 2¢. It is never a good idea to attempt to mitigate one problem by introducing an opposite coloration to balance the two. But you already knew that, right? 😉 The only path to success is to identify the problem, i.e. the source/cause of the brightness, then address that directly. And contrary to other responses, as a degreed electrical engineer and an audiophile for 40+ years, a "cheap" fuse CAN alter the sound, but NEVER in a good way! Fuses only add another unwanted coloration - but you knew that already! The very best way to tame brightness or any frequency-based colorations is to use an equalizer - either in the analog or digital domain - doesn't matter which. The proper/correct/judicious use of equalizers, in the hands of an expert, can and will fix essentially ALL frequency-related problems. Thank you. Don Roderick, Tuxedo NY
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I’m tempted. My system is biamplified and basically runs on four 20A derated dedicated lines: one for the HF amplifier, one for the LF amplifier, one for the preamp and analog sources, and one for digital. I don’t think premium outlets such as the Furutech were available when I installed those lines decades ago, so I used the best quality Leviton devices that were available at the time. I have very poor quality AC where I live, so each line floats on isolation transformers and this has worked relatively well. I’ve tried Furutech AC plugs on some of my power cords (using Wireworld cable) and wasn’t impressed with the build quality. I’ve thought about upgrading the dedicated wall outlets but haven’t been sure whose to use (Furutech, Audioquest, Oyaide, Synergistic Research, etc.) and which of the four lines to install it on first. I don’t rule out a possible improvement because I’ve been surprised by seemingly small things before. Hence interest. I also haven't tried an audiophile grade fuse because, in the same vein as audiophile outlets, I wonder about their possible sonic influence.
Suit yourself. |
@cleeds I do not know what is causing this phenomenon with the Furutech stuff. As to why outlets make a difference, I do not know. Just like Paul McGowan doesn’t know why fuses make a difference. Is it the alloy they use? The plating? Rhodium conductivity? Contact surface? Anything happening at molecular level? No clue. You should order the furutech gtx-d NCF outlet and try it out. See how it works in your system. And may be have an actual option of your own based on experience rather than picking on my post in another thread. This is my only response to you as apparently having a normal conversation without jabbing isn’t something you’re capable of. |
@bolong I don’t doubt Paul heard a difference with an expensive fuse. I heard it too when I tried it in my amp about 15 years ago. So I don’t doubt that fuses make a difference. The point I was trying to make in my earlier response is that no fuse change is capable of offsetting faults in a signal path that were introduced by cables or tubes. Or components. |
That's interesting that you think a fuse is such a trivial thing, but breaking in Furutech GTX-D NCF outlets causes an "absolutely psychotic rollercoaster that lasts over 300hrs." What do you think accounts for the difference? |
Paul McGowan On Audiophile Fuses Paul of PS Audio describes his astonishment at what a difference audiophile fuses made in his system. His first experience was a blind test during which he didn't even know what the tweak was. We also learn that PS Audio has been using such fuses in some of its equipment since then. |
@gavin1977 well yeah if you send garbage into the amp nothing will stop it from passing it on to the speakers. If the amp is transparent enough that is. Power cables make a difference for sure. Driving factors are gauge, quality of conductor material, different dielectric, different lengths, connector material and plating, shielding…all make a difference to various degree and that depends on how good the power supply design is in the component. Power cables will also act as filters to reject noise going into the power supply and into the ac line. Good luck! |
I think that's fair comment @audphile1 What is interesting though is that interconnects seem to be the most important piece of the chain, silver in this position provides an upwards tilt to the frequency response - silver in other positions seems to have less effect (just more transparency). What has surprised me though is that power cables can really change the frequency response as well (let's ignore silver or copper issue at this point), with some power cables providing more open and extended treble. Anyway, I have concluded that an aftermarket fuse may well change the sound, it might help - but fundamentally it's the interconnect which needs to be switched out because the upwards tilt I have with this silver interconnect will likely always remain and I'd end up trying to over/incorrectly compensate for it elsewhere. Some good suggestions on alternative interconnects given here and I will likely try an aftermarket fuse at some point, but I think I need to sort out the fundamentals first. |
Reading thru this thread I find it entertaining that after introducing pure silver ICs and speaker cables, all in a signal path, that made the system bright, there are those who believe a fuse that’s not in a signal path can help reverse the effect. |
The Audio Magic Masterpiece M2 fuses have now been through what must have been a pretty good burn-in. All I can say is that everything now sounds "right," and this is the first time in my 4 years working with this system that I can say such a thing. I would also particularly recommend these fuses for horn systems like my Cornwall 4's and for class D GanFet amps like my Audions. |
