Hi Fi Tuning Supreme fuse-Burn In?

geoffkait I’ve had about a dozen fuses...They go in and stay in until I melt them

You’re obviously not at all familiar with the First Watt products. You know... Like the J2 that got Stereophile’s Amp of the Year award. Mine is a modified clone of the F5. The power supply in it is actually more muscular than what Nelson built the First Watt F5 with. The fuse pops at 300 watts like in all FW amps, but because mine runs 32V rails instead of 24V at the same 120,000uF reservoir capacitance, the in-rush current is a bit higher.

Like I said above, my amp uses very simple in-rush current limiting. In-rush current is the amount of power the amp draws when you turn it on. My amp uses nothing more than a pair of NTC CL60 thermistors to limit the in-rush

I’ve had plenty of fuses blow because my amp has a massive power supply and the most basic in-rush current limiting. I’ve gone through about half a dozen this year

Yes, the concept of boutique fuses is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever seen

Sure! I’ve got proof most people think this stuff is a laughable joke! 

Geez Louise, rodman. Roger not being incompetent is what is called a joke, apparently one too subtle for some. I don’t accept the word of the owner of the damaged Music Reference amp, but I do accept the word of Roger Modjeski, and what he has reported about what he discovered when he inspected the damaged amp, and what he has to say about the Hi-Fi Tuning Fuses he found installed in the amp.

I have provided no evidence, and therefore am not going to "provide FURTHER EVIDENCE". All the info on both that I have read, and have repeated here for the potential benefit of fellow tube power amp owners, has been that provided by @ramlabs. Perhaps Roger will once again provide that info for those truly, sincerely interested. I’m done trying to help fellow tube amp owners. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth ;-) . Good luck, ya’all!

@odman99999, Roger Modjeski has explained numerous times (both on his AudioCircle Music Reference Forum a few years back---which is still available to read, and on a recent thread that has unfortunately been deleted, perhaps by Roger himself. He may have also discussed the subject in his current thread asking for technical questions) why the original Hi-Fi Tuning Fuse (and ONLY that fuse, as that is the only "High End" fuse Roger has looked into) is designed and built in such a way as to not be able to protect an amplifier in the event of a tube failure in a DC circuit. Is has nothing to do with voltage or amperage, but rather the tube’s, as I said, design and construction, which Roger fully explains in his posts on the subject.

I myself need to go back and reread what Roger has said, but he provides info on how a fuse, any fuse, reacts internally when it "blows". That info should help people better understand why fuses are created the way they are, what the differences are between various designs, and why he warns against using the above fuse in specific applications. I really don’t see why Roger’s warning has been met by some with such hostility and defensiveness. That warning is well-founded, as a reading of it will make very clear.

The owner of the Music Reference RM-9 amp that came back to Roger for repairs did nothing wrong; he installed the correctly-rated Hi-Fi Tuning Fuses (9 iirc) in the amp, and when it was damaged sent it back to Roger for repair. Why he has been called incompetent is a mystery, part of the defensiveness and hostility I mentioned above. Roger fully looked into what had happened inside the amp, and has reported on what he discovered. He did some research on the fuse, and reports on what he learned about it. Is that a problem for you? If so, you are free to ignore Roger’s well-founded warning. Roger is also not incompetent ;-) .

Lots of smack talking and name calling..

If you haven’t tried these more nuanced tweaks, then why condemn those who have and appreciate the differences they bring to their systems?

Just as with all of our senses, doing is the proof. Sight, taste, touch, smell and hearing are all done by doing. "A sense is a physiological capacity of organisms that provides data for perception." The premise of test equipment doing the listening for us is not possible. For one, a microphone is not a human ear. For another everyone has different sensitivities.

Some people are wired not to be as perceptive as others in audio. If kosst says he can’t hear it therefore it doesn’t exist, I for one am cool with that. As for many of us who can hear these things we should just accept that kosst can’t and move on. Does it really matter who can and who can’t? I think it only serves as a reference to know who does and who doesn’t for future talks.

What is sometimes weird to me is, after a person is here posting for awhile it’s easy to see that they are taking a position just to have one. They are going to make the same statements everywhere they go. None of us should be surprised that kosst is going to raise the "snake oil" flag every time he gets a chance. Like wise I will always say "everything affects everything else". Folks like kosst can’t hear certain changes and others can hear every slightest change, and the rest are somewhere in between. I think we just need to let it be what it is, cause I don’t see a lot of people all that willing to change.

We should be audio gentlemen above all, and respect that some do and some don’t. It would be scary if we all showed up at the same restaurant and all ordered the exact same meal wouldn’t it?

Michael Green

PS just saw this as Cleeds puts it nicely "Speaking of measurements, do you have any to support your claim "most people think this stuff is snake oil?"

Hi Guys

I'm not going to speak to the reliability of fuses because quite frankly I've never had one blown or cause damage to any products. Maybe that's me just being careful. However I have had experience in how they sound as well as how they change sound depending on a few mechanical adjustments and material choices. I've now done fuse swapping on over 10 amplifiers and at the end of the day (2016) yes they do sound different and yes they do sound different per amplifier. Directional? Yes they actually are directional. But, can be trained to go the other way, just like cables can (some cables).

If I were to give a caution it would be these, watch out for the upward shift in tone and keep your ear on the bottom octave as the wrong fuse will get phazy sounding. Also keep an eye on your stage, because when you make a fuse change you are also going to make a speaker placement change more then likely, or even cable change. "everything affects everything else".

Michael