Upgrading Fuses

I bought the HiFi Tuning Fuse - the $37.95 ones (basic ones, I assume). I just got them two days ago.
After only 30 hours, I am quite astounded at the improvements they afford my ASL Hurricanes and hence, the entire system.. I'd spoken to Tosh Goka, who said he didn't hear much difference. But having been a detective, I like to try things for myself.
Welll....they DO have to break in - at least a few hours. At first (meaning as soon as I turned the amps on) the changes I thought I could detect were very subtle, such as a cleaner, less glaring sound. That was clear but subtle and this was with almost no break in. Today a "Supreme" fuse arrived from Music Direct. Apparently, the Supreme version is similar in its construction to the Mundorf Silver/Gold capacitors. I wouldn't know.
I had the less expensive ones on both amps yesterday and, as I said, I DID hear a difference, but had to strain a little. After 24 hours, no strain is needed. The changes are obvious: transients have more leading edge, which enhances the sense of separation of individual instruments, and even the imaging improved (and Hurricanes do NOT need assistance in that category).

When I put in the Supreme on one amp I held my breath: I mean, who wants to experience disapointment. I wouldn't let myself expect much, but, by golly, they're changing by the hour. I would assume the first fuse, which had been going straight for 30 hours (left the amps on playing music) is ahead of its "Supreme" brother (or sister, if you will) in making the music sound like...music.
It also seems -- and I say seems -- to have increased the upper frequencies on the Hurricanes a bit, so that, instead of feeling like you're in a room with only 75 watt bulbs, it's now a room with 85 watt bulbs (which one could do with a rheostat in degrees).
I'm surprised you guys spend so much time doubting instead of doing the empirical thing, like getting one and putting it in your equipment and then playing the equipment for 48 hours straight. You'll hear it. I'll have to write Tosh and suggest he try it again.
The easiest thing to hear is the lessening of grain. And transients have less of a "burr" on them (e.g. violins drawn against the bows sound cleaner and sweeter than before the fuse change).
I put on the Leonard Bernstein recording of The Rites of Spring, an absolutely HORRIBLE recording - which is why I used it: anything that could make it sound better was either euphonic or just plain good - but either way, it would be an improvement, sonically speaking. Pre-fuses: Just a mishmash of instruments jammed together. Only the loudest instruments or the ones in front of the stage could be distinguished (on my system). But today, even though I had the "basic gold" ones on both amps, when I got up and well into the music room, I could tell the difference in the recording. It was starting to make sense, instead of the wall-of-sound it threw up prior to the fuse change. When I put the Supreme in, and played it again, it sounded...musical (well, as musical as the Rites of Spring can sound. Which isn't very, but it became entirely more listenable, meaning I was pulled into listening to the first 10 cuts before I stopped the CD.

Pre-fuse: I'd listen to one cut, and start jumping around to see if I wanted to listen to any other cuts. Just wasn't interested. Now, I find myself highly attentive.
Equipment:
First Sound Deluxe MK II, ASL Hurricanes, Hale Revelation 3s, Arcam FMJ23, Nordost Quattro Fil interconnects, Shunyata Andromeda speaker cable, Shunyata Python CX power cords, Quantum conditioner with QX4 units, Nordost Sort Kones (Brass under preamp, Ceramic under amps), Tube Traps Galore.
With the fuses in the system, it is very easy to hear when a change in the orientation of a tube trap is killing the sound. Of course, I could hear it before (my room has ASC's Wall Damp Treatment (resilient channel and squares of wall damps between two layers of drywall), but now it's so EASY to hear it.
I would rather someone contribute when they actually KNOW what they're talking about, then to simply post to prove Ivor Tiefenbrun's statement, "If you haven't hear it, you DON'T have an opinion."
You should just try it instead of making yourself feel superior for not falling for another "snake oil" get-his-money-before-he-knows-what-hit-him "scheme."
These actually work.
Sorry, I gotta go. I've been watching tv for an hour and I'm DYING to "hear" what else has improved!

