Synergistic Red Fuse ...

A fuse can have a significant effect on the sound of an audio system when that fuse melts. Suddenly, no sound. All fuses that hew to proper ratings, and are made by reputable companies (Littelfuse…been around forever, their stuff is first class), do the same thing…contain tiny wires in either fast or slow blow configurations, and somehow manage to NOT degrade anything in any meaningful way in countless piles of well sorted gear ("Marge, back away from the Magicos, I think the fuse in the Diavelet is degrading!"), regardless of what Paul McGowan might believe (they "can" lead to better sound? Not exactly a ringing endorsement...And exactly HOW do they do that, Paul?). You may be led to believe they do improve everything by reading posts loaded with astonishing claims and ZERO explanations of why they do a better job and that's fine for some, but In the face of the hype and my own experience with SR fuses, I simply call baloney. Also, blind testing, the suggestion of which does strike fear into the meek Faithful, isn't useful for all things but for this would at least be interesting and the results could be ignored if they rocked anybody's emotional boat. However, unless the "break in" instantly wears off when a Magic Fuse is removed and replaced by a less precious fuse back and forth in such a test, I bet it the results would be very revealing. 

So if a fuse, the design of which includes a tiny, hair thin wire since it's designed to melt instantly if needed, is a "bottleneck" to the AC in any device in which it's used, then why is the equally tiny wire in, for example, an SR fuse, allowing "More Better and Special Treated" current to flow back and forth in it thus perhaps obviating the bottleneck phenomena and enhancing cello tone? The wire in it remains necessarily tiny, it will melt (we know this), and in spite of all that it's claimed to impart wonders into the circuits around it. This isn't the application of bespoke and protected technology, it's the application of predatory sales marketing skills aimed at the gullible, who once having paid through their noses to hear the magic can't help but imagine hey, "I can hear it…really…I can."

Just watched an interview with Dennis Had (youtube) as I’m thinking about buying one of his Fire Bottle amps…at around 31 minutes he comments about silly tweaks…gold fuses…Inspiring? (pun) Also, to explain what I meant about "predatory marketing skills," it would seem that the simple tweak area is the "low hanging fruit" of audiophile marketing. Why not make a product that costs very little to produce, claim to expose it to some proprietary treatment who's technical explanation is convoluted enough to defy reason and and/or inhibit criticism (or involves bees), and sell it for a gigantic profit into the "naive tweaker" market. A brilliant idea that seems to work every time.

I don’t think geoffkait’s snarky and self important comments advance the charlatan’s position much at all, especially when he continues to list a pile of mostly useless pseudo tweaks as proof of the power of the unexplainable. Also, I've met Dennis Had who is a former and current world class designer, and a brilliant no nonsense guy who is fun to talk to and seems to know more than the average forum knucklehead could ever understand about circuits and sound. A gracious and fun dude. Also, to take an unrelated opportunity for name dropping, Judy Belushi is a friend of mine. 

From what I’ve gleaned looking around for reviews, the "Inspire" amps from Dennis Had have been pretty well accepted. I’d be interested to read otherwise since I’m considering a lower powered SE amp in my rig. Jmcgrogan2…feel free to suggest some reviews that helped you form your opinion as I’ll read ’em. (Now I've read the forum thread where you indicate your "Inspire" experience). I did notice you did not like the Inspire amp in your system in that previous thread, but everyone else in that thread seemed to like them a LOT. Must be strange to be an outlier among other, more rabid fans (que ironic laughter here). My new speakers are around 93 DB efficiency so that might make a difference. Also, to stay on topic, SR fuses don't do anything so any benefits are imagined. (It's a fuse) Also I did notice that geoffkait, who claims to not use fuses, likes a new one that costs around 9 bucks that he hasn't used, but assumes it will work its magic for less money than an SR product. Hey…makes sense...right? 

I can only assume that high efficiency and stable impedance that doesn't go too low could be the key. Also he's improved these things over time supposedly, and I'm in no hurry so I'll continue my research.  

I simply noted that HAD said something about fuses in a youtube thing so I could garner more support for my opinions about fuses…and why shouldn't I? Plus, it's fun to watch geoffkait paint himself into corners. I already have a nice sounding push pull tube amp, but since I'm switching to a set of sensitive (not unlike myself) speakers I'm casting about for single ended stuff. I do have to rely on reviews since I'm unlikely to order several amps to test, but if I bought a Fire Bottle from Mister Had and it sucked, it would be politely shown the door (or the UPS man). Note that Had states that his new transformers are "real good" or something, and hey, would he exaggerate just to promote his amps? (heh heh). I own a single ended tube rectified "boutique" guitar amp and it's great, but not necessarily greater than my push pull guitar amps. Maybe I'll just get a First Watt SS thing and be done with it all, although I dig tubes man.

