You are so right. I will get some help and get this done soon.
My web site isn't so spectacular either - just learning how to do this kind of stuff :)
Thanks - Mark
Swiss Digital Fuse Box - "What headroom sounds like"
Swiss Digital Fuse Box (SDFB) is non-sacrificial overcurrent protection device that serves as a replacement for fuses in audio equipment.
There are four devices in my sound system that I’ve replaced fuses with the SDFB, and its transformative capacity to upgrade sound quality beyond that of fuses has compelled me to write a review. I’m not associated with Verafi Audio, the company that sells them, nor did I receive anything from them as "review units". There’s another thread on Audiogon about them that an audiophile friend referred me to, which got me interested enough to buy them. I am now enamored with the sound of my system in its current state, so I wanted to share my take on one of the more significant steps in how I arrived here.
Before getting into details about its form and function, I want to share my impression of what the Swiss Digital Fuse Box (SDFB) does for sound quality. It makes my components sound like they are operating without any limitation of power. It sounds open and unrestricted across the audio frequency spectrum. The sound is dynamic, detailed, defined, and there a sense of harmony and completeness about it. It’s like my components can now output their full frequency and harmonic potential.
A few things about me... I’m more of an artist than anything. I’ve been a music lover for 35 years and an electric bass player for 15 of those years playing in two bands, with which I was the bass player on one full LP recording and one EP. I’ve recorded, mixed and mastered my own multi-layered solo bass recordings and their backing tracks from sampled percussion using digital audio workstation software. I’ve also fine-tuned two of my custom car audio systems using DSP software and built, tweaked, and tuned a high end home stereo system (yes I said *tuned*, without using DSP) . Given this experience and the resultant development of a keenly perceptive and informed "ear", yet having no formal electrical theory or engineering background, I feel comfortable suggesting that the results of using SDFB can be likened to how audio sounds when the device producing it is operating with ample headroom. What does headroom sound like? The term headroom has different meanings in its use within pro audio recording/engineering and electrical circuitry operation, but they are related in a way that the end result sounds uncompressed, undistorted, fully dynamic, and expresses the sense of the effortlessness of unrestricted flow.
Does this sound like embellishment? It probably does. And I haven’t even mentioned the typical audiophile terms like "inner detail", "layering", or "rock solid imaging", nor have I even mentioned soundstaging attributes yet -- even though all of these qualities have also gone through upgrades due to the SDFB’s being installed. Am I merely in an irrational, excited state because my whole system now sounds much more expensive than it is? I don’t think so. I’ve been using all four SDFB units for three weeks consistently, and the initial excitement phase I was experiencing settled at least a week ago. I also think that the more components a system has which have replaceable fuses, the greater the potential upgrade from replacing each of those fuses with SDFBs. Like I said, I replaced all fuses in four of my audio components (six fuses in total), and there were notable step-up improvements in sonics as I progressively installed each of them.
Now I’ll describe the physicality of the device and how to use it. Then, I’ll try to describe specifics about why my previous fuse setup, which was a combination of Synergistic Research Purple and Master fuses, was completely replaced by SDFBs. These SR fuses were already a major upgrade in sound relative to the stock, generic fuses, and the SDFBs transcended the SR fuses in every discernible way.
These things have two separate parts that work together: 1) a small box that is inserted as the middle of a chain created between an audio component and the electrical outlet from which it draws power, and 2) a solid, cylindrical metal slug (referred to as a "Sluggo") which is the same size as the typical fuse. To install a SDFB, first, with your component off, plug its power cable into the AC socket on one end of the box, and on the other end of the box there is a male IEC connector (C14) which you connect to an outlet using another power cable or an adapter. I’m using a combination of two short, homemade mini-cables, and two generic adapters with my four SDFBs for the best sound (details shared in my Audiogon virtual system). Once the box is connected to a live electrical line, it will go through a brief setup period, and after maybe 8-10 seconds, you’ll hear a clicking sound and the small green LED will stay lit, indicating that charge is now allowed to flow through the box. The second and final step, with the component still off, is to replace the fuse(s) with a Sluggo. The device comes with both copper and brass Sluggos. You can then turn the component on. Don’t replace a fuse with a Sluggo without the SDFB in place because you’ll have no overcurrent protection and you’ll incur the risk of severely damaging your component and/or having a catastrophic fire in the even of a short circuit or other overcurrent scenario.