The problem started after changing your IC's and speaker cables. Changing something else won't fix the situation. A fuse change can change the overall sound but won't fix the problem. As I see it, you have several options. The first would be to sit tight for 200-300 hours and see what happens. If you have a streamer or transport with the ability to play continuously, that is easy-just run it nonstop while you're home. This is the easiest, but I suspect it won't change things to your satisfaction. The second depends on if you still have your old cables. Trade out either the IC's or speaker cables with your original cables. I would start with the IC's. This will help you locate the likely culprit. Once it has settled a bit, reverse the process. If it is clear which cable set is producing the problem, change only that. If you're not sure, go back to your original set up and reverse the process. Silver can be intoxicating because the upper end gets super focused and clear. My ears can tolerate it only for about 30 mins. I have a combo of silver and copper in my system and they balance each other out nicely. I would also work with the Cable Co. They are very friendly and knowledgable. Good luck. |
I tried silver years ago. Same issue. Tried copper. Same issue others find with copper. Silver plated copper has same bright edge though to a some what lesser degree and does provide more technical resolution, also to a some what lesser degree. Found solution, also years ago. Alloys. Plating still has two fairly separate conductors even if next to or surrounding one another. Alloys blend the transmission characteristics into one conductor. All my glare, bright, irritating over time due to treble were resolved in my two channel system with Purist Audio Design Dominus Luminist cables which use a proprietary gold/silver/copper alloy. That was years ago when I still had some decent cash flow. I built a relationship with a Purist Audio dealer and he took good care of me, providing trade-ins and dealer demo at very friendly prices and let me pay over time. Alloys gave me the technical resolution of silver, the treble sparkle without glare AND the warm musicality, natural mid range and bass timbre of copper while resolving all subtle timing issues due to having separate conductors even if bundled together. More than once I have been watching a movie with sound through the two channel system, when I was interrupted by someone knocking or pounding on my front door and there is no one there. It was in the movie. That has been somewhat reassuring. Due to financial constraints, not upgrading two channel much in recent years so I've now also gotten into head-fi. Got some excellent IEMs almost perfect (for me) except for treble, same issues. Problem solved with Effect Audio Fusion 1 IEM upgrade cable. Gold, Silver, Copper wires mixed in a very unique cable architecture, again problem solved beautifully. If only I could have been able to afford the cables with these metals alloyed. I do not contend with those who do not think that wires make a difference. We all hear differently and I am sure they can probably hear nuances I cannot hear. Though if i had the means I know exactly what I want to upgrade, I knew what i had was good enough when after a tweak to my system, I kept forgetting to listen to it because the music kept distracting me. Let's all just enjoy what we can hear. |
@jasonbourne71 Maybe fuses make no difference in your system. In all of my friends systems and mine, fuses make a substantial difference. With Acme treated fuses, always positive. With SR fuses, it was a mixed bag (and now 10X more expensive). I won't touch fuses where the manufacturer specifies not to or where boutique fuses require higher ratings to perform without blowing prematurely. I also have some equipment that is fuseless. Your blanket assertion is wrong just as cabling makes no difference others have stated as fact. I use after 25 years of being a beta tester for a cable manufacturer, Blue Jeans Belden digital and XLR cabling pending auditioning higher end cables. My friends are also changed to Blue Jeans Belden. Inexpensive but impressively neutral and full frequency/dynamic/open and dependably uniform. Spend the money on the equipment first, then cabling. As to fuses, $22/$24 Acme fuses are also a huge bargain, unless one's system can't resolve those differences.
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Apologies, but I’m not sure telling everyone about my system is actually that relevant - I think we can talk about it at component level. I’ve had lots of really good feedback on this and fuses, which is what I was looking for. My system is so bespoke that nobody other than me could make inferences about how it sounds anyway. |
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@gavin1977 I bought a used pure silver cable (Apature Accusound BL-4) that I found on eBay. I replaced the Harmonic Technology cable with it and it has added some additional detail, but not overly bright. After listening to the Harmonic Technology cable with a bigger variety of music, I noticed that some songs sounded great, but others were duller than I had remembered. The silver cable between my amp and preamp with a DH Labs Air Matrix between my dac and preamp seems to be a good compromise. I tried a DH Labs Air Matrix between my amp and preamp with another of them between my dac and preamp, but the silver cable seems to work better. I apologize if I mislead you. I think the Harmonic Technology cable would be good if a person's system was on the bright side of neutral. |
@gavin1977 Anti-cables Lvel 5.3 XLR Interconnects "Design Concept: Typical interconnect cables usually have a signal wire surrounded with a thick plastic dielectric material, which is then surrounded by the ground conductor to shield it from EMI/RFI noise, and then more plastic dielectric material. This typical approach has the usual drawbacks of accumulating a lot of dielectric effect distortion, and an accumulation of shunting capacitance. The ANTICABLES Analog XLR Interconnects use a different approach. Since air is a near perfect dielectric, no extra insulation dielectric material (beyond the thin white and red coating) is used, and the wires are suspended in free air. Eliminating dielectric effect distortion is what allows these interconnects to sound like music, (not a cable)."