In a nutshell, everyone hears, or perceives, somewhat differently. 

I recently saw Brad Mehldau do a solo show doing Bach and Bach-ish improv on an unamplified Steinway. The sound was amazing (Sanders Theater near Harvard), and Brad is a friggin' genius (a step up from regular genius). I have a lot of his recordings and sonically they're  generally balanced and great sounding things, avoiding the "30 foot wide drum kit" sound and obvious digital effects…highly recommended.

Fred Hersch was (and likely still is) an influence on Mehldau…I mixed a  Hersch (his trio) show last year and he's basically a brilliant if somewhat quirky dude who plays his ass off. Interesting fact: He was in an induced coma at some point and wrote and performed music that was inspired by his thoughts while comatose. Another mind blowing fave is Vijay Iyer (the New Yorker said he may be the best pianist alive…a silly statement but interesting)...his trio album "Break Stuff" is not for the faint of heart and is an intensely rewarding listen.

We've gotten rid of most gods (there used to be a lot of them hanging around), so it really is time to get rid of that last big one. I realize for some it's hard to keep their silly religious nonsense from permeating forums, but when it's as inane as the stuff being posted by Shubert it really points out the need to keep some things to yourself.

Lenny Breau should be included in any discussion of astonishing guitar players (I know his brother Denny from the Maine music scene and he’s why I know of Lenny other than simply having heard of him). He really deserves a listen if you don’t know the guy, and utterly worth a trip to Youtube as his technique is mind blowing.

Also note that "special" supposedly transformative audiophile fuses are silly and unnecessary, and you can insure the fuse in your rig is doing all that needs to be done, or CAN be done by a fuse (it’s a fuse…a "tiny little wire" in a tube that’s there to melt if necessary…that’s its only job), by simply cleaning the fuse contacts from time to time. This information will save you time and money that can be spent elsewhere on something that actually matters, and this should end the "fuse" part of this thread. I look forward to seeing if it does.

Nkonor…wait…you have to stick around to hear what the deal is about graphene! Your fuses can become FUSIER…what?...you're happy with the sound of your system? HERESY I SAY…if your current (pun…now that's funny!) fuses are doing their job, just imagine the level of wonderfulness they will provide with graphene juice! The fuses will melt quicker in an electrical emergency, your soundstage and overall system tone will be TONIER...Come on man…you need this stuff...

Contact enhancer assumes that the contact needs enhancing, which is very likely not the case if the contacts are clean. If your rig works at all, it is partially due to the fuses having all the contact they need and has zero to do with the actual sound of anything…however, I do think it IS very likely that many will claim that the use of graphene contact enhancer has expanded their sound stages and enhanced their cello tone, and I will continue to think that's simply ridiculous because, hey, it just is. Although I've contributed a few musical suggestions, my ego doesn't require massaging to the degree that other's might and I'm content with this thread being about silly faith based tweaks because, hey, it just is (or isn't…not so sure anymore).

Contacts on fuse holders, if working and cleaned occasionally, don't require enhancement…simply cleaning. However, if graphene juice means you don't have to worry about cleaning the things, and the deadly and previously never worried about "micro arcing" is stopped dead in its possibly non existent tracks, maybe I'll get some, unless it's stupidly expensive…I'll have to apologize to my can of Deoxit. Also, I lied about never mentioning artists again (hey…it's OK to lie…part of our new world) as I worked with the beautiful and perky completely cool Anat Cohen a few months ago and, although I was already a fan, she was great as were her astonishingly killer 3 sidemen…one of very the best shows I've mixed or heard or anything…brilliant. Also, I met Bill Low (Audioquest founder) the other day in my local "Audio Salon" and talked with him for about an hour…amazing dude who advised me on some biwire options, mentioned a German tube rig he uses that shuts just the tubes off when not in use, and the importance of phase vs. amplitude. Anybody know what those German amps might be? Forgot the name…I'm old…Bill puts some sort of resistor in line with amp fuses to make the fuse have less influence (!) on the sound, but still blow when needed. So there's that.

Update, since I KNOW people around here care deeply about my gear: I scored (obtained?) a supposedly barely used (made in Dec. 2016) Dennis Had Inspire Fire Bottle SEP amp to pair with my 93db efficient new Sonist speakers. New AQ biwire cable also. The amp sports (!) new Russian Gold Lion KT88s, an Amperex 6SN7GTB driver tube and a JJ 5Y3 S rectifier. I had been put off by the tone of the new Sonists to the point of dismay…lack of air in the treble maybe…but YOWZA…the Fire Bottle fixed everything, kicks it at any level I can stand, and is the bargain of the century (such as it is). It’s a small miracle, and hey…I’m an atheist! The Sonists (Recital 3s…their "smaller" floor stander) sound clear as a bell, the mid issues (especially piano…I’m a piano freak) are gone, and seriously…hats off to Had. Anybody know if the 5Y3 tube allows use of KT150s? Please post the answer immediately. I have some I want to try in there although the amp sounds great as is. Also, to stay on topic, I took the fuse out, cleaned the contacts (they looked clean…but hey…I care), and replaced it with itself in the now antiseptic fuse holder. And there ya’ go.