These units monitor current magnetically, and are calibrated to whatever fuse rating is needed when you order them. They are also calibrated to operate as either slow blow, or fast blow, like a normal fuse. When the set parameters are exceeded (too much current), a relay is switched to the closed position and charge is halted from flowing. Being non-sacrificial, you don’t need to buy a new one, you just unplug it from the outlet for about 30 seconds and it will reset the state. Then it can be plugged back in and reused. There’s no damage done to the device due to the overcurrent condition, unlike a fuse which melts due to high heat. Currently, devices being produced are to be calibrated at 10 amps max, so if there is some crazy high current event, perhaps then it could be damaged. I don’t know. I believe that’s pretty unlikely though. I think I remember reading that there’s a 15 amp version in the works.
There is some inconvenience involved with transitioning to SDFB due to the extra weight of the box (not that heavy, really) and extra length added to the power chain, as well as potentially requiring additional investment in more power cables. I feel that I achieved an optimal result for only about $200 of additional investment by using some DYI cable materials I had available, some high quality plugs to terminate the cable with, and some cheapo adapters from Amazon. For me, dealing with the extra weight and length to the cabling and putting in the work to create the best solution for connecting the SDFBs to my power conditioners has not been a big deal compared to the profound jump in sound quality. Totally worth it.
Before I went all SDFBs, the best configuration I found with SR fuses in my system was one small Master fuse in the LPS that powers the modem and router (I have an all-digital streaming system), two small Master fuses in the DAC, one small Purple fuse in the preamplifier, and two large Purple fuses in the amplifier. It’s worth mentioning that total retail cost of this setup is about 33% more expensive than the retail cost of my final SDFB setup. However, if you choose to buy a bunch of new, expensive power cables to connect your SDFBs, that would quickly become more the more expensive option.
I thought the SR setup sounded great at the time. I was impressed with the top end detail that a few of the Master fuses added to the fuller midrange and mid-bass sound of the Purple fuses which I already had. I’ve seen comments from others on this site in agreement about this. This combination is getting some praise. However, when comparing that sound to the SDFB sound, it was like the SR fuses are stuck at a level of trying to boost certain frequency ranges to make up for how restrictive a fuse really essentially sounds.
How do you improve on a small, low resolution, blurry, drab looking photo? Well, you manipulate it in Photoshop, of course! You try to crank up values of various visual (light-based) metrics to make it more attractive. However, that process will never produce something as close to the original subject as when you start with an ultra-high resolution, high-dynamic range photograph. You can’t "add resolution" to something that is intrinsically underpinned to a state of reduced resolution. To me, this is analogous to the task of starting with the tiny, resistive piece of wire in a fuse and trying to add crystals and various substances of specific resonant frequencies inside and around it to end up with something representative of the innate completeness of the source material.
Comparatively speaking, I was surprised to switch back to the SR setup and find that the soundstage was compressed towards the center. It was like there was a somewhat spherical haziness in center stage from which the sound was straining to emanate from, even with the Master fuses in play. I attribute this sense of "haziness" to a combination of reduced dynamic range, and a distortion of the frequency response coming from the system’s components. If the hypothetical ideal response for a natural sound (assuming the important aspects of room acoustics and one’s hearing quality are held constant) is essentially a linear response from top to bottom in both amplitude and purity, then the sound of the SR setup was now perceived as distorted and a deviation from linearity.
The sound of the SDFB setup is far more natural, far more detailed, and imparts a sense of ease while listening. I’m using all copper Sluggos, as their tonality is more natural to me than the brass versions. The soundstage has opened up with more dimensionality and all of that perceived haziness and limitation of full expression is (seemingly) completely gone. Images became more defined and image positioning is on a more advanced level. I can now perceive the two singers positioned near center and side-by-side in the mix, with a gap of about about a head’s-width between their mouths. This wasn’t perceivable with the SR fuses. The positioning of cymbals on a well recorded drumset are precisely locateable in space. Listening to Russion choral music, I can now hear individual tenor and bass voices and their unique tonal qualities. On one excellent recording of a solo harp, there’s beautiful overtones resonating that I’ve never been able to hear before. The sound is descriptively harmonious.
Over the course of a couple weeks, the sound of these units opened up. To begin, there was some minor coloration of the sound, but I’m not sure I can hear it any more. I think most of it has gone away as the units have burned in. Even with the minor coloration in the beginning, the immediate leap above the SR fuses in sound quality was obvious and highly desirable.