Goodness Gracious, I done got me a case of the Vapors!!

It's only about 20 minutes since my last post, but I had to come out of the room, 'cuz those Hurricanes done heated it up something fierce and I just cain't turn 'em off. It done sounded too good! (And before anyone complains I'm un-pc, I'm a 62 year-old Black man and the way I'm feelin' right now, I couldn't care less that I'm coming across as giddy as Butterly McQueen!). G**damn!
So, lets make this easy. I have two fuses left, and I doubt I'll need 'em. Anyone who needs a 10 amp fuse (A Hurricane owner, maybe) can email me : mcbrion@aol.com. I'll GIVE you the fuse for free. That way, you can hear what I (and Lacee) can hear. I'll even pay the postage.
Just as a furthur note: between the time I left the room, an hour ago, and now, the separation of instruments has improved and I noticed, in particular, when the piccolo blows in Cut 2, 2:13 into the cut (the Mercury Living Presence CD of the Rites of Spring (Mercury 434 331-2), the metallic bite is there, but there's no ringing riding the harmonics: it's just a clean, clear take-your-head-off piping hot note! Usually, when I've heard it, there's an extra "zing" to it, but not this time.
So, even though it's only 1 fuse, if you use a 10 AMP fuse, post here or email me. First one wins.
I'm really thrilled that such a stupid little change could effect such a significant improvement in sound. It's not like I was looking for it. I just happened to be perusing Stereophile's articles and went thru the Powerline Accessories section and saw Fremer commenting on them. So I read it. It piqued my interest and I read it and ordered two fuses immediately. (it was only $75.00 for both plus shipping). Here's the link: read it for yourself. And I think we can assume Fremer, big mouth that he is (I'm one, too) is not shilling for ANYone.
Here's the link:
http://www.stereophile.com/category/powerline-accessory-reviews/

So, just email me or post here. Whichever I see first, that's who I'm sending it to. This is just too good to keep it to myself. I'll check the threads and my mail for the next few days (today's December 31st at 12:20 a.m.)
May the fastest typist win!

No more calls! We have a WINNER!!!!
And I'll just ask the guy who I sent them to to post on this thread after he's had the fuse in about 24 hours. It should show some significant improvements by then unless the fuse (HiFi Tuning is the manufacturer, and it cost around $37.95) is oriented wrong. I'm not sure if only the top level (the "Supreme" model, which is built like the Mundorf, is directional, but I advised him that, if it didn't sound right to his ears, to turn the fuse (it has an arrow on the body) in the other direction and see if it makes a difference.
Frankly, I'd NEVER go back to the fuse supplied with my equipment. This fuse has made it so easy to differentiate between "fuzziness" that's on a recording and what may be the equipment ahead of it (I have it in the Hurricane amps, remember). Of course, my First Sound doesn't have a fuse in it: I called the designer, Emannuel Go, to ask if there was a fuse in the power supply and he replied there wasn't. (I was disappointed: these days, I want to put fuses in EVERYthing!). So, that eliminates having to open the power supply.
You really ought to try SOMEbody's fuse, guys. Even if it's a $10 model (I don't know who makes those, but that's not the point: the fuse DOES make a difference in the purity of the sound), you should hear SOME improvement over the .50 fuse that comes with the model.

Sure, Vhiner.
My intent was to allow someone with no money spent the opportunity to post his own impressions, free of the need to prove he spent his money "wisely." This way, the other poster can say it sounded like crap if he likes. It wouldn't deter me one iota, now that I've, as Lacee stated, done the experiment. It's not as though I have stock in the HiFi fuses or anything.

