I rarely promote my products here, fellas. I do on occasion promote my ideas, however. See the difference? 👀 I leave it to Georgie Boy and moopman to do my product promotion for me. Thanks, guys!
To Fuse or Not to Fuse... That is the question!
Ok.. I think I understand that no fuse is better than a cheap fuse. And a good fuse is better than a cheap fuse. But is no fuse better than the best fuse?
One person on Audiogon said that he achieved better sound by using a Blue fuse over no fuse. I guess my question is... Do these new, high dollar fuses just allow the current to flow better with solid protection or do they actually due to quantum physics or something, actually improve upon the signal by eliminating errant bad electrons and thereby actually improving the music over no fuse at all?
I gots to know!
One person on Audiogon said that he achieved better sound by using a Blue fuse over no fuse. I guess my question is... Do these new, high dollar fuses just allow the current to flow better with solid protection or do they actually due to quantum physics or something, actually improve upon the signal by eliminating errant bad electrons and thereby actually improving the music over no fuse at all?
I gots to know!
439 responses
there is this forum where you get to do it for free You see SR (Synergistic Research) aren't stupid they don't post here like other manufactures do to back up their wares in any conflicts, they know they become liable then, get the stupid shills to do it for them for them. Because they know if someone is seriously injured trying the multitude of different colored mains fuses in different directions doing a/b as fast as they can, that someone one day will forget to unplug from the mains and die. And if they don't post here they are not liable, only their stupid shills are (which will plead insanity anyway with proof). Cheers George |
mapman where’d all the tongue in cheek sci-fi comedy go on that site? >>>>>Ironically, mapman cannot distinguish between science and science fiction so what’s the difference? 😳 |
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This is geoffkait's site? .... That is some serious good humor, especially the "smart-chip" CD treater :-) .... georgehifi6,010 posts10-22-2019 3:53am roberttcan👍 Have a good look at his website, interesting doesn’t even begin to say what a ****** ** individual he is, he seriously need to seek professional help, it will make you shake your head. http://www.machinadynamica.com/ Cheers George |
georgehifi roberttcan👍 Have a good look at his website, interesting doesn’t even begin to say what a ****** ** individual he is, he seriously need to seek professional help, it will make you shake your head. http://www.machinadynamica.com/ >>>>>>Kudos to George for writing an almost grammatically correct sentence. Good job! 🤗 |
roberttcan👍 Have a good look at his website, interesting doesn’t even begin to say what a ****** ** individual he is, he seriously need to seek professional help, it will make you shake your head. http://www.machinadynamica.com/ Cheers George |
roberttcan"I could never understand why people who are not engineers or physicists pretend that they are or Audio forums. Anyone can read the posts that I am making here and instead of a few hand-waving lines, my posts are detailed, I can use REAL numbers where warranted, and I don't run away when pushed." Are you what is known as a a "stable genius" when it comes to matters involving Music Reproduction Systems? |
Keep posting and making a bigger fool of yourself. Most people are not dumb. They will read your word salad, and then they will read my well thought out, detailed, and articulate posts. They will know exactly who the charlatan is, but please if you wish to remove all doubt, you keep doing you. geoffkait17,599 posts10-21-2019 10:52pmIf you went to school, which I seriously doubt, I suggest you run down there real fast and demand your money back. |
I could never understand why people who are not engineers or physicists pretend that they are or Audio forums. Anyone can read the posts that I am making here and instead of a few hand-waving lines, my posts are detailed, I can use REAL numbers where warranted, and I don't run away when pushed. If you have to bring up classical or QM physics to justify your belief about a fuse, you have already lost the argument. You don't get even the most basics of the topic. geoffkait17,598 posts10-21-2019 9:10pmGee, are you looking in the mirror? I was thinking the very same thing of you. |
