fuses - the $39 ones or the 85 cent ones

Theaudiotweak,

Do you turn everything off (or unplug it) when you leave the house?

Do you have a fire extinguisher handy when you listen to music?

This may sound funny, but I am serious.

I have to agree with Dave_b, the sonic benefits of these fuses change and improve over time. But I had what seems to be a unique experience after replacing blown stock fuses in my integrated amp with the HiFi Tuning fuses. The sound characteristics changed considerably and somewhat erratically, and it wasn't until many hours (>>100 hrs) that the sound stabilized and I noticed the overall benefits typically identified by users here and in professional reviews immediately after replacement. I am very pleased with the overall improvement in sound quality I am enjoying now.

My experience is described in detail here:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ymisc&1192881548&openusid&zzKnownothing&4&5#Knownothing

Pubul57 says:

"Knownothing, since you do hear the difference, it would be interesting to see if you could hear the same level of improvement with the $12 Acme. No DBT, just listening."

I dunno, didn't try them? Cheap is good, especially if its really good :-) Changing fuses is enough of a hassle that I am not likely to mess with a good thing for now, but if I get the hankering to fiddle with fuses in other pieces of gear I might give some of the cheaper alternatives a shot.

For what it is worth, the three HiFi Tuning fuses I replaced in my integrated amp taken together cost about the same as the AQ diamondback interconnects I am currently using, and the change made about the same degree of improvement in the sound quality as when I swapped the AQs in for some relatively cheap Monster cables.

Its hard to tell what my favorite tweak has been, because each improvement allows me to discern a greater degree of difference in sound resulting from the next action!?! Adding these fuses has to be way up near the top...

Isanchez,

I am sure you heard what you heard and liked what you liked with respect to these various fuses.

1. How long did you leave the fuses in place with current across them for your evaluations? I found that the HiFi Tuning fuses took quite a while to settle down in my amp - much (many days) longer than the amp usually takes to settle down after a cold start.

2. I don't recall if you mentioned anything about directionality in your test. Did you swap directions at all with HiFi Tuning fuses to see if if made a difference?

3. It is entirely possible that the Buse fuses work better to your ears in the Maggies, but may have a completely different sonic signature in a power amplifier. Has anybody tried these fuses in a power amp and compared them to Isoclean and/or HiFi Tuning fuses? In a pre amp or digital equipment?

Isanchez, thanks!

Theaudiotweak,

Well, I own stocks. What kind of fuse does somebody use for that?