Upgrading Fuses

Rodman,yes it is very easy to do,and when done, it's also easy to hear the improvement with the fuse out of the link.

Years ago Peter Aczel suggested that speaker protection fuses ruined the sound anywhere in the chain, be it in the speakers or in the amp.

Years ago I tried removing the speaker fuses and ever since have bypassed them with copper wire.

I never had any disasters, no blow ups, ruined drivers or house fires.

But why tempt fate .I tried the IsoCleans when they came out and they were an improvement over the stock one buck fuses.
Now I use the HiFi supremes in my Decware amp, my Manley Steelhead.

I also use dedicated lines, Sand Shunyata Hydras and Annaconda power cords.

How these things all interact together to make a much more enjoyable listening experience is something that didn't happen overnite.
I would venture that the folks who haven't had much luck with aftermarket power cords will also not find aftermarket fuses to work either.

Some folks are just wired that way,pun intended.

The effects of upgrading your power to the gear(which to me is the real "source")is cumulative.

Each piece of the puzzle does a bit, but until you put all the pieces together, you will never see the big picture.

That's what's unique about this hobby.
People are looking for the big fix for under a buck at the dollar store, and refuse to go the extra mile to get all the music out of their systems that they spent decent money on.

Home Depot wire is great, better than most mega buck speaker wires,so they tell me.

But if they are true to their beliefs, shouldn't the home depot wire be no better or no worse?

It's become apparent to me over the years that anything that costs more than a buck is to be avoided at all costs.

And that's sad.

That tells me there is a lot of systems with a lot of money invested in them that will never sound as good as it was designed to sound, and all the money invested in massive music software has been wasted if the system is only capable of delivering part of the music.

What money is saved if you forgo 40 bucks on a fuse and spend it on a nice re-issue, if the sound of the re-issue will be compromised by the stock one buck fuse?

I think nickle and diming your way in this hobby is the most foolish waste of time and money there is.

I know it goes against the grain and wisdom of the new generation of audiophile,but then again I am old school.

I still enjoy listening to music without any distaractions and giving it all my attention.

Well forty bucks isn't outrageous money to spend even if your gear isn't expensive.
The DecWare amp sells for about one thousand dollars, brand new and it's one of the best amps I've ever owned.
All 2 watts of this amp drives my Ref 3A Grand Veenas to very pleasurable levels in my smaller room.

It's the tone that matters to me, not the volume, or amount of bass impact,yet I notice no lack of bass with the Decware doing the amplification.

So,I wouldn't limit the use of a HiFi fuse to only high end gear.

Remember what Aczel said(before his myth busting days)that fuses degrade your sound.
I have years of experience with all manner and stripe of amplifiers to back this up.

Interesting what Mr.Aczel's take would be on a fuse that costs 40 bucks, but I'll wager it would be in the denier category.
Kind of ironic isn't it, but still keeping with his 180 degree turn in this hobby, and I'll wager he can pretty much lay claim to being the father of the whole denier cult so fashionable today.
And so sad.

To me if you are of the belief that everything is bunk and hype, then this must be a very uninteresting and boring hobby, unless your thrills are debunking things. If you feel there is nothing to be discovered, that nothing can improve upon stock or vintage, then to me ,what's the point of investing any money in anything in the hobby.
That's stagnation to me, and not any fun.

Also, remember that Mr.Aczel originally felt that things could be improved from stock.
Fuses were one thing that he felt had a sonic signature.

So why is it so hard to grasp the concept of one fuse being better than another?

Again we are talking 40 bucks, if the cost is the only reason to shy away from it, then again to me, this isn't the type of hobby for you to be in.

I personally don't think the cost of an upgraded fuse like the HiFi tuning supremmes that I now use is a ripp off.

If I did I would still be using my solid copper fuse replacements and be done with it, sans the protection that a fuse brings.
To me the peace of mind of knowing I also get protection besides better sound is the real plus.

I should add that yes the HiFi Supreme fuse did improve the already great sound of my Decware amp, as did the IsoCleans when they were used in AtmaSphere,Classe,and Cary amplifiers.

You can spend a lot more money and not get any results as pleasing as you do with a decent upgraded fuse.

