Something For The Fuse Guys ...

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? 😳

I have to ask a dumb question: What fuses are you referring to? I assume there is a fuse on the secondary side of the equipment transformer to protect the circuitry. Does all audio equipment have fuses that are replaceable? Obviously I haven’t even began to go down the fuse path. 

^^^
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

Interesting indeed Watson.........
It is quite possible elementary.

Hmmm....  Red, Black, or Blue.  Here I was thinking the Red Pill would be the more entertaining one to go with....

Thanks for the reminder, as there is a component I need to roll fuses. 
Already did some powerful tuning and that will be icing on the cake.

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.

I can't wait to read the name of the company ;-)

Gee, I wonder who it could be? 😳

Hmmmm, I'm going to guess that it might be Furutech, since they recently discontinued production of their fantastic rhodium fuses.  It would make sense that they were planning an upgraded/better product.  I couldn't believe that fuse is going away, lol.

A very large number of the modern audio transformers in mainstream gear includes a built in thermal fuse.

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 say it’s a Purple fuse from SR. Frank is not going to abandon his utmost faith in SR fuses 😉

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

The big shocker will be if it turns out to be a very affordable Littelfuse.

Yeah, sure. 

It ain't rocket science.....

Speaking of which, one wonders how much NASA pays for mission critical fuses and who makes them. And are they just stock Littelfuse fuses? 👩‍🚀 Who’s more demanding - the space program or audiophiles? 😳

Based on history the new fuses will instantly trump the old fuses and be the best thing ever. Until next year.

I'm betting it has some type of light gray matter inside it that absolutely doesn't go bad after a year or so... 

I nominate OP as the chief fuse guy. He is always the first to break the news here about the next best fancy fuse.

I think it’s a Perfect Path fuse

The new fuse will make everything better that was even better than the last fuse which was even better than the previous fuse which was even better and more lifelike than the previous fuse . Your significant other will come into the room smiling and exclaim "you must have got another new fuse ?" 

@geoffkait 

Who’s more demanding - the space program or audiophiles?

If you replace "demanding" with "gullible" what would the answer be?

Yee ha!

^^^

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

I’m from the future. In the future there are no fuses. There’s a lot less noise and distortion that way as it turns out. I only come back here for the jocularity. All the audio forums in the future are wastelands.

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. 

Geoff, the Moon is just a launching pad for the trip to Mars....try and keep up  

Gee whiz, you really are gullible, aren’t you?

Book your ticket for the early bird special
Make sure you check the “round trip” box

Obviously this new fuse uses quantum technology.......because everything is "quantum" now.

Book your ticket for the early bird special
Make sure you check the “round trip” box

HMMMM,
Can think of a few who maybe should just check the one way box...…..

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!

^^^

• "It takes a lot of purposeful hyperbole to sell snake oil, and if that's entertainment for anybody, enjoy this space!"

Please note the heading of this thread: 

 "Something For The Fuse Guys ... "

Thanks ...

Frank

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.

You beat me to it. But there are obvious reasons why some people will not or do not hear fuses. I actually think they psych themselves out. 😱

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

GK:  Wrong again.

I haven’t been wrong since 1977. How does it feel being a Human Pincushion? 😬

It is interesting to think that thousands of after-market fuses have been sold to perfectly satisfied (and sometimes astonished) customers, and yet there are those who still can't or won't hear the positive differences they make.  Could it be that they simply don't know what to listen for?  

Frank

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 ...

• "Not to mention that its mostly a small handful of people here who talk about them repeatedly. Gee I wonder why?"  

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

Don’t be a refusenik. Go ape! 🕺Live a little, guys. Try not to be sticks in the mud. As for your friend and humble scribe, I hopped off the AC grid some time ago and never looked back. 👀

Mapman - That small handful of people are the marketing team .