I am going to go out on a limb and say you have NO formal education in physics or an engineering field deep enough to give you knowledge in this area ..... That is why you think you know what you are talking about, but don't really. You are out, because you cannot win this argument. You are out because you cannot bully me. You are out because you are wrong. That you would even bring up quantum effects when discussing the directionality of a fuse means you don't have even the most basic understanding of circuits. Yes, please go, you are adding nothing to this conversation. HOWEVER, unlike you with your half-baked physics babble, I have actually posited some REAL WORLD ways in which a fuse "could" behave different if inserted in a different direction. It's amazing what actual experience allows one to do when coupled with the theoretical knowledge to use it. geoffkait17,597 posts10-21-2019 8:55pmSince you ask you have shown you don’t know the difference between a field and a wave. Or between an electron and a photon. And you’re unwilling to learn. You are a classic pseudo skeptic on a mission. For those reasons I’m out. See you in the funny papers. |
Theoretically, as I noted, transmission line effects are possible, but would be at such high frequencies as to have no possible audible effects. Far far more likely, would be simple, and practical effects, not geoffkaits physics babble. Fuses and fuse holders are mechanical devices. It is possible that the combination of the fuse shape and the holder shape is more conducive to lower resistance in one direction. However, don't get caught up in the trap for AC fuses that less resistance is always better. Ditto, fuses are thermal devices, a better mechanical connection in one direction coupled with a fuse defect resulting in asymmetrical heating could cause more thermal modulation in one direction. However, unless the fuse is pushed to its limits and the amplifier has some serious serious design issues, thermal modulation of the AC fuse is not going to be audible. |
Why? Because you are starting to realize that you can't just throw up some terms in hopes of baffling me with BS? ... Energy passes through that fuse in both directions ... it has to. The voltage potential reverses direction and the EM field must change direction as well. Electrons move in the fuse in both directions, and the EM field in bulk will be the same. Add in that most power supplies are symmetric for both polarities of the AC line. Energy is (line feedback excepted) transferred only from the AC source to the equipment but sometimes it enters through the fuse, and sometimes, the fuse provides the exit path. Either way, it is always there, and always has an impact no matter the polarity of the AC. It is always acting as an element in the circuit, in both directions, and equally. geoffkait17,596 posts10-21-2019 7:57pmThis conversation can serve no purpose any more. |
You are improperly applying quantum electrodynamics to our EMR discussion, mainly because you don't understand it ... and frankly, NONE of this matters to fuse directionality since the field, whether classical physics based on quantum based, still moves in both direction across the fuse in equal magnitude. You are a square peg/round hole sort of guy, even though we are talking about apples and oranges. If you want to be pedantic, QM does not at this point adequately described many aspects of conduction, i.e aspect of super conductivity, etc. are not adequately addressed, so your "all must be photons" is a leap you are not qualified to make for conductors. Tell me, if the field travels outside the conductor, and the energy is outside the conductor, where are the photons generated and received? .... 10-21-2019 5:58pmNow you’re getting close. The signal is an electromagnetic wave. Obviously, since the signal travels at near light speed. And signal must be photons because all (rpt all) electromagnetic waves are comprised of photons. And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist 🚀 to see electromagnetic waves must be photons since photons are the only particle that travels at light speed in a vacuum and near light speed in a metal conductor. That’s precisely why satellite communications signals (electromagnetic waves) travel at light speed in a vacuum. That’s why there’s a satellite delay for synchronous satellites. Follow |
Now you’re getting close. The signal is an electromagnetic wave. Obviously, since the signal travels at near light speed. And signal must be photons because all (rpt all) electromagnetic waves are comprised of photons. And you don’t have to be a rocket scientist 🚀 to see electromagnetic waves must be photons since photons are the only particle that travels at light speed in a vacuum and near light speed in a metal conductor. That’s precisely why satellite communications signals (electromagnetic waves) travel at light speed in a vacuum. That’s why there’s a satellite delay for synchronous satellites. Follow? |