Yeah…this amp is surprising and I assume some synergy with the new biwire happened…or something, and I have a high threshold of surprise. Had states in the Youtube interview (and elsewhere, mostly his own hype when he lists stuff) that his transformers can run a small city at Xmas. Not sure if that’s relevant to the KT150 tube thing but I’ve read piles of threads on at least 4 sites about these amps, and will read more if I can take it…I’m flooded with info, but happily whatever tubes came with the amp seem to work swimmingly.

I simply happen to have some KT150s hanging around attempting to escape from their boxes (I know what’s going on man…I notice the little open box lids), otherwise I’m happy with the amp as is. Also, I noticed a Merrill Audio ad someplace and since I already like solid core (who doesn’t? Like Linc from Mod Squad said, "Solid!") I ordered a pair of interconnects…didn’t notice the "hand made" bit and asked when they were shipping…oops...interesting response where Mister Merrill noted the WEEKS it takes to make these things, so hey…I’ll wait. I meter cable…won’t make ’em in advance…no no no…does that cut into my 60 day return policy? (kidding…really…)

The difference between 93db and 90db speakers does make a fairly large difference at least in how speakers respond to a low powered amp (or any amp)…few Cary amps were as low powered as the Inspire stuff seems to be so I bet most Cary amps will do fine with 90db speakers. 3db is, as some say, YUGE.

Also, I'm required to say this from time to time: Any fuses, when working properly, can't and consequently don't do anything to enhance the tone of your gear. Does anybody disagree with this? No? Well there ya' go.

Hey…I'm all about the new valves, and, although I don't pray, I absolutely insist that Frank gets back from this quickly so I can continue to pick on him. 

They don't actually sound different, they don't actually sound at all. Fuses are utterly insignificant relative to the primary tone shaping components of any hifi gear, but seemingly can shape the tone in one's imagination if the listener really believes they do and spent enough on them. They're fuses…I say let them be as it's sad enough they're trapped in a little holder away from the rest of the more important bits, simply called upon from time to time to kill themselves by melting in an emergency. *sniff*…Hat's off to those little guys...

Strangely applied pseudo logic from the beleaguered geoffkait (remember, he's sold bags of pebbles to place on your cables) seems too have hit a new low when he compares skeptics to OJ lawyers. Not that OJ's lawyers aren't relevant, they're just not relevant to this topic. As somebody who has claimed to NOT use fuses himself (a refuser?), his credibility continues to plummet in the face of actual expertise, and his primary defense of audio fuser silliness seems to be the fact that companies have been exploiting audiophiles with tempting fantasy tweaks for years in spite of the inherent silliness of some of this stuff…like "special" fuses. Well done geoff…as useful as a bag of rocks (which in landscaping or aquariums may actually be useful) on your cables.

An active room neutralizer would be a great thing to have when your relatives start arguing during the holidays.

Recently viewed a Youtube thing about a Japanese audio maniac who erected his own "telephone pole" for isolated electricity to keep his neighbors pesky distortions out of his gear heap. Seems to work, and fits with my idea of buying a salvaged nuclear power generator from a retired submarine to put in my backyard…just don't tell the neighbors, or bribe them for their silence with free juice.

Adjusting fuses for directionality, although very likely a complete waste of time since fuses are a part of an alternating electricity flow (AC), could reveal a .000137% difference in something or other that you're not going to be able to notice unless you fool yourself into thinking you do…it's a fuse…a tiny, output irrelevant wire not actually in the signal path, and designed to melt. Don't be fooled by the unexplainable mythology of snake oil purveyors unless hey, you enjoy faith based tweaking…in which case, geoffkait is your man! (and, he claims to not use fuses except in the metaphorical sense of his "having a short fuse" as illustrated in his re-posting everything he sees fit to comment on).

A foil hat works also (bend it around you ears…there ya go), and it has the added benefit of stopping those crazy messages from space: "geoffkait…bags of pebbles…follow the rubber line…turn the fuse around…"

Anybody able to locate the above mentioned "UEF Tech" patent? I'd be interested in whatever the heck THAT says.

