McIntosh fuse changeout to make better sound

It's essentially a myth. But a placebo is not a drug and yet typically has between 20-30% efficacy in many double blind tests. Put simply, when you make a change in your system and then listen for changes there may or may not be actual change, but your perceptions may tell you otherwise-- or nothing.

When I make a system change, like a new cable, I pay little attention to my own initial reaction to whatever I think I'm hearing and commit to live with it for a while. If I perceive a persistent and consistent improvement over time I assume there has been an actual change-- something added, or subtracted, something different but better.

I do not believe for a second that swapping out a fuse and then hearing an immediate and not at all subtle improvement in your system comes from the fuse-- it comes from you. The exception might be that when the swapping was done a dirty connection was cleaned by the action of making the change.

So has anything really changed? If you believe you can hear it, then something has changed-- but most likely that 'something' is you.

Confirmation bias is a thing, but many people "just can't handle the truth". I stand by my above comment-- that the extra "something" that you're hearing is coming from YOU. Any Qanon fans here?

You didn't read my first comment above that I was referring to. I assert nothing and when I preview system changes I do not look for an immediate answer, I live with it and decide for myself over time. I'll admit I do not waste much of my time swapping fuses, aligning crystals, or coloring the edges of my CD's (I'm more a vinyl guy anyway) with a green marking pen that uses special ink blessed by a Buddhist Monk. My problems are more pedestrian-- like room reflection, the occasional cable hum, etc. Just because you hear something, or see something with your own eyes does not mean for a New York minute that it's real. You should know that. Most people that (IMO waste) their money (which is totally cool with me) buying a $300 fuse or a $5k power cable EXPECT to hear something-- and so they do. I expect neither because I know that initial reactions to any subtle phenomenon are better approached with an open mind.

My issue with a lot of the tweaks, like designer fuses, is that the prices being charged are often absurd based upon actual production costs, and the dubious (at best claims) which which rarely include any actual evidence of efficacy. Kind of like most nutritional supplements-- where if there is any hard science,  it virtually never supports the claims being made-- and as the studies pile up-- calls most of them into question. Again, placebo effects are very real, even though it's just a sugar pill.

If someone spends north of $100 on a fuse, pops it in and hears a difference I have no doubt that person is telling the truth. But that does not mean the fuse actually did anything.

All I can say is that when I make a system change I live with and at some point make a determination as to whether or not I think it sounds better. I’ve noticed with audio cables that cost above a few hundred dollars or so, price no longer determines quality or better sound any more than price makes one wine varietal taste better than another of the same varietal-- at a certain level of quality-- there’s just differences-- like the flavor notes between those wines, and you go with what you like. Is it better? To you maybe, but in truth, they're just differences, not better than or worse than.

Some people that think a $100,000 amp is always better than a say $25,000 amp because of the difference in price. They are, IMO, deluding themselves because of the general prejudice that higher cost equals higher quality-- at a certain level in almost all things, it just ain’t so. A $100 fuse is not likely any better than a $3.00 fuse. 

Consciousness can be a real b!tch. Subjectivity is not objectivity. Your eyes and your ears can deceive you, especially if you want them to-- and when you invest time and money, most do want them to. Audio2design is probably right though. Cleaning dirty fuse connections and putting in a new fuse might make a difference. I'd bet he's right when he says his friends can't tell when put to the test. Your own ears can improve your system even if the fuse cannot. Imagine the possibilities?? And no money down!