It's safe, simple to install,improves the sound, and the amplifier is easily returned to stock condition, which is a real plus if you are into the vintage thing.There is no audio butchery involved and anyone can do it, no engineer's degree is needed.

To my ears the upgraded audio fuse from reputable manufacturers such as HiFi tuning,should be the very first thing an audiophile buys when he starts on the road to getting all the music from his system.

After this is done, most everything else will fall into place, and you'll notice how simple things that you once took for granted or paid no attention to, really do matter, and matter a lot more when you address them from the electrical panel to the panel speaker, or cone, your choice.

Speaking of panels, Magnepan speakers are prime candidates for upgraded fuses, and I know several owners who bypass the fuse altogether and get better sound.

Getting back to Peter Aczel,he is one piece of audio that I really do enjoy more in his old "vintage" personna.

I am lucky, I only had single fuse per component to change, but I would tend to agree that the fuse nearest the power cord would be the place to start, and perhaps that's as far as you need to go if you are pleased with the results.

Personally spending 200 dollars on gear worth 800 doesn't seem right to me,but if you feel the need then why should my opinions matter?

You see it doesn't bother me one way or the other how you spend your money.

No one has the right to say you shouldn't or that it is foolish.

But, spending money on things you have never heard is something that I think needs some thought.

Buying anything unheard has a 50/50 chance of you liking it or not.
That's why there's stuff on Gon.

So, unless you have some experience about what certain things like fuses or power cords or conditioners or dedicted lines can do to the sound of the music you listen to, then you are buying on faith, and relying on all of "us" and the advertising industry and are easy prey to the snake oil salesman.

I really can't say when the last time I was bitten by a snake oil salesman.

I usually do my homework and "listen with MY ears" before I decide to break out the wallet.

I would think this is the norm with most normal people ,hence no need for the evangelists to save our souls.

And yes to be able to discerne differences, good and bad or indifferent, is something that has to be learned.
Some have learned how and others have not, and so the need for measurements to soothe their insecurities in whatever white paper mumbo jumbo floats your boat.

It always helps if there is a fellow in a white lab coat or EEG attached somewhere.

I also feel that the specs of most gear made today(not vintage-sorry to say)are quite good and you might not see very much measured differences from one amp to the next for example.

And yet, people can and do buy one amp over the other and continue to do so, over and over.Look at the amp ads on Gon.
Now tell me, that all those amps for sale are bought and sold because of how they measure on paper or because of how they "sound"?

To belittle anyone's hearing ability is as bad as saying you must have golden ears.
Yet I know of many normal people not in this hobby, who can tell the differences between a tube amp and a solid state amp.

And despite what someone has said about musicians, the real one's are not tone deaf.

They futz about with transfomers, different raw speaker drivers and tubes, all in search of the "sound" that they want to get.
Why are modelling amps(they sample the tones of several makes and types of amps) so popular if musicians are unable to differentiate tonal differences?
It's the very essence of a modelling amp.
Sorry,that's one for the musicians, and a strike against the ears not being significant to a musician.
A musician's stuggle to find the right sound be it a violinist or a rocker is pretty much out there for all to read about,most guitarists have several amps and guitars and prize each one for it's own unique sound.
Are his ears being fooled?
He would laugh at that.

The only fellow who would settle for a cheap solid state guitar amp over a vintage tubed Fender reverb is the guy without the cash to buy the Fender amp.

And so to for the audiophiles who turn down their noses to the folks who can afford the stuff they can't,if they could they would.

Ok guys,back to your corners.

For the curious "I want the measurements to prove it types" I would ask that they just use a simple chunk of copper wire,such as Romex, and strip the ends to make them bare.
Then insert said copper fuse replacements in the place of the cheap stock speaker protection fuses.
I would not want to be responsible for any calamities if one were to bypass all fuses with copper replacements.
Because I have and got away unscatehed doesn't mean you will.

But,,, and a big but, if you are curious about what sonics a simple fuse can alter(notice I said alter and not indicated that the fuse has a sound of it's own per se),then by all means have a listen for yourself.
If you like the sound better with the DIY fuse replacement then you will have a strong indication about how a HiFi tuning fuse will make your system sound.
Again, folks with Magnepans have mostly done this already, if you haven't, try it, but remember you are on your own.Any stupid volume issues or all thumbs types ,you are on your own if calamity ensues, so becareful.

