And a warning for anyone reading this, I won't respond to negative comments. All are free to post/read, but keep in mind that the people who have 9,000-12,000 posts in their history are not likely to add anything constructive to this conversation. Anyone who posts with experiences of "what they actually heard" is much more valuable than any assumed negative commentary.
ORANGE Fuse rejected
So, to bring everyone up to date, my favorite fuse for analog equipment has been Furutech for a long time (I’m really sad that they no longer make the fuse). For digital transport type equipment, the best fuse has been Audiomagic Superfuse (NOT beeswax fuse - in my opinion the beeswax fuses push too hard on the voltage - this is the best I can explain what happens).
So, with the addition of a Farad Super3 linear power supply added for my Pink Faun S/PDIF computer card, I decided to try a Synergistic Orange fuse on this Farad power supply. It has been in the unit for at least 6 weeks constant now (24 hours a day). I recently finalized the burn-in of my last set of digital AES/EBU cables and sat down for critical listening and comparison. While this setup allowed me to differentiate between the digital cables and select which ones sounded the best, there was no cable that really sounded "good". I was really confused at this point because the sound had this harsh edge no matter what digital cable I put in the system.
So, I decided to pull the ORANGE and put back in an Audiomagic Superfuse. Low and behold, all that harshness was gone!! Also, the Audiomagic Superfuse gave me more tones and texture in the bass than the ORANGE fuse did. It sounded much more natural as well (throughout the entire frequency range).
I remember when I first put the ORANGE fuse in, it was like "wow, there’s so much high frequency resolution". But in the end, this was too much and too harsh (like someone turning up the sharpness on the TV way too much!). The ORANGE fuse -might- do well in warm laid back sounding equipment, but I only build my systems with high resolution detailed equipment and the ORANGE is not a good match for this.
Like I said, the Furutech Rhodium has been the best I have used for analog equipment (i.e. preamps / amps). However, it is a bit too slow and colored for digital transports (streamers, transport, bluray players, roku, video processors, etc.). The Audiomagic Superfuse excels in the digital transport area because it is fast and also neutral sounding.
There appears to be another thread here talking about Quantum Science fuses, in which even the Light Blue was an improvement over the Synergistic ORANGE. I may read through that thread and possibly try one of the Light Blue or Yelllow in the future sometime. Maybe it would be a good alternative to Furutech Rhodium.
So, with the addition of a Farad Super3 linear power supply added for my Pink Faun S/PDIF computer card, I decided to try a Synergistic Orange fuse on this Farad power supply. It has been in the unit for at least 6 weeks constant now (24 hours a day). I recently finalized the burn-in of my last set of digital AES/EBU cables and sat down for critical listening and comparison. While this setup allowed me to differentiate between the digital cables and select which ones sounded the best, there was no cable that really sounded "good". I was really confused at this point because the sound had this harsh edge no matter what digital cable I put in the system.
So, I decided to pull the ORANGE and put back in an Audiomagic Superfuse. Low and behold, all that harshness was gone!! Also, the Audiomagic Superfuse gave me more tones and texture in the bass than the ORANGE fuse did. It sounded much more natural as well (throughout the entire frequency range).
I remember when I first put the ORANGE fuse in, it was like "wow, there’s so much high frequency resolution". But in the end, this was too much and too harsh (like someone turning up the sharpness on the TV way too much!). The ORANGE fuse -might- do well in warm laid back sounding equipment, but I only build my systems with high resolution detailed equipment and the ORANGE is not a good match for this.
Like I said, the Furutech Rhodium has been the best I have used for analog equipment (i.e. preamps / amps). However, it is a bit too slow and colored for digital transports (streamers, transport, bluray players, roku, video processors, etc.). The Audiomagic Superfuse excels in the digital transport area because it is fast and also neutral sounding.
There appears to be another thread here talking about Quantum Science fuses, in which even the Light Blue was an improvement over the Synergistic ORANGE. I may read through that thread and possibly try one of the Light Blue or Yelllow in the future sometime. Maybe it would be a good alternative to Furutech Rhodium.
