Streamers and their Fuses

and @fatdaddy2 you tend to obfuscate on this subject :)

 I cannot listen to my Jay’s Audio MK3-CDT3 CD transport anymore, 

In that case, you could give it to me? 😄

@fastfreight     You are sure to hear a difference.  After all, you invested in it.

If you really believe in fuse upgrades, buy some blocks of copper and an automatic fire extinguisher system.  Or gold, if you're a true believer.

Why all the angst?  Are you worried it actually might sound better?  

You answered your own question.

See how stupid that sounds…
 

agreed. It does sound stupid when people argue without doing the simplest thing possible … listen in your own system before getting all bent out of shape. 

That's angertainment, folks. It's gotten so people live for this stuff.

Hello Brandon , are you speaking of Audio magic fuses, or magic audio as you have listed ?  IHave the Synergistic purple dual 16 amp slow blow  in my Coda amp section and there is a very noticeable upgrade , guys stating a fuse is a fuse knows little on metals ,and conductivity , the stock fuses are Zinc,steel type 

the top fuses have graphene copper,silver 4 x more conductivity ,= 4x less resistance = far lower distortion the incoming fuses creates a bottleneck of resistance with a stock fuse, that’s why so many people use aftermarket fuses 

it’s very easy to measure the difference on a scope .

I've just this week put an SR purple in my Etherregen power supply from stock fuse. 2 days in and there is immediate improvement. Experience tells me I'll need to wait a week or 2 to get to the endpoint.

It's a shame GTO isn't open to trying a fuse upgrade in his obviously impressive system. You could be looking at a significant improvement to your system for very little relative outlay.

Metallurgy and conductivity. 

@audioman58 

Audio Magic Masterpiece M-1, made with black diamond and beeswax. Best of the best, top audiophile fuse in the world right now IMO.

@fastfreight he is hardly a clear thinker, never tried yet they condemn. 

Let us know how it works out. 2 weeks to build a fuse though?  

you might be right @brandonhifi .

They are getting good reviews.  

My Bluesound Node doesn’t have a fuse in it.
 

Phew!

Great thread , loads of good information. To the detractors running the interlaced fodder , you remind me of “ At the Zoo “, by S & G. Great info and great entertainment in one thread. Kinda like Certs , two mints in one. I love all of you , have a Merry Christmas, Mike B. 

Have Aurender N30SA for sale, dutch and dutch enable roon on their speakers , so i think it is an over kill for it.

Aurender N30SA can be magnificent in an ultra high resolution system; a hard-fact that owners of self powered, DSP driven speakers cannot simply comprehend. 

@snadeauu Welcome to Audiogon. I see you joined today. Selling a 30k piece with no history on the site might be difficult. My friend Juan at Bliss HiFi near me in the Twin Cities has the N30 30k flagship Aurender streamer. We both agreed the W20SE sounds more detailed and transparent because of its lifepo4 power supply. The 22k W20SE doesn’t require hi-end power cables either, whether you run a $20 or $2000 power cable to it does not change the perfect black background of the sound because it’s completely off the grid with its own lifepo4 batteries.

Yes you right, will only do local pickup . But i see the dutch and dutch 8c don't really need a streamer like N30SA after using it with roon activated on it.

@brandonhifi 

Interesting feedback on W20SE vs N30SA. Did you compare both side by side in your system? 

@lalitk I listened to the N30 at his house on his system, about a 300k system, all flagship components, flagship cables, the W20SE is immensely more transparent and detailed and holographic on my 55K lifepo4 system. He's an Aurender licensed dealer. He confirmed the benefits of the W20SE with lifepo4 batteries over the N30. I really believe the next phase of HiFi will require Lifepo4 power, it's not even remotely close even with a Shanyata Everest and 10k in cables.

Hey @brandonhifi - I think you may have misunderstood what I was saying about the W20SE and N30SA. The N30SA is typically more revealing and dynamic compared to the W20SE, which is more refined and relaxed. You’re right that the battery management in the W20SE makes it so that an external power cable will not matter as much, and that it reduces the noise coming from the power line. But if the power is clean, then the N30SA should be more revealing and more dynamic.

To be fair, your assessment is about my system voicing as a whole, not about the N30SA vs the W20SE. You did not hear both units in the same system, and it was the only time you ever heard my system. I also cannot confirm whether my system is less transparent as I haven’t heard your system, but in my experience in different rooms and systems, imaging and staging are portrayed differently. When that does not match a listener’s expectations, sometimes that is perceived as worse. Often I find I have to listen to a system for a while so I can acclimate to what it is trying to achieve. You only sat there for two, maybe three songs.