What you should hear is more clairity, less mush,and more dynamics, and more blah blah blah, stuff everyone always says you hear when you tweak your gear.

In truth isn't that what we are all after?
More of everything good from our systems?

If $40.00 is all it takes or zero dollars if you roll your own and say a couple of Hail Mary's, then why not just try it and prove to yourself once and for all?
Who needs a white paper or some audio nerd to tell you if something works or not.
Don't rely on anyone, but yourself.

Ah, but "the ears can't be trusted!" or some such drivel I am sure will spring forth from the deniers, and then they'll try to disprove what you have just heard with YOUR own ears(not theirs).

Just don't pay any attention to that nonsensical rhetoric.
It has nothing to do with music, or this hobby,because if we don't rely on our ears in this hobby, then we should not be involved in this hobby.

It's all about the MUSIC!.Not the specs.

And unless I am a weirder bird than I think I am, I use my ears and not my eyes when I play music in my system.

So, the next time one of the "crowd" chimes in with "show me the proof", tell them they can't believe everything they read.
Which is what my old man beat into my head.

I make no claims that "you" ,you know who you are,can hear the differences that a DIY or HiFi fuse can make.

I only claim that I can hear the improved performance of the music.

What I DO claim, is complete acceptance of the claims of Peter Aczel ,going back to the mid 1970's, that fuses do indeed degrade the sound of whatever system they are used in.

Again, I re-iterate,go back to his earliest writings in the Audio Critic and you will see his observations on what bypassing the speaker protection fuses did.

I ,being of the ilk that would rather try it for myself before I pass judgement,did try the same fuse bypass way back in the mid 70's on my Amber stereo amp.

Then I did the same with every tube and solid state power amp, or fused speaker that I owned, and the list is longer than my arm.

Never once did I ever experience any calamities, or damage any gear.
Everytime, the system sounded better.

I used old speaker wire or Romex which cost me nothing.

It was cheap, and DIY, so that should garner some points with a few audiophiles I would think?

But besides being DIY and cheap, it worked.
Just like Peter Aczel said it would.

My ears weren't fooled by advertising hype, I wasn't biased because i had just sold the farm to buy the tweak and I also never saw anyone at THAT TIME say it wouldn't work.

It's only been in the last few years, since the same Peter Aczel made his infamous audio myths, that a new breed of audiophile has emerged on the horizon.

You see him on all the sites.
Always the same arguments ,so much in fact you would think it was the same soul!

He never tries any of the stuff others say work.

Yet he knows for sure that it can't.
How's that for magic hocus pocus abilities?
That trumps a golden ear any day of the week in my book.

He doesn't trust your ears or his, but he just knows that certain things can't work as claimed.

I always wonder, "what's in it for him?"

What's the satisfaction? Is it a sense of superiority that he is too smart to fall for such drivel as a fuse having any significance?

A fuse is a relatively insignificant little thing.Not much to it,it only serves one purpose and that is to blow it's self up.

And yet way back when in the 1970's, the author of the 10 great Audio Myths, felt this little bit of nothing, could indeed play a major role in the sound of the gear it was used in.

Some of the more esoteric gear dispense with fuses altogether for just this reason and use thermal protection.

Ah, and some folks think that fuses don't matter, because they just "know" that they don't.

The next time those folks who don't trust their ears buy any new music or gear, I have to wonder why they would ever do such a thing?

Surely ,if they "think" the new amp sounds better than the old,those thoughts are based on assumptions, hype, marketing and mystique, and have nothing to do with the sound.How could it?The ears lie!Or so they are telling us ,the folks who do rely on our ears to make or break a purchase.

If the ears lie, then why bother with room tuning, or room correction?
It would be a waste of money, and just more trickery.

Ah, but here you can measure the before and after difference of the treatment, and maybe just prove it to yourself that what your ears are telling you is the truth and not a lie.

I am sure you could also measure the before and after effects of a DIY or upgraded fuse.

And if that is how you want to spend your time in this hobby, measuring and debunking and not listening, then by all means have fun.

Personally, I'll be searching out more stuff like the HiFi fuses, and listening to the music, all the music.

I am firmly in the camp that upgraded power cords, whether DIY or store bought name brand and upgrades to the power delivery are crucial if not mandatory today.

