I’m getting a strong feeling it was very wise of me to hop off the house AC when I did. No fuse must certainly be better than ANY high end fuse, I don’t care what anybody says. Does that make me a refusenik? 😳
Something For The Fuse Guys ...
There are fuses, and then, there are fuses.
I'm evaluating some prototype fuses that I received in the mail three days ago.
Over the past few years, I've used fuses from five different manufacturers. The last three were the Red, Black and Blue fuses from Synergistic Research. Each one incrementally improved the sound of my system. My favorite so far was the SR Blue.
The prototype fuses being evaluated presently raises the SQ beyond all of the others mentioned above. The major improvement to my ears is better tonal accuracy. Instruments and voices are more life-like. The noise is reduced allowing for a more solid 3-D presentation with the musicians more solidly presented on the sound stage. Overall, more information is fleshed out of CDs and LPs.
The manufacturer, the price and the name of the prototype fuses will come later. I don't have the information thus far. My understanding is, if all works out, the release date is to be mid-October.
Stay tuned ...
Frank
I'm evaluating some prototype fuses that I received in the mail three days ago.
Over the past few years, I've used fuses from five different manufacturers. The last three were the Red, Black and Blue fuses from Synergistic Research. Each one incrementally improved the sound of my system. My favorite so far was the SR Blue.
The prototype fuses being evaluated presently raises the SQ beyond all of the others mentioned above. The major improvement to my ears is better tonal accuracy. Instruments and voices are more life-like. The noise is reduced allowing for a more solid 3-D presentation with the musicians more solidly presented on the sound stage. Overall, more information is fleshed out of CDs and LPs.
The manufacturer, the price and the name of the prototype fuses will come later. I don't have the information thus far. My understanding is, if all works out, the release date is to be mid-October.
Stay tuned ...
Frank
666 responses Add your response
^^^
mkgus There are no dumb questions. Not all audio equipment have fuses. Most do. The fuses mentioned above protect the circuit in case of a surge or a short. They are in the signal path, and the after-market fuses sound better than the stock fuses, some more-so than others. Read the Blue Fuse thread. Here's a link ... https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/the-new-synergistic-research-blue-fuses Hope this helps. Frank |
Like Frank said, the number of fuses depends on equipment manufacturer/designer. Most equipment will have one fuse on the A/C mains input. Some designers will load their equipment with fuses both before and after the transformer. Example would be Parasound JC1 which has 7 fuses that directly affect the audio path and another 3 that do not affect audio (standby and trigger/turn-on circuits). Even with this, just changing the primary A/C mains fuse on the back panel will yield improvements/changes. Marantz is another company where you see a lot of fuses inside their equipment. Some equipment may appear to not have a fuse and uses a circuit breaker instead, but in actuality still uses a standard fuse internally. Example would be the Bryston 7b monoblocks. Some equipment does not use a fuse at all and only uses a circuit breaker. Example is the latest Emotiva Gen 3 amps. |
Oregonpapa. I need to apologize, as my post of the fuse / amplifier problem, might have put a damper, on your 1st, and most wonderful, thread. Never intended for that to happen, as it became realized, when I wanted to do another fuse upgrade. So, I am with ya ! Let this thread be the continuation of your " fuse thing "......My guess would be Isotek. Always, and Enjoy ! MrD. |
I've taken a lot of notes so far and will be sharing those at a later date. All I can say at this point is ... they need a little breaking in. Upon initial installation into four separate components, the sound was too relaxed. There were, however, improvements heard right off of the bat, like a more accurate tonal balance. But the sound was just too laid back. That went away after a couple of hours of listening. Thoroughly enjoyable though after that brief period. On the tonal accuracy ... that is one of the most, if not THE most, important areas in my estimation. Instruments and voices have to sound right to my ear in order for the whole system to be enjoyable. These prototype fuses improved tonal accuracy beyond what it already was. That's saying something considering the lengths I've gone through to get it right over time. Last night I put on Tchaikovsky's violin concerto played by Erica Morini, backed by the LSO with Artur Rodinski conducting. Wow! That violin was dead-nutz on. And the performance is truly great. What else could it be? ... It's the great Erica Morini, after all. Here's the CD: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ERICA-MORINI-BRAHMS-TCHAIKOVSKY-VIOLIN-CONCERTOS-CD-6-TRACKS-COMO-NUEVO/322370981557?hash=item4b0ececeb5:g:QrQAAOSwImRYYXLR It is available on LP, but a VG+ original vinyl in stereo goes for around $150 and is extremely hard to find. I have the budget CD transfer reissue from the Westminister tapes. That's all one needs. It is beautiful. I've found that some of these budget CD reissues really sound the best. The reissuing companies really don't take the time to muck things up, so as a result of their budget mindedness, we get more of a direct transfer from the master tape type of sound. I'm boycotting recordings and reissues that are drenched in artificial digital reverb. Stay tuned ... Things continue to improve. Frank |
^^^ I just love a good mystery. So, did any of you pick up that Erica Morini CD I posted above? Come on guys ... there's more to this audiophile business besides 70s rock and Patricia Barber. :-) So, this coming Sunday's listening session will be interesting. A fellow A'goner will be coming over for the day. He's familiar with the system and he has ears that can be trusted, so I'm looking forward to his input on the prototype fuses. So far, I think they're pretty special. We'll see what he thinks. Stay tuned ... Frank |