We all benefit if we use wisdom as our guide. To quote Einstein: "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

Zman:
We all love music, and sometimes, it takes someone holding out their hand and saying, take my hand, I won't let you down.
I believed in the HiFi fuses enough that I wanted someone else to experience them without having to lose something.
Conversely, I should point out what you told me when you wrote me, because it turned out you were correct in your statement:
the fuses' arrow doesn't necessarily mean the direction to turn it. I pointed it backwards (as in, it would shoot OUT of the back of amp and into the wall BEHIND the speakers, instead of the way I orignally had it pointed, which was, towards the listening chair) and MAN, did the sound change.
I had written Ken at HiFi Tuning, and he said, nope, don't worry about which way it goes: you'll hear the difference immediately - and I DID. But you got me started. So, to anyone buying it: try the fuse with the arrow pointed towards in both directions and you'll hear which way is best. And you'll hear it so immediately, you'll think you've taken peyote (mushrooms) or some other psychedelic. I was surprised I heard it (and I was skeptical I WOULD hear it, as Ken said I would, but heck, I'm a mad scientist: I try EVERYTHING!). And I heard it. I kept looking around the room, saying, "Okay, who's the wise guy that changed the sound like that? Is there an invisible witch in the room?!?"
Geez.
I'm glad for the corroboration. Who'd have thunk it?!?!? First it was line conditioners (the Tice started the revolution), then power cords, then...fuses??????? What's the world coming to???
And Vhiner, you're probably right, buy one thing about the Hurricanes: if you make a change in your system, they'll let you know about it. I know some people want uber-resolution above all, but I want musical resolution: more microdynamics, more musical resolution, more MUSIC(!) he said, as he swooned away into Dance Macabre...

And....hereeeee's ...Glennie!

Wow, I'm really becoming addicted to the HiFi fuses.

Just for the fun of it (and because I KNOW what the do to the sound), I changed the fuse in the PS Audio Power Plant 300 about 10 minutes ago. I shall attempt to remain sanguine about the improvement.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! ...well, I sure failed that!!

Really, guys and ladies (and others, as Anna Russell would say): you really have to buck up here and change yer damn fuses and quit griping that "a fuse can't POSSIBLY make a difference. It does.
What surprised me is what DID change and what DIDN'T change.
The "air" in the rear layers of the orchestra -- or maybe I should just say the "ambience" in the rear layers became significantly more noticeable. Perhaps the better fuse is allowing the Power Plant to be even clearer than it was (I'll leave it to the technical-minded to explain that). And the brass are surging forth both more powerfully, and more distinctly separated from each other (whereas before, they were a bit congealed). What did NOT improve is the string section, which actually is making me check my tubes in the First Sound preamp. Fortunately, I have spare Amperex 6922s, so I can tell tomorrow morning. I'm leaving the Power Plant running all night to break in. (I think it took around 5 hours for the fuses to really cook in "well," whatever that means. To me, it means the difference between the moment I turned the amps on (the first place I put them and listened) and the identifiable changes 8 hours later (which means when I arise tomorrow, er...today, at 8 a.m., I should hear a difference.
Back to the strings: this is a Deutsche Grammophon issue of Jean Sibelius' Finlandia [413 755-2]. I thought the strings were nice, but with the new fuses, it's clear they're not the best rendering of strings I've heard. They're not bad, just...edge in spots. Fascinatingly enough, the brass improved quite a bit, which usually means better mid bass renderings (and the brass do sound more golden-ish and simultaneously less "biting" (read: harsh) in their upper midrange frequencies). And the oboe now has more body to it, and I didn't even give the 'Canes time to warm up, because it was so late when I began listening, almost midnight.
Nonetheless, the fuses are now in the Power Plant and the Hurricanes and there's no disputing the quality of the improvement in sound. I can understand some folks saying $37 for fuses is absurd, but it makes a greater improvement than a high-quality outlet, or cleaning the CD.
Hey, it's on you if you'd rather gripe than check it out. But MAN, does it ever sound better. And I would imagine those of you with very high-quality systems (such as the guy who changed the fuse in high Magnepan 1.7s on another thread and went apes***) will hear it instantly. You'll be lucky, if you hit "play" on your cd player while walking to the listening chair, to actually REACH the listening chair without turning around slowly in disbelief.