Wallplugging your gear , or going straight into the wall which was the norm back when I started in the 1970's,for me, isn't the way to get the most bang for your audio buck.

And neither is a stock fuse.

So, if you are in the camp that can hear the differences that power cords and power line upgrades can do for your system then you owe it to yourself to go the next step and purge your gear from one of the last bottlenecks to good sound.

That they cost so little, is a novelty in this day, when you hear what they can do.

Those upgraded power cords are still at the mercy of the stock fuse.

Replace the fuse and finally hear all the improvements that the power cords and conditioners can deliver.

It's really that simple and cheaper than the countless amp,speaker trials and errors audiophiles submit themselves to.

It's all in the little details, add them up and you start to see the big picture.

Happy listening is indeed the end result ,and the intended one at that.
Why else bother with the expense of upgrades?

Carol 10/3 cables work quite well as power cord wire, but it's bulky.

I've used FIM, Shunyata, and many Hubbel receptacles, anything is better than what comes with the house, but some are better than others,if your pocket book rules the day, then look for some cheaper used plugs.

As far as IEC and male plug ends, I've found that the cheaper Furutech copper plugs do a good job for reasonable money.

I have also noticed a big step up when I made a new 20 amp power cord using the Rhodium 20 amp plugs from Furutech and their top line power cord wire.

It was costly, but still cheaper than a 20 amp Annaconda CX.

I have 4 Annaconda Helix power cords,the Hydra 8 and Hydra 2 power conditioners and two dedicated lines going into 30 amp breakers and using 10 guage solid core Romex.

My breaker is only a few feet away from my gear in my listening room, so perhaps the increase in sound quality by using upgraded cords and fuses could be more pronounced in such a situation.

But, I have been fooling around with DIY power cords and fuses since the 1980's and in a few different situations.I always noticed a level of improvement by using upgraded cords and fuses, even if they were cheap and DIY.

There are audible differences, and those differences are for the better .Once you hear them you won't settle for stock again, no matter how expensive the system is.

Look at your power needs from the panel to where your gear accepts it, and everyting in between.

It's a complete system, and like you've read millions of times'all systems can be compromised with weak links.

It's also cumulative.

If you can't do it all at once,try one component at a time.

Upgrade the power cord and fuse and receptacles and if you like the improvement, move on to the rest of your gear.

If you can swing dedicated lines, all the better.

I've found that one reason some tweaks get a bad rap is because they are expected to work miracles and transform a mediocre system into a high end one.

That's not going to happen.

But if a few tweaks used in the right places are combined with dedicated lines and the power is addressed, you can make a mediocre system sound better than it did.

Adding one HiFi Supreme fuse to an otherwise stock system, may or may not make an audible improvemnt if all the other essentials(for me) aren't addressed.

But leaving it out of the mix of a finely tweaked system which does have all the goodies, doesn't make sense to me either.

And in this case you should be able to easily hear what it can do to improve an already good system.

In all my years at this hobby, it amazes me why such a simple little investment(in an upgraded fuse)can create such controvery.

Fuses degrade the sound, you can try DIY replacemnents and discover this yourself as Peter Aczel discussed back in the late 70's early 80s, or you can just spend the money and buy the IsoCleans or HiFi Supremes, and know that your gear is protected and sounds better.

So why don't high end manufacturers add them to their products?
Some do.But most also only supply the most modest types of power cords.

HiFi is all about enjoying the music and making it sound the most acceptable it can to YOUR ears.

That's why they leave the aftermarket stuff to the purchaser to decide if one brand of power cord for example is better than the other.

In all fairness this isn't a cop out.
How are they to know what your room sounds like, what other components you have and how you've addressed the power?

They don't, because they are not big brother forcing you to bend to their wishes, although a few have tried this type of approach.Most have failed,and have become more conventional.

No, it's up to us to assemble audio systems that meet the demands of our listening environments and our ears.

Sorry if that sounds a bit out of tune with the way the newer thinking is concerning our hobby,but it's the way I've always approached it, and my experiences have been more positive than not.

All gear can be improved, or at least made to sound the way that it was designed to sound, or perhaps even exceed the expectations of the designer.

Sometimes all you need to do is replace the stock fuse.

It's great to see that you are going to take the plunge and try one of the fuses.