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Gavin1977 Anti-Cables make great products, I'd give Paul Speltz (founder and highly thought of) a call to discuss your issues and see what he recommends Cables can take hundreds of hours to break in, I'd wait for 250 hours or so before making a final decision Fuses - I'm using rather inexpensive fuses, ACME Audio Ceramic silver cryo fuses. The black fuses with CFC coating actually were an improvement, especially for their inexpensive $32 cost. Worth a try especially at that cost. Funny that they seemed to increase inner detail, but also smoothed out the highs.....and reduced sibilance or brightness. Like I said, cheap to test....but they do take about 100 hours to soften up |
I am now on day four of the Audio Magic Masterpiece M2 Fuse. I don't have a streamer - just a one disc at a time CD transport - so I have been unable to give it a 3 weeks of constant playing style burn-in, but this fuse has been enlightening. A most obvious change has been that files can be played louder now without distortion, and files can be played at lower volume than before with less loss of information. There is a somewhat wider soundstage as well with better instrument separation - cliches I know but crucial still. Perhaps the most noticeable change is that all aspects of the system have become more shall we say noticeable. The Rel S812 subs are now much more sensitive and responsive to minute adjustments of the crossover and gain settings. I also have come to realize that what I was previously perceiving as treble hotness was just distortion - not an earthshaking idea at all, but hearing is believing. The cleaning up of mumbled diction as mentioned in an earlier post still hasn't worn off on the amazement scale either, I would love to see how the fairy paste is compounded. I wonder too if this paste could be deployed on a power cable. |
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OP…I think by now it’s clear that fuses will not solve your bright system issues. I also don’t think that breaking these cables in will completely eliminate this brightness. Few things to resolve this - 1. All silver cables not a great idea. Try pure copper speaker cables first then go up the audio chain to replace the interconnects feeding the amp first. Address the items in the signal path first if room acoustics is not feasible to tackle. |
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I know you are trying to compensate for a problem that only arose when you changed cables to the silver Audioquests. That brightness (meaning comparatively lower levels of the frequencies below those that now sound bright) might also account for the clarity and increased dynamics so that taming the brightness may mean losing what has been gained. If your older cables were somehow hiding a defect in another part of your system, then changing out the problem component could cure the problem. It might not be easy finding the problem component(s). Compensating with cheap additions, like the fuse, may alter the balance, but I suspect that that effect would be quite subtle. If the fuse was choking power availability to the amp such that it would grossly affect tonal balance, the amp would have to be quite inadequately designed. That effect would also only be evident at high output levels where the amp is more likely to be starved. This doesn't really explain why the problem was only revealed by the new cabling unless the speaker cables are forcing the amp to work harder. You bought new cables to change the sound of your system, which they apparently accomplished. Any change has a good chance of being negative or having some aspect of the change being negative. Any substantial change means also tuning the overall system to balance various tradeoffs that come with a change. That means doing the things, discussed above, like adjusting speaker/listening chair position. I hope a simple fix, including the fuse experiment works; otherwise, you might just have to abandon the new cables. Silver cabling can sound harsh or bright in some systems, and the really good silver cables that largely avoid this problem that I know of are very pricey (e.g., Audio Note silver cables). |
I'd say it is possible. "Too Bright" really means too much treble compared to the bass and midrange. the added resistance of a fuse will affect bass and dynamics most since they pull the most current (a fuse has to have resistance or it wouldn't heat up and blow, physics). So fixing the fuse problem will give better balance to the highs. I'd try a slug first since that is very cheap and represents the most improvement you can get. Your upgraded fuse will not give as much improvement as the slug will. Some power supplies are unaffected by the fuse, others are affected and you might be surprised which ones are which. Of course you won't have fuse protection for the minutes or hours it takes you to do this test. Don't do it during a thunderstorm. Jerry
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