I’m just being objective, hope it doesn’t tarnish anything between us as I’d like to keep contact and maybe one day soon hear your system so we can compare notes!

I’ve had my W20SE for about 1-1/2 years in my basement system and a Grimm Audio MU1 in my living room system.  I believe in the benefits of fuses but I’m surprised that it would benefit the sound quality of a W20SE due to its audio circuitry running off the internal batteries.  As mentioned, power cords don’t make much difference on the the W20SE so why would a fuse?  As I understand it, the incoming power is used to charge 1 of the 2 batteries.  One battery is always charging while the other battery is supplying power to the audio circuit.  

Tonight I received and installed my new M1 Fuse in my MM Tambaqui DAC.

It sounds great right out of the box!  Recommended burn in time is 125 hours,

but already enjoying it!  It came within a week of ordering from the Cable Co.

@fastfreight congratulations! incredible upgrade.

@smatsui i've thought about this too, why would a fuse affect a lifepo4 powered streamer, that level of understanding is beyond me as well, but I'm telling you, it does, and it's not subtle. There might be some power experts on here that could explain it.

@brandonhifi 

A possible explanation would be, W20SE is not completely off the grid. Only its audio circuitry is being fueled by set of lifepo4 batteries. Hence the impact of a fuse and a PC is clearly audible through your fine system. Did you receive your PP Clock, what are your early impressions? 

@lalitk the pang audio clock muddied the system terribly, sold it already and bought the Mutec ref10 se120. The Mutec should be a considerable upgrade, but like you said the pang had a worse clock than what was already in the W20SE and mk3.

Very interesting thread. Will be following along.

@brandonhifi 

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to your impressions with one of the finest master clock currently available. 

Very interesting thread. Will be following along

Agreed.

Charles

My M1 fuse has been in my Tambaqui about two weeks now.  I am noticing and enjoying more texture and grain to male voices, and a greater sense of realism.

I know I should pull it out and compare, but I just like listening!  It arrived quickly, ordered through The Cable Co, and was even discounted based upon previous purchases (some time ago) from them.  Recommend you do check 'request price' when ordering.  For $270 I think this is a no brainer of a try.  Happy Holidays everyone!  My good buddy says 'how can a fuse that is made of a cheap strip of metal make a difference?'  I said exactly!  Ken

@brandonhifi 

How are you liking the Ref10 clock on W20SE and MK3-CDT3? 

@lalitk 

Loving it! 10% increase in clarity and detail. Benefits were immediate on both the W20SE and the MK3. Using pro cables now,  and just coming to the end of the 400 hour burn in period. Will be upgrading cables to Shunyata Sigma Word Clock soon…

Thanks for asking, and have a great weekend.

-Brandon

Brandon @brandonhifi 

Thanks for the update. I am not surprised as your feedback aligns with mine on N29 fed by external clock. I may reach out to you on clock cables once I get my N30SA. Enjoy your fabulous system! 

I swapped out the stock fuses in my Weiss 501 with some Littelfuse 285s. I could easily hear a little more detail and mid bass. It was worth the $10 per fuse

Brandon

I am neither a fuse believer or a denier,  I have upgraded my fuses to some hi-fi tuning for the hell of it. I would  never spend $200 on any fuse, same goes for power cables. There has to be a limit to our madness, especially looking at your system,  it boggles the mind how with such a complicated , congested looking system,  you can discern any difference from changing a fuse, when there is so much variables going on.

It seems to me you are just interested in just added stuff to your system than just enjoying the music. 

Every upgrade to my setup has increased transparency and holographic imaging or it is removed and sold or returned. I listen on average 4 hours a day, it’s all about the music for me, but experiencing the music through distinct separated holograms emanating the purest sound production that technology can conjure. I recently upgraded two small parts of my system, two Audio Magic M-1 masterpiece fuses in my Mutec Ref10 SE120 Master Clock and the master clock cable to Anticables digital 6.3 with cryo burn-in to my Jay’s Audio CDT-MK3 CD transport. Immediately I tested the new tweaks with the Yello Touch album and the transparency and holographic imaging were noticeably greater, jaw dropping to be honest. May everyone enjoy their unique HiFi journey, but my enjoyment is from experiencing the music as multidimensionally as possible as our ears can process light over a thousand times better than our eyes. Live in awe of the music.

Cheers,

Brandon