The fuse marketing expertise of Ted Denny et al is brilliant. Get a product out there that is very cheap to manufacture in China (and save some bucks by not testing the things for accurate ratings), sell it for 50 times what other competent fuses cost (Litelfuse…reliable, well made, a couple of bucks), and replace it frequently with upgraded versions marketed to the faithful (It's new so it HAS to be better!). My sympathies to Aniwolfe…sorry man.

Almarg...thanks for the research. I will now direct all of my patent queries to you! Also note that Uncle Ted didn't notice your post or simply couldn't respond to the patent issue about which nobody seems to care (lying is seemingly OK these days), and I have to say I agree with this part of what he wrote: "the Black fuse which is every bit as good today as it was when it was when first launched two years ago." Indeed, it still does it's inexplicable (or at least unexplained…by anybody), unverifiable and utterly nonsensical thing of nothing except continuing to fleece of the faithful. You go Ted, and since you read this stuff, how about offering a response to the patent question? I'll stand corrected if you actually did patent the thing…I'll wait right here….

Wait a minute…can you replace your fuses with tennis racquets?  On a positive note I do like Sherwin Williams paint though…good stuff. My contention has always been that in spite of "special" "directional" fuses supposedly helping technology march on toward audio nirvana, I'm again reminded that a fuse is there to melt if needed. That's it. Melt. Like Ted Denney's imaginary patent claims…blown like a bad circuit.

Wait…you're talking about the fuse, right? 

Yeah man…a paint infused with discarded lamb fuzz or recycled sponges. Basis SCHMASIS!

Do you advocate more solid soft bits or softer solid bits? And who's Bob?

I've run lots of live outdoor shows and add a little bit of stereo reverb to 'em to make them sound more natural, thus fooling the audience into thinking they're having more fun than they actually are. 

I continue find some of the descriptions of the degree of improvement that "special" fuses provide in the systems of the proponents of these things unbelievable, especially since a new round of claims of MORE  wonderfulness is begat by the New Blues. It's a FUSE (a safety related device that's supposed to MELT if need be), and until some rational explanation is provided as to WHY and HOW these things "massage the juice" before it runs through the power supplies and all the other caps, resistors, transformers, rectifiers, tubes, transistors and every other part of an audio component's circuits, I'll continue to hold the opinion I've had since doing my own little test of the black version of these things…they're a silly and possibly dangerous (sketchy fuse ratings) waste of time and money when compared to less precious (like ultra reliable way less expensive Littelfuse products) "standard" fuses. Unbelievable. 

"All of the information needed to understand audiophile fuses is out there."  It is? Because it's certainly not in here! And not in the minds of most audio engineers and modern gear designers either. SR's gibberish about "Quantum" something or other certainly doesn't explain anything, and their apparent need to mention imaginary patents (a lie conveniently ignored by the "Fusers," as it simply doesn't fit into their SR worship format) doesn't either. Remember, you're entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts. I don't consider my posts to be a waste of time as clearly I enjoy poking the Bear of Mythology, and shall continue to do so in the face of this steaming heap of nonsense because I can.

I expect vitriol about my personal hearing ability, my tube amp (I tested the SR blacks in a SS amp also…but mostly in a push pull tube amp), my questioning Denney's patent claims (if someone claims something is patented and it's not, that goes to their credibility unless their worshippers don't mind utter nonsense, which seems to be the case), and I get that. Religious people don't like my atheism either, and I see similarities when magic thinking is involved in anything. My basic beef with Oregonpapa and other Fusers is simple: Claiming that the FUSE has such a transformative and obvious effect on the sound of your gear heap is simply not believable, and when you understand why fuses are there in the first place, simply as a safety item protecting your stuff from catastrophic failure, it seems very strange indeed. The main reason I'm harping about technical explanations of this "magic" isn't due to being obsessed with technical explanations, it's simply because in the case of "special" fuses, there are none…a conspicuous absence. None. A scam by SR to sell an item to gullible fans at an insane profit seems to be working well, and since it's only judged by subjective opinion I'm offering exactly that…me and most high end gear manufacturers. 

Jay23…unlike fuses, most component bits like the caps, resistors, transformers, tubes, etc., matched or otherwise, obviously all have plenty to do with the tone and performance of gear, and measurement isn't what I'm "harping" about anyway…it's simply that in the face of preposterous claims of tonal efficacy I would think somebody, perhaps the manufacturer of a product, could explain why and how a fuse would perform so many tasks that logic (and my previous fuse test) would indicate it couldn't. Carpal Tunneling (uh…make that Quantum tunneling), carping at me, eating carp, buying into SR's "fog of nonsense" when describing their pseudo esoteric methods of filling fuses with fudge or carbon or dog meat, all add up to not so much…a fuse is still simply a fuse, even if it "absorbs" the vibration of the cash in your pocket.