You just sit at home and make this stuff up don't you? Drum roll ... it does not matter how fast the electrons move ... they all move at once. It like a water hose or pope that is already full of water. When you turn on the tap, you don't have to wait several seconds for the water to come out, it comes out near instantly (well function of the speed of the pressure wave .. note how I use actual technical terms that are associated with the effect). The speed is about 2/3 the speed of light. Again, quite obviously you are reading things you don't understand, mixing up what things mean, then misapplying it to other things. The thing that travels near the speed of light is the electromagnetic wave. I am not sure you understand what a photon is. Electrons emit photons when they transit from a high energy level to a low energy level, but that is not what the "signal" is. Are you now confusing transmission in copper with lasers? ... or are did you read a Feyman text but not understand it was an analogy, not an actual description of what occurred? Electrons could emit photons in a wire (and would), but that is not how current flows. This is just so whacky I am not sure if you are trolling at this point. You can't really be this off -base can you? It's silly. The electrons are not the signal ... the electromagnetic wave is, but that electromagnetic wave uses electrons (effectively) as the carrier for that wave and sweeps them along, not at the wave speed, no more than air needs to move at the speed of sound to transmit sound. It takes 1 hour at a current density of about 10 amps/mm^2 in copper near room temperature ... yes I do. geoffkait17,590 posts10-21-2019 5:17pmThe measured difference in voltage drop is a symptom or hint that wire is directional. The lowest voltage drop will occur when the fuse or wire is in the preferred direction, in terms of sound quality. The speed of the signal is near light speed in copper. That is because ...drum roll.. the signal is photons, not electrons. If the electrons were the signal the whole thing would not work. You know, since it takes one hour for the electrons to travel one meter. That’s if the circuit is DC. Obviously in an AC circuit the electrons have a net velocity of Zero since they go back and forth along with the current |
The measured difference in voltage drop is a symptom or hint that wire is directional, I.e. asymmetrical. 🔜 The lowest voltage drop will occur when the fuse or wire is in the preferred direction, in terms of sound quality. And the wire or fuse will always sound best when it is in the correct direction. The speed of the signal is near light speed in copper. That is because ...drum roll.. the signal is photons, not electrons. If the electrons were the signal the whole thing would not work. You know, since it takes one hour for the electrons to travel one meter. That’s if the circuit is DC. Obviously in an AC circuit the electrons have a net velocity of Zero since they go back and forth along with the current. 🔛 |
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roberttcan" you are harassing me. I am telling you to stop...YOU are actually harassing me. STOP. I have already reported you to moderators for doing this...YOU need to stop. I expect moderators will deal with you, but if they accept your harassment, then I will respond to YOU accordingly. Threatening users to this forum is a blatant violation of forum rules and you're threat to "respond" to me "accordingly" will not be accepted or tolerated. I will post here as I see fit within the rules, confines, and limits of this forum. It is not for you to limit, restrict, or discourage posters and contributors to this forum from sharing, expressing, or explaining they’re thoughts, observations, or opinions and regardless of you’re opinions or threats. |
Buddy, Some introspection here, you are harassing me. I am telling you to stop. YOU have the choice whether to stop harassing me or not. AGAIN, INTROSPECTION. I am threatening to treat you the way YOU are already treating me. YOU are actually harassing me. STOP. I have already reported you to moderators for doing this. I don't like doing that, but since all you are doing is harassing without bringing anything, literally nothing to the conversation, then YOU need to stop. I expect moderators will deal with you, but if they accept your harassment, then I will respond to YOU accordingly. I was previously a member of this forum for many years, but deleted my account when I got my last venture going. I don't remember your style of harassment without bringing anything to the table being tolerated. clearthink902 posts10-21-2019 4:32pm roberttcan" If you keep harassing me, I will respond in spades. You won't like it." It is a violation to threaten anyone in this forum. It is not for you to limit, restrict, or discourage posters and contributors to this forum from sharing, expressing, or explaining they’re thoughts, observations, or opinions and regardless of you’re opinions or threats. |
