Question about suitable fuse metals

I'm aware that bypassing the fuse could be asking for trouble and I'm willing to take that risk.  In the last 30+ yrs of being an audiophile, I've blown only a couple fuses and those were in Chinese made tubed equipment (not a knock against Chi-Fi).  Everything is plugged into a balanced powered conditioned which has a circuit breaker built in so probably not too much of a fire hazard.  I don't leave the equipment on all the time nor unattended.  I'm just wondering if using such a poor conductor as titanium could be a problem in itself.  That's the question please.

imhififan:  I don't own a non-contact digital infrared laser thermometer gun but I have a construction buddy and will check with him.  That's good advice..  Thank you.

I bought 6" x 3/16" copper and titanium rods and had the local cnc shop cut them to 20mm lengths. And since I've only blown a couple fuses in 30+ yrs and have everything plugged into a Equi-core 1800, I'm really not all concerned. 

fpomposo:  Yeah, I may go that route eventually, try one and compare to the slugs I have on hand currently.  If the SR fuse isn't better than the slug(s), I could always turn around and re-sell.  Thanks.

jhnnrrs:  Why the venom?  And would you please elucidate your experience(s) with audiophile fuses?  You sound like an authority so surely you have extensive experience.  Actually, I'm rather glad I did the ridiculous and experimented with the slugs in place of the stock fuses.  I guess I'll continue my delusional behavior and enjoy the better sound I'm imaging I'm hearing.

jasonbourne71:  I'll look into silver slugs.  Not too sure I want to splurge for a solid silver rod but I'll look into it.  And the titanium actually sounds quite good.  The subtle inner detail is easier to follow without any brightness.  I know you think all this is snake oil but really, look at all the folks here who have EXPERIENCE with the likes of audiophile fuses, cables, plugs, outlets...... and swear by them.  Do you really think we're all delusional?  

tksteingraber:  Happy to be a fellow sluggo, thank you very much!   Any chance you've heard slugs of any other material than copper?  I was also considering chemically pure tungsten from McMaster Carr.  I recall Bogdan Audio's Toto interconnect was made from tungsten and was favorably reviewed.  Thanks for the response.

I've been using the copper slug in a Red Dragon S-500 and a titanium slug in a Bel Canto DAC 2.8 for 4 days now, perhaps up to 6 hrs per day and the sound has really transformed.  Initially, the sound with the slugs in place of the stock fuses was noticeably better but hard to quantify.  Images had more body to them and the sound was a bit smoother but not by much and there was another quality I just could not quite apprehend.  

Listening late last night and this evening I'm better able to determine what quality I've been hearing as it has become more clear to me now.  My system, already quite detailed, isn't really any more resolving than with the stock fuses but, apparently the fuses smear the fine inner detail and, what I'm hearing now, is that detail clearly.  A good example are the tabla or other small hand struck drums.  I've heard them many times in selections from Dead Can Dance and it always sounded more like an oscillation than a series of very quick drum strikes.  With the slugs in place, I could finally clearly hear each individual strike of the drum---CLEARLY.  

Similarly, each sound was clearly defined in its own space with that always present smearing finally gone.  I was listening to a lot of ambient last night from Steve Roach, O Yuki Conjugate, and Randy Grief and I could REALLY hear each individual sound in its precise location.  It truly was like hearing this very familiar music re-recorded on a higher resolution format, like what I had been expecting when I bought into SACD and DVD-A but they had not quite delivered.  

Thanks for all the recommendations.  Safety would dictate I now invest in audiophile fuses and maybe I will and maybe I won't.  I just can't imagine they will sound better than this without a BIG investment, if at all.  And even then, does a $500-600 fuse in a $2000 amp make sense?   As for those of you telling me I'm being ridiculous or stupid, c'est la vie .  I bet my stereo sounds better than yours!

Yes, the slugs were the cause of the very significant improvement in sound as that's the only variable that's changed and  I've literally listened late at night THOUSANDS of times and I've not heard this precision of sound, in my systems, ever before.   Try it yourself.  Between the 2 rods acquired from Mcmaster Carr for around $20, 6" of 99.99 copper and titanium with shipping and $30 to have a machine shop cut them to 20mm lengths (of which I have 7 copper and 7 titanium), my total investment was close to $50.  I would have gleefully paid 10x this much, much more if I could afford it for the kind of improvement I'm hearing.  Of course, it's going to be highly dependent on whether your equipment is resolving enough to reveal this kind of detail.  I doubt replacing the fuses in an A/V receiver with slug would do much of anything.

You guys act like audio equipment is this huge household fire risk, that it could go up at any time with disasterous results.  I've not see it before nor since I gave up my tubed equipment.  I'm not saying it's 100% safe but, what is?  And I can recall 2 times when there actually were fire risk situations at my residence and both involved appliances we all have and seldom pay much attention too.  The power cord on an old lamp had become frayed and began to spark.  I heard it from the other room and noticed a hint of a burning smell when investigating.  Also had a fan motor go bad and it was beginning to burn.  Were either of those appliances fused?  No?  Well, shouldn't they all be....according to you guys?   I don't leave my audio system on when I'm not around unlike lights or fans so....  what to do?  How to be safe?   I think there is quite a bit overreacting to bypassing the fuses on a couple of audio components here but thanks for your concern (but the condemnation).

larryi :  I'm certainly down with that possibility.  How would I go about completely bypassing the fuse holder?

wolf_garcia:  I'm not selling anything here.  I don't stand to gain by convincing you or anyone else that replacing the stock fuses with sold copper or titanium slugs improved the sound.  As you pointed out, "Bigtwin is simply pointing out a reality."

Well, that's exactly what I've done.  The reality is that by replacing the fuses with either copper or titanium slugs, I was able to hear more deeply into the sound and no, "the new fuse let me see the facial expressions of the musicians." did not occur.  However, listening to track #10, Emmeleia, from Into the Labyrinth by Dead Can Dance, it was not only easy to hear the inhalations as the singers took in breath, I could also clearly hear the parting of their lips after they closed their mouths, probably the wetting of their lips.  I've heard this in my system before but in a muted sort of way.  This was rather clear to my ear.  And this sort of insight occurred over and over again, listening to familiar discs.  Now, I suppose it could be some sort of expectation bias, if one exists that actually improves my hearing :)

Bigtwin:  I looked up your system and wow, that's a nice set up.  Sorry the audiophile fuse didn't benefit your system at all.  In my case though, I didn't try an audiophile fuse.  I tried a solid piece of 99.99% pure copper.  Maybe you should give that a try.

orthomead:  I looked at the Swiss digital fuse box.  It would be the best/wisest choice.  Does it require a power cord to the unit and then another running from the fuse box to the component?

verafiaudio:  that's definitely something to consider although I'm really not wanting to spend the money on the system at the moment and why the $50 bucks spent on 14 slugs seems like such an insane bargain.  I'll keep the SDFB in mind.  Thank you very much

larryi:  I'm not much of a DIY guy myself but that may be something I can do.  I also have a work buddy who builds his own equipment so...  I will check into that.  Thanks!