One last thing, I did a rough test of the overcurrent protection functionality, as this is obviously a major thing to get right and have working properly. I’ve been told that most refrigerators pull about 1 amp of current, so I used that as a basis for testing since I don’t have any more sophisticated method (I could use my desktop computer PSU which has a wattage display to achieve more accurate testing, but I’d rather not have its power suddenly cut and risk problems). I have two SDFBs calibrated to trip at levels below 1 amp, and two units calibrated at significantly above 1 amp. With each of the two sub-1A units inline with the fridge’s power cable (doing two test rounds for each unit), they immediately tripped and the fridge’s power was disconnected when I plugged in the power chain into the outlet. For the above-1A units (also did two test rounds each), the units did not cut power, and the fridge turned on and operated normally. I feel like this testing demonstrates enough for me to have a boost in confidence in the overcurrent protection operational integrity.
Being able to safely use solid metal slugs in place of fuses is wholly a paradigm shift in a high end audio system’s sound quality potential. These things deserve attention and I’m grateful to have been pointed to them.
https://verafiaudiollc.com
267 responses Add your response
I changed the IEC in the Fuse Box to a Furutech NCF version. The blades are much thicker. Fairly easy to do. I also made my own AC jumper(s) cable out of Furutech cable with Furutech NCF AC/IEC fittings. All internal wiring/connections was treated with Ricks Pro enhancer. And of course, I am still experimenting with the solid .9999 silver slugs. The only thing I couldn’t upgrade was the AC plug inlet. ozzy |
@ozzy Very interesting tweaking a tweak? Also what is this "Ricks Pro enhancer"? |
recklesskelly, Yes, everything matters. (sometimes). Its only as good as the weakest link... Rick from the High-Fidelity Cable era is still making a product called "Pro" which he claims is far superior to his previous QT 45 or NPS 1260 signal enhancer gel. I think the claim is it increases conductivity and seals outside RF/EMI interference. ozzy |
@ozzy So how does one acquire this magic elixir this Rick fella makes. |
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I understand the important role of the Swiss Digital Fuse Box in terms of protecting the equipment but if one simply wanted to test for any sonic improvement is there any reason not to simply replace the fuse with a 5x20mm copper rod? Obviously this risks destroying the equipment, but would the sonic effects be the same as the SDFB and Sluggo? |
Good Morning |
@ozzy : just ignore them. Engaging empowers them. |
I think you'd be very surprised how transparent the extra short AC adapters we are using are. To me, they are sonically undetectable. And any remaining tiny bit of coloration or electrical resistance coming from the wiring in the Fuse Boxes is overwhelmingly outdone by the sonic improvements from swapping fuses for slugs. |
@wolf_garcia Just the $22 Acme treated fuse took an EAR 864 with NOS tubes from the trash heap/forward sound with no depth (combined with plugging into the Tipplite plug closet to the power cable) to beat out the EAR 912 with NOS tubes. The SR blue worked best though (not the purple). The purple took my DAC and Amp to another level. The glass standard fuse in the EAR 890 was adequate, in the DAC is was terrible as in the EAR 864. I can't wait to try a boutique, superior fuse in the EAR 324 phono stage. It is very clean and clear/neutral but lacks body, involvement. An upgraded fuse could be he ticket. My friends, some of whom are associate remastering engineers, working with Kevin Grey, also use boutique fuses now and Tripplites at the same plug for their preamps. |
@gladmo : don’t reply to the usual Trolls. It empowers them. |
Today I rotated my power tubes in my mono block amps, turned them on and one amp didn’t come on. Hmm... I guess I did not have one of the tubes inserted properly and the Fuse box shut the amp/power down. Once I found the tube that was installed incorrectly the Fuse box and the amp powered on. So, to me, this is proof that the Fuse Box works as described! ozzy |
I would like to echo the many positive experiences others have described with the SDFB. I installed one in my Dennis Had Inspire LP-2 preamp, and the change was truly jaw-dropping. The preamp was very quiet before, now it is absolutely silent - I can place my ear on my drivers and not hear even a whisper of noise. The music has so much more PRAT and is so much more tonally dense. Everything just sounds "right". I am ordering more for my other components. |
@kennyc Thanks for the comment. I’ve added two more and now have six units. Rythmik subwoofers adore these things. I’ve never seen any reports of users saying something like "no thanks, didn’t hear a difference". In my system, every one of the six was an eye popping improvement. |
I recently bought the Swiss Fuse Box for my most recent acquisition, the Jay’s Audio CDT3-MK3. As usual, Mark @verafiaudio is a true pleasure to deal with. This time around I also bought his pigtail (short AC power cords) for both my previous Swiss Fuse Box and the new one. These are very good short power cords for that price, and make the installation of the Swiss Fuse Box a breeze regardless of the power distributor or outlet you are using.