51 responses Add your response
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I pay specific attention to the direction of the fuse holder using a digital multi-meter to determine the "input" direction of the HOT/LIVE leg of the AC power cord. I used the arrow printed on the ORANGE fuse to place it in the "direction" of the HOT input. I will try putting it in backwards in the next day or two if I have time. |
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In my experience, the Audiomagic fuses are not really directional. (well, they might be, but I have placed them forwards and backwards without hearing any significant differences). That being said, I have not done an A/B test where I reversed the direction for critical listening on Audiomagic fuse direction. Fuses that I have tested and rejected: Hi-Fi Tuning Gold, Hi-Fi Tuning Silverstar, Hi-Fi Tuning Supreme, Isoclean, Synergistic SR20, Synergistic RED, Synergistic ORANGE, BUSS, Littelfuse (these are okay, but just okay). Disclaimer: I have NOT tested the Quantum Science Audio fuses at all. These may work just as well for digital transport, but since I have no idea what kind of sonic character they impart, I can’t make a definite recommendation here. =========== On the 9-12k post count, this is a generalization of what I see with most of these kinds of posts. Don’t take it as an absolute 100% match for every scenario. |
Does anyone know where is the ´´HOT input ´´ on the LuminX1 power supply ?If you look at a standard IEC inlet (such as your Lumin X1 power supply). There will be two power prongs and then a single ground prong at the bottom. The HOT contact is the top/right prong. You will have to use a continuity tester or digital multi-meter to test which fuse contact connects directly with this HOT prong. The fuse arrow/direction should be pointed away from this HOT fuse clip contact. That's how I generally place fuse direction. |
And a warning for anyone reading this, I won’t respond to negative comments. All are free to post/read, but keep in mind that the people who have 9,000-12,000 posts in their history are not likely to add anything constructive to this conversation. If anything at all, it’s not constructive what you claim ac mains fuses can do to music, because there's no backing of any technical proof posted, it just your hearsay. No manufacturers or even well regarded technicians are willing to come onto these forums and back with their own posts what is claimed to be heard here. And this is why you don’t have to pay $$$ for a 50cent fuse, for it to make a difference. To those "non technical" members that are interested, listen to the techs of this industry that designed the very audio products you are listening to. Just clean and tighten your fuse holder and re-new your fuse (if old) with a good quality 50cent Bussman, Littlefuse or similar. Cheers George |
You can always count on george to barge in with his tired and monotonous behavior. His claims have already been disproved. Take for instance, when Ted Denny came on and addressed the issues that georgie raised and georgie wouldn't even respond to him. He just went onto other threads and continued his rants. When Ted posted on those other threads, georgie again ignored him. Respond to him at your peril. All the best, Nonoise |
Oh thank you for having such trust in me, and no I’m not going away. And there was no reasonable technical explanation given, just that there was 1/1000 (1 milliohm!!!) of an ohm difference in the measurement reading, (and that can be a humidity difference on the ohmmeter itself!!) and that is ridiculous to even contemplate it can give fusers the reason for their wild claims. Hey anything to give the correct side of the story, to counter any shilling for yet another fusers "snake oil" thread, AGAIN!!! |
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ORANGE FUSE REVERSED. Okay, I did reverse the direction on the Orange fuse and did critical listening. While it did not have as an extreme effect as the original direction, it did still have a somewhat sterile harsh tone. I even reversed the fuse again back in my original direction just to make sure. In my opinion, the ORANGE fuse imparts somewhat of a sterile harsh bright character. The direction of the fuse does impact this as the sterile/harshness was even worse in one direction, but it still carried the same type of signature. Putting the Audiomagic Superfuse back in, again, removed the problems that the ORANGE fuse was presenting. I reversed direction on the Audiomagic a couple times and I could not hear any significant difference. The AM is much better, comes across more relaxed and much more natural sounding, but still presenting the upper mids and highs in a very fast and crystal clean way without any harshness. Stronger bass with more bass tones and texture. |
Interesting take on the Furatech Rhodium. I tried one in my phono preamp and found it somewhat sterile adding a chromium color to the music.I have not tested Furutech in a phono preamp. I'm not a turntable guy, but I have heard some amazing turntable systems. The Furutech has an extremely long burn-in somewhere between 300-500 hours, so you may have been in that really painful area. And the rhodium does sometimes add a chromium color, especially when used in a digital transport or with Rhodium XLR/BNC connectors for a digital cable. Also, in some systems, the Furutech Rhodium was a little bit too mild / laid back, so it is entirely system dependent. |
I can totally understand someone prefers another fuse to Orange. But to not be able to tell which is the correct direction robs all other observations of any value. It is like, imagine someone says they prefer one speaker over another. Okay. Fine. No problem. But then you learn they aren't sure which way the speaker should even be pointing? Okay. Good luck with that. |