Although I am not familiar with any of the gear you will be using the fuse in,like all things in this hobby, YMMV.

With that in mind,the supreme fuses when used in amplifiers,are usually not hard to evaluate.

Very interesting different takes on the fuse uograde advice given by a real manufacturer.

That it has been regarded as a ploy to yet again rob the poor unsuspecting audiophile of his money is a sad statement about how so many folks who claim to be active in this hobby seem to percieve it.

You know the types, the ones who claim everything is suspect and snake oil.

But why do they care how or on what I and others spend our money?
I spend on things that make me enjoy the music more.

I wish I had more money to spend,I'd buy better amps and speakers and wires, more room tuning and power conditioners.
But I don't, and a lot of folks don't.

But the cost of an upgraded fuse isn't going to mean your kid can't get a college education or you have to take out a second mortgage.
It's something most folks can afford,and they work in my system, and for me that's just as well as getting a new amp etc.

I've been on the buy and sell merry go round for years.
It's been fun.
I learned a lot, assembled some real class A systems and now in my twilight years,I am enjoyng my latest system more than any of my previous ones, and my present system isn't anywhere near as exotic or expensive or as high end as the old ones were.

So what's the secret?

Doing things to upgrade the gear that I have, and that has mostly been investing in power products not new amps and speakers as I used to.

When you start on this road, which many are recluctant to do because of all the fear involved(danger Will Robinson,that looks like snake oil!)you realize how much we compromise the quality of our gear and never really hear how good it is.So we tire of the sound and move on to the next promise of a better tomorrow.

I wish I had some of the stuff i've sold over the years that I never really heard,because I never did anything about the power going to it.

So who cares if the fellow who invests in the new fuse takes that learning experience and applies it to other upgrades that will improve his enjoyment of his system and the music it serves?

Isn't that what this hobby is all about?

At least it was when I started out on this journey.

Just to add another bit of info.

I was glancing at the manual for the Vandersteen 3A speakers on another site, and low and behold Mr.V. says that fuses degrade the sound, avoid speakers that have them and amps that have speaker protection fuses.

He's speaking speaker fuses, but the key thing to remember is that "fuses degrade the sound" and I would add that wherever they are used, they will degrade the sound.Peter Aczel found that out 3 decades ago.

I remember when spiking speakers or components placed on tip toes for example was deemed voodoo and snake oil, also about 3 decades ago.

Perhaps in a few more years, upgraded fuses will join the other "snake oil" tweaks that have now become the norm.

Way back when, Peter Aczel had a magazine called the Audio Critic.
I subscribed to it, as I did to Stereophile and TAS.

Back in the mid 1980's I think, he ran an article about how damaging speaker protection fuses were to the sound of whatever they were used with.

He suggested bypassing them altogether , using speakewire or partialally clad solid copper wire.

Magnepan owners were the first to reap the benefits.

I am not surprised that younger Maggie owners haven't caught wind of this, because over the years Peter Aczel has become the poster boy against things that are purported to make an improvement.He is the great Myth buster to a lot of folks.

But have no doubt,back in the old days when he was young enough to hear differences, he was spot on about speaker fuses.
I took him up on his stand and until the onset of better made although prohibitively expensive for some($60. to $85.00)I used different chunks of solid copper and threw the cheap $1.00 fuses into the garbage where they belong.

Yes a fuse is just a fuse and it's only purpose in life is to blow if there is a fault somewhere in the system.
Except of course it's not that simple.

It's a sonic bottleneck that even old Pete heard back in the day.

So,is it that great a stretch to reason that if a speaker fuse degrades the sound that fuses in general degrade the sound wherever they are used?
Afterall until the high priced ones came around, most were the garden variety that the manufacturer had to throw into the amp so it would pass code.So most everyone had the same fuse, albeit in a few different configurations based on the cicuit.

Then after 30 years someone got wise and decided to market a better made fuse, unfortunately it costs more than the $1.75 some folks feel it should cost.

I am not saying that the price is a steal or a ripp off.
But someone is making money off the $1.00 fuse aren't they?

To me the deal was done years ago, fuses degrade the sound.
No fuse or a DIY bypass(try one in the Maggies)is better than the cheap ones that come with most gear.

