Synergistic Purple Fuse - Aftet 1 Year of Use

I installed Synergistic Purple fuses in some of my gear a year ago and my perception was that they increased transparency, increased soundstage depth, and improved imaging vs the stock fuse.

Just now, after a year, I tried switching back to the stock fuses and let my gear run for a while. Then did some comparisons between stock and Purple fuses. I was surprised with the results:

1. The difference was very small; smaller than I had anticipated.
2. The Purple fuses had a more full-bodied sound, and the sound was denser.
3. The sound with stock fuses had more space and air, due to not being as full bodied, and had a touch more bite to the sound.
4. The sound was not better or worse between fuses - just different
5. In the end I preferred the sound of my system with two out of four of my Purple fuses replaced with stock fuses. Balance was better that way.

As stated despite what I described above the differences were small. My findings were a surprise to me as it’s not what I thought I had perceived when I first installed them. I’m sure people will say my mind was playing tricks on me and for sure some will say that is still the case. But I also wonder if are basing our assumptions on how these fuse upgrades sound on how they sound when new, and not a year in. I had the fuse upgrades in my Innuos Zenith Mk3, PhoenixUSB reclocker, PhoenixNET switch, and Mola Mola Mola Mola Makua preamp (with Embedded Tambaqui). I found the effects of the Purple fuse to be common across all components.

I know this can be a hot topic that people get riled up about but I’m hoping to get a few insightful comments on whether others have experienced this or not..