Let me explain it to you "dude". Voltage is nothing more than the potential to do work. It does not mean any work will be done. VELOCITY of electrons is not a measure of current (current which is the flow of electrons - charge carriers to be most accurate). You cannot "impede" voltage. Saying something "impedes" voltage is akin to saying something "impedes" height (i.e. potential gravitational energy). AGAIN, velocity of electronics is not a measurement, well of anything in this particular case. Current is charge carrier flow rate past a certain "point" in space. Speed of those carriers does not come into play, no more than saying the speed of water in a hose is 25 meters/second tells you how much water is flowing. Resistance does not impact carrier drift speed, but current density does (for a given class of conductor, say copper wire, with a defined number of free carriers). If you want to be pedantic, in a given system, resistance is at some level a measure of available charge carriers, so for a given current, which translates to current density, resistance could impact the effective drift velocity ... You can't impede voltage, you can only impede the flow of charge carriers (and again, to be most accurate, you can only enable it or not enable it). Whether there is air between two electrodes, or a resistor, the voltage does not change, just the ability to move charge carriers. Do you know why the ampere is a fundamental unit of measure, and the volt is not? Your confusion about current and voltage being "the signal" likely comes from a simplistic view of electricity and physics. I see that difference regularly ... say between the knowledge an electrician has w.r.t. electricity (which only needs to be basic), and that of an electrical engineer and/or engineering physicist who must have a deeper understanding of the concepts as they often work at more fundamental levels. Dude, this is not my "first rodeo". Unlike you, I have been doing this for oh, about 25-30 years, and have had to educated the uneducated such as yourself many times. I would suggest not trying to bully me. It won't work. You are not equipped with the tools. geoffkait17,588 posts10-21-2019 3:47pmYou’re all wet, dude. Let me explain it to you. The fuse impedes voltage, not electrons. The velocity of electrons in copper wire is the same regardless of resistance. As I stated already, electrons are not the signal. Current and voltage are the signal. That’s why wire is directional - because wire - including the wire in fuses - impedes voltage a little more in one direction compared to the other. Follow? I realize this is your first rodeo so I’ll cut you some slack. |
roberttcan" If you keep harassing me, I will respond in spades. You won't like it." It is a violation to threaten anyone in this forum. It is not for you to limit, restrict, or discourage posters and contributors to this forum from sharing, expressing, or explaining they’re thoughts, observations, or opinions and regardless of you’re opinions or threats. |
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roberttcan "If you are going to keep this up, please stop. " It is not for you to limit, restrict, or discourage posters and contributors to this forum from sharing, expressing, or explaining they’re thoughts, observations, or opinions and regardless of you're cherished, revered, and holy convictions you should not seek to silence those with who you disagree or who may have offended, insulted, or embarassed you by applying superior reasoning, knowledge or experience. |
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roberttcan"Excuse me? That is EXACTLY what someone claimed. This is a direct quote from this thread." Youhave not provided the quote to which you so strongly object, protest, and dispute. "It seems it is you that lacks reading comprehension or just wanted to look like the big man on the block, but were too lazy to do due diligence or perhaps you just don't understand the topic at hand" Insults! Insults! Insults! Is that the New American Way to develop, pursue, and prosecute an argument, reason, or belief it is beginnin g to look that way! "you should open up your electronics and start playing around with the direction of every resistor and non polarized capacitor too .... let me know how that goes." You are free to design, specify, and perform you're own tests, studies, and analysis and let us know how that goes but you can not insist, demand, and require others to perform you're testing for you on your behalf at you're insistence, demand, and order. |
You remind me of those Charlie Brown cartoons ... "Wa wa wa wa, wa wa wa wa". Yes, electrons do move "to and fro" and they impart/transfer energy ... in both directions. The fuse is a simple element in a circuit, a circuit that works both directions ... being a simple 2 port element, it will work the same in both directions. The fuse "impedes" electron flow in the circuit whether the electrons enter from the left or the right. You repeating the same stuff over and over again shows you don't understand, not that you do, i.e. "energy is scaler quantity" ... and yes, energy is transferred in BOTH DIRECTIONs. Whether it is scaler or not really matters not. Energy is transferred in both directions. Period. You do know that a lightbulb "receives" energy in both directions of the current flow right? Do you know the frequency of flicker of a light bulb .. it's not 60Hz, it is 120Hz. (or 100Hz) DO YOU know why power supplies in audio equipment have ripple at 120/100Hz? ... that is because energy is transferred in each direction. geoffkait17,587 posts10-21-2019 2:50pmEnergy does not travel to and fro in an AC circuit. Energy is a scalar quantity. It has no direction. It doesn’t make sense, anyway, since IF energy changed direction along with the current the net energy would be zero. Note to Mr. Eels - the name is Littelfuse, not Littlefuse. |