I have to admit, one of the factors influencing the purchase of the CDT3-MK3 was (of course amongst many other factors) the ability to swap the fuse from the end user. Very easy to do so. And the folks at Beatechnik in Singapore are very helpful with the technical specs for the fuse.
The end results with the Swiss Digital Fuse Box are once again, very good. Perhaps not as stunning as with my Innuos, but very audible nonetheless. A home run IMO. I just wish I were able to swap fuses on my other gear 😒 |
@thyname Best wishes - Mark |
Hello. Long time lurker but infrequent poster. I have had the fuse box now for about a month with my decware Tori jr v2. I did not want to post prematurely before I had a chance to listen for a while. I listen mainly to vinyl and classic rock. I chose a few albums that I’m very familiar with ( rush signals , Fleetwood Mac rumors , and dire straits debut album ) and played them over and over with and without the fuse box. The rest of my gear is - vpi prime signature with ortofon cadenza bronze cart, Zesto andros deluxe 2 phono preamp, don sachs linestage and spatial Audio x5 speakers. As far as the sluggos i initially preferred the brass - warmer sound without detail loss. The copper added more high end sparkle. Over time with tubes in my system I preferred the copper as a nice balance between warm tube sound and high end sparkle. Mark generously sent me the gold plated copper and brass sluggos. Long story short , the gold plated ones are superior. Everything I said earlier is enhanced. Mark is great to communicate with. He’s prompt in responding via email or phone calls. In todays ever increasing prices of audio equipment this is a small cash outlay for an appreciable improvement. For me and my system it is an integral piece that I will not live without. |
@jprod : nice post! Well written. Thank you for sharing |
Good Morning
Google says 2 days to fix and recover – maybe.
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@johnnycopy I have two Rythmik subs, both with SDFBs and the power cables that connects them to the subs are Vogue Audio 11ga UPOCC silver, which I changed out the connectors on. The SDFB’s have the largest impact on power and speed, but I think this particular power cable is the best you can get for a subwoofer. The large guage UPOCC silver has the deepest sub-bass and most linear bass response for these subs of anything I’ve tried. I’m not a fan of them in most applications, but for subs they are the cherry on top. |
I’ve tried Orange, Purple & Master Fuses from a well known company. I’ve been a fan of this company’s products because it has been my experience that most of them do deliver on their promise. For me, to my ears, in my system & despite my unwavering optimism, exotic fuses like these have not been decent perfomance vs price upgrades. Only the Master fuse provided a discernible change to the SQ, but not nearly enough to justify the expense. Yes, I could’ve returned these fuses before the generous return policy expired, but I was hopeful, that with time, each one would have a positive impact. The Purples will remain in several power supplies, but sadly, I will be reselling the gently used Master Fuse for significantly less than what I paid for it. Meantime, I discovered several products being offered by Verafiaudio including the highly regarded plug-in mains filter Puron, of which, I have a total of 4. One pair is plugged into a quad wall receptacle & the other 2 reside in the first pair of receptacles of a Powercell 8SE made by the same well known company behind the exotic fuses I tried. The addition of the Purons made further improvements to the the overall noise floor while adding body, resolution, separation & depth to the soundstage. Enter the Swiss Digital Fuse Box! This is a simple, easy to install, professionally calibrated breaker that allows each component to operate at its full potential. Simply put, you have to try this affordable device that punches well above its cost. My ability to describe the game changing improvements does not begin to capture the newfound enjoyment I have listening to my favorite tracks for hours on end. Recently, I read in a forum someone’s description of depth as the ability to see & feel the other side of each note of music. That resonated with me as I struggle to describe the incredible dynamics the Swiss Digital Fuse Box unlocked & revealed. All I can say is don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, but by all means, try it & experience the difference it will make in your system. Oh, by the way, Mark & Lynn provide superb customer service!
