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Fuses - Why do same size fuses sound different?

Because of recent reviews on fuses and some manufacturers using some fuses to voice their products, I am embarking on a fact finding mission of why some sound better than others.
Most electronic fuses have nickel plated brass caps with glass or ceramic tubes but vary in sound despite that. I have not been able to find any info on the construction of the elements themselves, is this where the variability in sound stem from?
So far I have compared a set of Cooper-Bussman Ceramic, Radioshack Ceramic, and Littlefuse Glass 10 Amp fuses on my amp. They all sound very different, the Radioshack is by far the worst of the group, its imaging is diffuse, timbres sound off, and it lacked tranparency and extension relative to the others. The Littlefuse have better focus than the Radioshacks, timbres are more accurate and it was more transparent, however, it was extremely bright and etched up top. The Bussmans sounded very good compared to the others, everything fell in place with this fuse, it had very focused images with added weight and detail, timbres were true, and it was the most transparent and relaxed of the group. It had very good dimensionality and musicality, but only when oriented in one direction only.
The moral of this story is that I hope all manufacturers spend the time researching fuses when they use them in their products, otherwise we have to start "fuse rolling" to get the best sound. The good thing about fuses is that they don't cost much.
plelko

Showing 2 responses by red2

red2
79 posts
 
I just recently bought IsoClean fuses for my Maggie 1.6 speakers. Not being critical of any individuals tastes out there, but I believe that "Tweaks" and "Mods" are very system dependant. They may work great in one combination of stereo components, and horribly in another set up. Let's just say, that many of the tweaks I have tried in my current setup have taken the sound to a sterile, lack of emotion, neutral state. Call me "colored" but I need emotion and a sense of presence in my music. Evidently for my tastes, my gear must be about the right mix and balance with out too much more in terms of addition tweaks and extensive mods, although I do have several in place.

My current tweaks have improved the sound, transparency etc without lossing any of the emotion, making vocals and the "sense of presence and being there" even greater.

In summary, I prefer the Bussman fuses that come with the Maggies to the IsoClean by a large margin. In fact, I am going to list the IsoCleans for sale here today.

R.
red2
79 posts
 
Tbg, yes I did try the IsoClean fuses in both directions. There was a clear sonic difference in changing the orientation of the fuse. But neither orientation satisfied me.

Much of my system is solid state combined with a passive preamp which gives me lots of transparency. My source components all have tubes in them though. So this mixture of gear, with the Magnaplaner speakers is about the right degree of "warmth" to the music. Many of the tweaks I have tried tend to change the sound to a more sterile, neutral sound. Not bright. Almost too "white, clean" sounding, lossing the warmth to voices etc. I really think it may just be my system. But I am very happy! This is the most musical system and best natural sounding one I have ever owned. The bass traps behind my Maggie planers and the acoustical treatment in the room in general really just tightened up the bass, increased the width and height of the soundstage, everything. Very intimate, and sounding like one would hear at a LIVE venue such as a local piano bar or night club. More up front than really laid back and recessed sounding but warm and very transparent for the $15k or so that I have invested in this system.

Happy Listening

R.
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