No fuse sounds better until a power surge fries your gearfrom Littlefuse 3AG Slo-Blo 313/315 Series % of Amp Rating Amp Rating Opening Time ---------------------- -------------------- ------------------- 100% 10mA – 30A 4 hours, Minimum 135% 10mA – 30A 1 hour, Maximum 200% 10mA – 15A 5 sec. Min., 30 sec. Max 20A – 30A 5 sec. Min., 60 sec. Max The average time / current curves for a 5A Slo-Blow requires ≈20A to open in 1 second, typ. A 5A fuse would typically be fit for a 2.5A load. To get 20A into the unit would require a surge of about 1000V. By the time the fuse blows, it's all over but the crying. There is an old saw "Speaker/Transistor protected fuses" that has more than a little truth to it. |
Excuse me? That is EXACTLY what someone claimed. This is a direct quote from this thread. geoffkait specifically. Don't shoot me, I am just the messenger, not the comedian. It seems it is you that lacks reading comprehension or just wanted to look like the big man on the block, but were too lazy to do due diligence or perhaps you just don't understand the topic at hand similar to how goeffkait does not understand it. The FUSE, no matter the direction of the current flow, impedes (or doesn't impede) the flow of electrons which impacts the flow of every electron at a macro level in the circuit. It doesn't matter whether the electrons are flowing into the left or right side of the fuse. The effect is the same with an AC signal ... it is a 2 port device. If you truly believe the fuses are directional, then you should open up your electronics and start playing around with the direction of every resistor and non polarized capacitor too .... let me know how that goes. Bye geoffkait17,586 posts10-13-2019 7:51amibmjunkman OK, I am totally confused. You guys saying you use these fuses in AC circuits? From their web site: A: Yes, fuses are directional. Electricity should flow from the left to the right when you view the fuse. If you do not know the direction of flow you should listen to the fuse inserted in both directions. One direction will sound more detailed. This is the correct way. I thought AC changed directions 60 times a second? >>>>>Thanks for bringing that up. Actually most audio fuses happen to be in AC circuits. It’s true current changes direction on the wire according to where the fuse is located. If the fuse is located where power comes into the CD player, preamp or amp or whatever it changes 60 times per second. But if the fuse is located in the speaker the current changes according to frequencies of the audio waveform. Thus the current at the fuse in the speaker changes 20 to 20,000 times per second - or more or less. If the fuse is in a DC circuit obviously current is unidirectional. You can ignore the current traveling in the direction away from the speakers, I.e., toward the wall, since that direction of current flow is not (rpt not) audible. The only direction that’s audible for any wire is the one toward the speakers. It is the speakers that ultimately produce the sound you hear. So, it’s the “quality” of the current traveling toward the speakers that is the issue. That’s why fuses sound better in one direction, worse in the other direction in AC circuits and DC circuits. As Old Blue Eyes sez, that’s life. |
roberttcan"The following is so laughably incorrect, I don't know whether the poster was honestly communicating what they believe or if they were trolling. This is wrong. It is not open to debate (unless you have no clue how electricity works). Of course energy is transferred in both directions." No has has claimed, asserted, or argued otherwise perhaps you are confused, disoriented, or lack proper reading comprehension. |
This is really only partially true and from a certifications standpoint not usually true. The main purpose of an AC mains fuse is to protect the AC wire leading to the equipment so that it does not heat up and cause a fire. In theory any overheating inside an piece of equipment will be suitably contained by the enclosure. Where the case is metal and grounded, it can also provide protection from a live wire contacting the grounded case, which is neutral connected at the panel and will hence blow. Almarg 9-26-2019 I just want to state a point of information: Posts that have been made by at least three different members appear to imply that the purpose of an AC mains fuse in a component is to provide protection against surges in the incoming AC. While it is possible that an AC mains fuse might do that under some circumstances, that is not its intended purpose. Its intended purpose is to blow if a fault within the component causes it to draw excessive AC current. Thereby preventing **additional** damage to the component that may otherwise occur, as well as preventing the possibility of the component overheating or even bursting into flames as a result of the excessive current being drawn. |