Upgrading Fuses

Wow this is such a lively discussion. I'm going to try and read through all this later.

I wonder what Needfreestuff has done now fuse wise.

Well looking through the archives this debate has raged on for years in different threads. I did find a nice review by longtime A'gon member Albert Porter where he discusses Isoclean fuses.

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue22/isoclean.htm

As for me I just can't get myself to spend $25 to $40 on a fuse. I am going to try ceramic fuses in place of my glass ones. They are about $1.50 per fuse rather than $.60 per fuse. One hi-end install shop told me that when they changed stock fuses to the more expensive fuses in some amps and preamps in some of their big dollar installs and the changes in sound were good but only very slight. Nothing earth shattering.

Hi Lacee

I do appreciate your candor and don't mind the bluntness. You definitely do make a lot of valid points. My reasoning for not spending more than a couple of bucks per fuse is because my gear isn't as nice as yours or the others mentioned where members have heard positive sonic differences or improvements by putting in the more expensive fuses in place.

From what I've read systems that have the more expensive gear that are also very resolving benefit most from these fuses. You've got Manley and Decware gear which is real nice and expensive to me. My gear i no where near that. One of your Shunyata power cords new costs almost as much as my entire system!

I highly doubt putting a couple of hundred dollars worth of fuses is going to make a difference with my gear. I think I'd be hitting diminishing returns. If I had a big dollar system though I'd be more open to the pricier fuses.

When you upgrade fuses on an amplifier in addition to changing the fuses on each channel is the fuse next to the power cord changed as well? The reason I ask is I'm potentially looking at $200 to $275 expenditure depending on the fuses I choose on an amp I paid a total of $800 for. I still keep wondering if diminishing returns will be kicking in. Thanks

Hi you guys

In my systems I do have aftermarket power cords and power conditioning on my system but they are all very modest. My power cords are 14AWG Hospital Power cords that are purple and gray. I swear they look a lot like the Iron Lung Jellyfish power cords but for much less. My front end has power conditioning via a Topaz 1.8KVa Isolation Transformer and a Belkin PureAV surge protector power strip. Not the most expensive gear but I have heard a reduction in noise floor. My amp is plugged directly into the wall socket.

Before I get to the fuses I'm going to try some DIY power cords using Belden 83803 wire with Sonar plugs followed by a change to Hubbell 8300 Hospital Outlets. I'm trying to not overspend on tweaks or upgrades like I have in the past.
If I get noticeable improvements out of these tweaks I'll make the jump to fuses if I can find them at a price I find reasonable.