The Furutech has an extremely long burn-in somewhere between 300-500 hours, so you may have been in that really painful area.I didn't wait that long! I do however use rhodium-plated power cord plugs with UP-OCC wire and like the clean sounding and detailed presentation. I've tried the same cable with gold plated plugs and found it a little slower and laid back. I realize there's a possibility the rhodium is causing distortion of some sort which enhances the illusion of detail. However, operatic female vocals, piano and brushed drums sound sublime. |
I am making the assumption that this thread is about power line fuses, correct? It seems to make sense to me that speaker fuses would make a much greater difference as they are carrying a "signal" not just current. Has any one experimented with speaker fuses? I am much more likely to drop $$$ on a speaker fuse prior to going with power fuses. Regards, barts |
Yes the fuse conundrum like most "tweaks" can be taken mostly with a grain of salt--but hey we are creatures of habit and in this game you must know when an "itch" pops up --damn hard not to scratch --so why not allow one a side track and dabble --hey only a few $$s for some fun and fuses-ha! Yep at CES in 08 Bernd Hahn of Hi Fi tuning gave me some to try--sounded Ok nothing popped out and said take me--but I left them in and convince myself they were adding something maybe(?)-- hey its fun to try things and like I said scratch the itch! Over the years tried many similar and some pricey ones namely AMR/Furutech/Isoclean/Synergistic--I still have a Furutech Rhodium in my Tube Amp and it is the last of the Mohicans and seems stable.There are currently "new" Furutech fuses but they come out of HKG and are terribly finished and fail--I'd avoid them. In my CD Player EVERY rated Slo Slo fuse from the MFG's named above all crapped out on turnon- did Smokey the bear blah!--I feel they are either poorly made or well below rating on their boxes--sadly I say save you $$'s on those brands Now a light at the end of the Tunnel--and the only fuse that I feel does improve the sonic presentation -that is my feeling anyway and if others shout rubbish then Ok --but I'm the one listening not surmising . The Jewel in the Crown of this is the Audio Magic Ultimate Premier This little bugger survived turnon rush when over 12 others from other Mfgs FAILED Instantly and after 5/10 days is I feel giving the musical presence and sonic performance a substantial improvement to my ears. Deride at your leisure--but I'll back my statement that this companies fuses are the real deal. D T212 |
A fuse: 1: two end caps 2: short piece of fuse wire connecting the two end caps through a glass tube (that’s all she wrote). To those "non technical" members that are interested, do not listen to fusers, listen to the techs of this industry that design the audio products you have. AND YOU WON"T SEE THEM ON THREADS LIKE THIS AGREEING WITH THESE FUSERS, EVER!!! Just clean and tighten your fuse holder and re-new your fuse (if old) with a good quality 50cent Bussman, Littlefuse or similar.Cheers to those "non fusers" George |
@Georgehifi Considering most of the personal/private reviews on fuses say they need burn in time, it might be wise to consider that it is, at this point, a logical extrapolation that the fuse has bent or stretched to a point where an optimal electrical signal has been achieved, thus effecting certain frequencies that are either more noticeable to someone used to the way their own particular system has sounded previous to the upgrade. I can’t help but think an over the air TV does not have its picture passed through the wall wiring, yet the cathode ray gun was always optimized to take advantage of the 60HZ cycle to deliver 60 fields of non-interlaced video, with each field composed of odd or even lines of resolution and presented for 1/60 of a second so that two fields formed 1 frame and the 30FPS standard for video in the US was adopted by SMPTE and became the standard. That’s also the reason why a country with 50HZ, use 25FPS as their video standard and fields occupying 1/50 of a second. Persistence of vision is the phenomenon that is taken advantage of to fool the viewer into thinking the odd and even fields were viewed at the same time. Anyhow, it would not be unbelievable to me to think that someone could master fuse building in a way that could manipulate or engineer playback in a different way. And that’s all we’re talking about here, right? A change? Better or worse is subjective. |
There are currently "new" Furutech fuses but they come out of HKG and are terribly finished and fail--I'd avoid them. I took a look at it seems that these are from China sellers on ebay. I suspect they are counterfeit products (which is very common on ebay from China). The product box pictures don't even look the same. I remember when Furutech originally discontinued, there were a number of Japan sellers on ebay selling out the remaining "real" Futurech fuses. |
That's totally true I upgraded recently to ARC 160M monoblocks, and set them with two Orange fuses, one that I took from my old GS150, and another that was in the Ref6 pre, where is now a glorious new Purple fuse). I carefully installed the two fuses with the same direction they were ( along last two years aprox) on the previous ARC gear, with the S iinside and near the fuse holder top, and the R deep inside the equipment. Instead of the wow effect I was expecting ( I know very well the benefits of SR fuses namelly the Orange ones), I got somehow a mechanical, 2D image, sterile and harshness effect. I waited for the system to settle down two days, I checked all raised cables, conections, etc. Everything on order. But no improvement 🤔😔 Not very convinced.., I changed both fuses direction. And unexpectedly, WOW, that's it! 😳. Imediate transformation 😜👌. All life returned. Huge and fullfilled soundstage. Focus. Tridimensionality, Dinamics, No more blandness. An almost unbelieveble transformation. In conclusion. Direction matters, a lot. And I also suspect that the fuse signal is reversed built on the 160M if we compare it with the GS150 or Ref6 pre at least. |