MacF |
Hello my fellow Audiophile Brothers and possibly Sisters. Well I sit here perplexed about what to say about the SDFB Swiss Digital Fuse Box. I’ve read countless reviews and frankly anything I would say would be redundant. There are so many here who so eloquently and throughly explained everything about this incredible piece of technology. So, I will just share my experience with it. So since I first found out about this product I have been thinking about how and where I wanted to implement it in my System. So I decided to place it before one of my Richard Gray RGPC 400S Line Conditioners, which is dedicated to feed power to my Digital components only. My Oppo BDP 105D, Sony XA777ES, Genesis Digital Lens and finally my Chord DAC 64MkII. Yes it’s all older but Beautiful sounding gear that I can afford. Well here goes nuttin, before I could install it I had to order an adapter from Amazon because the supplied short power cable was too long. I have an unyielding Pangea AC9 MKII se feeding the power, and because of my placement I had very little room to work with. So I got a 3" adapter that worked perfectly to solve my problem. I used contact enhancement from Mad Scientist Audio that Definitely does a Beautiful job for me. That’s a whole nother conversation 😊 anyways once it was installed needless to say I was disappointed, it took the place of a fairly expensive Alan Maher fuse that I absolutely Love 💘 it actually took a little while before the SDFB surpassed its performance. From everything thing that I’ve been reading I was expecting it to surpass it almost immediately. I heard glimpses of performance I got somewhat excited however my extreme detail was missing. I’m sure all of us have experienced this more than once in our journey. It took about a day for it to settle in with the extreme complexity of tweaks on the conditioner, but once everyone was happy OMG 😲😲😲😲😲😲 I WAS FLOORED !!!!! I experienced a larger more defined Soundstage, tighter deeper Bass, liquid pristine highs and fuller midrange. But what stood out the most were the Dynamics and Dynamic Contrast !!!!! Just incredible 😍 I also own the Puron, more than 1 in my System and the two products combined are a 1 - 2 punch 👊 I cannot wait to add more to the System. I am currently using a BAT VK5i se preamp to drive a pair of KRELL KSA 300S Amps, 1 per channel with a pair of modified Polk Audio SDA SRS 1.2TL’s. Well I hope it wasn’t too boring. Take Care Everyone Enjoy the Journey Ultimate Power King 🤴 Thank You Again Mark You’re Awesome Brother |
I replaced the Purple fuses in my mono tube amplifiers with Swiss Digital Fuse Boxes about two months ago. I was impressed with the lower noise floor, more precisely defined images, and greater bass impact, but it was the increase in overall dynamics and power that were the most noticeable improvements. A couple of weeks later, I replaced the stock fuses in the bass amplifiers in my speakers. Again, bass became more powerful and dynamic, but also better defined and detailed. The soundstage also grew in volume. Next, I replaced a Purple fuse in the phono stage with an SDFB and a week later the Purple fuse in the preamp with an SDFB. Each additional SDFB yielded similar results. Now that all components in my system have the SDFB installed, the cumulative effect is quite impressive. The system sounds like it has much more power. Dynamic peaks, especially in large orchestral music, are more uncongested and effortless, even though I never felt they were previously. Transients have more snap. Bass is deeper with more impact, slam, and definition. There is more air and separation between images and the images are more solid and holographic. The entire soundstage is larger and more three dimensional. Highs are more extended and airy with longer decays into a quieter background. All the above is achieved while presenting a warm, rich sound with no edginess or listener fatigue. In fact, my last couple of listening sessions have gone on much longer than normal as I experience new excitement and enjoyment in old recordings. I should note, the SDFB’s are very easy to install and while I had to go up 2-3 values on the audiophile fuses to keep them from blowing every couple of weeks, all the SDFB’s are at the equipment manufacturer’s recommended values and have not tripped at all. |
@bsavage Thanks for sharing. Your SDFB journey was very similar to mine, and I think you are describing very similar qualitative changes as I tried to articulate in the original post, just with a few different words. I hope my post inspired your journey that turned out so well in the end.
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@verafiaudio Hi Mark and Lynn: Are there any upgrades on the Swiss Digital fuse box? (ie. various slugs, IEC adapters) Thanks in advance. Jeff |
@yoby |
Just received several silver sluggos from Eric at Golden State Silver. Made from a 04 gauge 99.99% pure silver rod cut to 20mm length. Totaled under $50 including shipping. He said several people have recently placed similar orders. Fits perfectly. My question is for anyone who is running the Swiss Digital Fuse Box with silver sluggos. How long did it take to settle in? Sounds slightly distorted out of the box. FYI-I found VeraFi’s copper with gold immersion sluggos sounded quite nice indeed. Thought I’d experiment with silver. |