mitch22,012 posts09-20-2019 10:58pm@geoffkait Who’s more demanding - the space program or audiophiles?If you replace "demanding" with "gullible" what would the answer be? >>>>>I never bought into that, Hey, let’s go to the Moon and Mars baloney. |
Fuses don't and will never have any meaningful effect on a well designed power supply when working to accomplish what fuses are actually designed for (protecting the component from catastrophic failure due to sudden power surges), have zero sonic effect on any signal if working as designed (with clean contact points and proper ratings), and to believe otherwise is silly. This is why very few high end component designers care about "premium" fuses in their products. It takes a lot of purposeful hyperbole to sell snake oil, and if that's entertainment for anybody, enjoy this space! |
wolf_garcia Fuses don’t and will never have any meaningful effect on a well designed power supply when working to accomplish what fuses are actually designed for (protecting the component from catastrophic failure due to sudden power surges), have zero sonic effect on any signal if working as designed (with clean contact points and proper ratings), and to believe otherwise is silly. This is why very few high end component designers care about "premium" fuses in their products. It takes a lot of purposeful hyperbole to sell snake oil, and if that’s entertainment for anybody, enjoy this space! >>>>>>Wolfman exposed! Wolfman and clearthink are THE SAME PERSON. 😩 sidenote - if someone can’t hear the difference fuses make they’re either hearing impaired or their system is all messed up. |
Interesting.... I remember talking to someone at Ayre ( sorry do not remember the name) about my ax7e and then at a later date my EX8. On both occasions they were in full agreement with not only replacement of stock fuse for a boutique fuse but also vibration control. Hence they even include with their units a set of Myrtle Wood blocks for them to sit on rather than the stock rubber feet. A toofer from a high end manufacturer. Or is Ayre not high end enough? |
Not everyone can hear a fuse difference, nor, have never even tried it. So the few who troll the idea, as there will always be those few, we fuse guys, just need to move on, and try extracting every last bit of detail through our systems.....It is our hobby, our passion, our money, and fundamentally, our ears, to be satisfied.....simple....end of story. |
This is like a bad relationship. Some bring their baggage from past discussions (relationships) and ruin it for those who know better from actual experience. Maybe there should be something like speed dating where once the discussion goes south, or when the timer mercifully chimes, move on until you find like minded individuals and leave those of the same mindset alone. All the best, Nonoise |
Frank, The exact same argument you just gave is made for psychics, faith healers, new age therapies, spiritualists and alternative medicine and pretty much every dubious claim you can find. People’s subjectivity can “confirm” the efficacy of just about anything anyone has dreamed up. Thats actually a problem - a bug, not a feature - of human psychology to take in to consideration when it comes to staking claims on “what people think they experienced.” And there are limited ways of trying to avoid dealing with this problem of separating real world properties vs human imagination. The most common is to put the blame on the person skeptical of the claim: they either don’t have the secret power or mindset to detect what others detect, or they just don’t have he appropriate opennes of mind to get the experience. If you feel that pull toward that type of “explanation” when there is no objective evidence for a claim, consider the company you keep with that excuse. ;-) |
The trouble with the professor’s theory of faith healing and mass hallucination is that the number of fuses isn’t just thousands we’re talking about here, folks, but closing in one 100,000. That’s some pretty bad juju if it’s a mass hallucination, professor. In fact, it would almost certainly be the biggest hoax even choreographed and executed by a coordinated group of fraudsters on naive gullible newbies. Most likely we just got us some mule-headed “skeptics” around here. |
There goes GK making things up again to support his cause. References for that fuse # please. Regardless, the # of "audiophile" fuses sold has no relevance as does the # of all fuses ever sold which its a safe bet eclipses audiophile fuses by a massive margin. Not to mention that its mostly a small handful of people here who talk about them repeatedly. Gee I wonder why? |
prof ... Thanks for the interesting response. I see where you’re coming from but I don’t think your analysis is relevant to the physical properties of hearing. Your argument is more attuned to the spiritual and not the physical realm. Here’s why I feel that way ... The spiritual experience is not logical, it is illogical. It is not natural, it is supernatural. That’s why those who have not had a profound, overwhelming, spiritual experience ridicule those who have, or deny that the experience could even exist in the first place. And that’s why we have mountaintop retreats where cloistered Monks delight in spending their entire lives in prayerful rejoicing. Notice that in the post you alluded to I didn’t say the doubters CAN’T hear. What I did say was that perhaps they don’t know what to listen FOR. That’s a big difference, and not intended to be a slight in any way. I find it interesting that it is the same people in every fuse thread I’ve started who claim they cannot hear the difference. I say ... too bad for them. As for those who have taken the jump, they enjoy an improved listening experience almost every time. Hard to account for that. Geoff is right ... Thousands upon thousands of aftermarket fuses sold by various manufacturers, and thousands of happy customers attesting to the viability of these fuse tweaks. Are they all just "imagining" an improvement in sound quality? Frank |
Mapman sez ...
So, maps, you've been one of the most prolific doubters in all of the various fuse threads, so I'd like to ask you what your best guess is as to the "why." Thanks ... Frank |
