Fuses that matter.

Mapman,

Your ARC Pre will reward you if you gave the fuse holder a clean (deoxit) & added a Hifi tuning fuse. Short of buying new music, probably the best way to blow $35 in your system IMHO.

Poor cockroaches. Not sure if they noticed which direction the fuse was pointing either, but I (not a cockroach) have noticed a slight smearing when a fuse has been used one way then flipped around. I have noticed a similar sound when using a speaker cable the "wrong way" around too.

I think this difference in sound with the direction of a fuse depends on a few things:-

1 the equipment fuse used in. I haven't noticed fuse direction issues in DACs or transports. But i believe i have in preamps & tube amps.

2 the system. How transparent etc?

3 how well you know the system/gear being used?

4 whether you are experience in listening for such small changes in presentation/tone, which is obviously linked to point 3.

Personally I think a fuse can be a nice tweak, and an important one for those of us audiophools.

Lol mapman,

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight & his punishment Is that he shall see the dawn before the rest of the world... Or something like that!

Hang in there Geoff. My feeling is that if it works for you it works. All scientific theories & ideas have been battled over before the weight of proof finally could not be ignored with advancement in our understandings of the observation.

I seem to remember Darwin was very frightened by his findings vs religious doctrine wasn't he?

Why is gravity so weak a force? Why does the fuse sound better this way around? Why am I here? The big questions!

Byron,
A semblance of a life? How could you possibly get on with your life when there are more fuses to test? What happend to that steely determination?lol.

BTW you mentioned mundorf caps. I like the silver in oils and the silver gold in oil too, but you must try the duelund caps... Image density, naturalness and depth all await you in droves! Forget a life, decend further into the audiophile madness. Life can wait.

I'm with Lacee here. If it makes a difference it makes a difference. You can read the white paper later.

There is a curtain amount of "voicing" a system that comes from small tweaks which when all added together can bring a refinement you would otherwise have missed. Fuses are in this catagory to me along with power outlets.

The question is where to start? Tube amps & preamps are a no brainer for fuse replacement in my experience, as long as you have paid attention to cabling & power supply too.

Which manufacturer of fuse is another question. Hifi tuning are not a bad place to start.

It's a shame that we steered off the path. We were asked about fuses that matter. I feel they do & are more important in some equipment than others.

Suddenly we have got personal. We should be discussing which fuse worked well & did its direction impact the sound? Now we are dissecting arguments & character.

Bryon is excellent at keeping things clear. Even so we still have got lost. Human nature I guess.

Maybe the OP should read "people's opinion that matter". Music matters. Not the gear. It's seems similar to a religious doctrine. The point gets lost in the argument.

Bryon I am with you. I am also saddend by the truth of your above statement. It's amazing we are all here.

One has to balance mans incredible achievements against his many flaws. But the fact that you and I can chat like this across thousands of miles without ever meeting does say something.

On a happier note and to lay this thread to rest do we say

1 fuses matter sonically, and said fuses orientation is of no importance?

2 fuses don't matter sonically and neither does their orientation in the circuit?

3 fuses matter sonically and their direction is equally important sonically?

4 fuses don't matter sonically unless their orientation is incorrect?

5 the thought of fuses and their orientation matters sonically? Ie Placebo.

6 the thought of fuses matters sonically, but not the thought of its orientation in the circuit? Lol.

I was very nearly serious until no.6.

As I have said I have had good results from Hifi specialist fuses. I have never gotten caught up too much in the direction of the fuse.

Theaudiotweak,

When you say "close your eyes and hear the light" is that because moments after installing the magnet and hearing the light, you will also see a very very bright light emanating from the Hifi, followed by the smell of something burning?

Lol

The audiotweak,

Forgive my ignorance, but do you replace a fuse with a powerful magnet?

I have used various cables which use magnets for shielding & have found them to be excellent. If I understand you correctly, you put the nickel or whatever theses magnets are made of in the path rather than the fuse?

Theaudiotweak,

In all the above excitement you probably missed my post with a question on 061012.

"Forgive my ignorance, but do you replace a fuse with a powerful magnet?

I have used various cables which use magnets for shielding & have found them to be excellent. If I understand you correctly, you put the nickel or whatever theses magnets are made of in the path rather than the fuse?"