I used to use solid copper and threw out the old stock fuse in all my gear, amps included.
I was lucky and never had a failure, fire or malfunction.

When the designer fuses came out I bought the Iso Cleans and after hearing what they did on my power amps I upgraded all my gear to them.

Now I use the HIFI Supremes,a bit more expensive, but I can afford to enjoy the improvement they make.

When you think about how much money is wasted on swapping out amps, speakers, interconnects, speaker wires, etc,the cost of a fuse that can improve your sound really isn't that much as things go in this hobby.

Some people have no qualms about spending big bucks on NOS tubes that may or may not improve your system and they may be of questionable vintage and quality.And those folks buy them on faith or word of mouth.

And yet the poor little upscale fuse continues to take a backseat.

I know I will never convince the folks who know the fuse can't make a difference, or convince those who think that $60.00 is akin to shutting the door on their kids education.
All I can say is that what Peter Aczel said back in the 80's still applies today, fuses degrade the sound.It's not fiction to me, it's been a fact.

The great thing is that now I get the added protection of a fuse without the degraded sound.

Magnets!
Now that's interesting.

Could you add some more info?

When I was into the DIY replacement fuses I could hear the difference in sound between solid core copper and stranded copper wire.

Please elaborate on what the magnets bring to the party, and where you sourced them.

There is a difference between the two camps.

One side, called the "believers" have actually used the "product" that is being discussed in his system and has drawn his conclusions.

The other side has not.
This side, the measurements types,who put their trust in the scientific method, don't even adhere to their own priciples.
They don't experiment and try the gear in question.
They refuse to do so.

Which I think makes them more of a "believer" than the ones who have actually expeience with the product.
Their beliefs are not based on the most fundamental tenant of scientific theory, and that is the experiment.

Where would we be today if everyone with a scientific leaning never bothered to try anything new.Refused to experiment.
No new scientific breakthroughs, no furthering of knowledge if one limits themselves to just living their lives based on what's already been done and blanket acceptance that there's nothing new under the sun, that we've been there done that.

This is what sets the two camps apart and it's ironic that the "believers" seem to be more scientific than the non believers.
They do the experiemnt and reach a conclusion.

Years ago I could have scoffed at what Aczel said.
But I didn't, I was curious, I made DIY fuses or bypassed the fuse.

I enjoyed better sound and never had any mishaps with gear.

Then when the upgraded fuses came out 20 or more years later I tried them.
It wasn't a belief or faith system that led me to them it was experience and that came from experience with what fuses do to the sound.Experience of twenty years of running without fuses.
I should add that I never left any gear on during my fuseless years 24/7.

Were the new boutique fuses better than bypassing or diy?
Perhaps not, but I sleep better at nite and my sound is not degraded by a cheap stock one buck fuse.

No the two sides have nothing in common least of all science.

Nobody sways or converts?

That's not correct.

Anyone who switched out a cheap stock fuse for an upgraded one will never switch back to the way it was.So they've been converted.

There's no going back for us,whereas some folks aren't wiling to go forward.

No matter if the upgraded fuse was only ten cents, I am certain the naysayers wouldn't buy one.

Simple things like replacing a fuse,don't require that you need and electrical engineering degree.

Perhaps that's part of it.

It's too simple!

I just popped in two 5A slo blo HiFi Supremes in my old Acoustat tube servo amps.

The two 1/2 amp fast blos are on back order,but even with the job half done,the sound has improved.

Hard to describe to those who haven't experienced it,and when you try the best you can say is that things just improve in all areas.

Next up is my cd player,but it is costly,Nano fuse is tempting, but I've had such good sound with the Supremes I hate to use anything but them,if only for consistency.

When done that's 9 new fuses so that's about a $1000.00 investment in fuses.

I can hear the riddicule,but it doesn't faze me.

I've experience with other tweeks costing as much or more that haven't been as positive as the fuse upgrades.

And when it comes to swapping tubes or interconnects looking for the big improvement, most times they fail to live up to expectations,so you keep investing in those same tweeks, over and over.

To me a one time investment of $90.00 on a fuse doesn't seem foolish.

But for it not to appear foolish, you have to try it for yourself.

How would that power cord sound now that you've got the fuse?

This is the point that a lot of folks miss, and some of my friends fall into the category of folks who expect one upgrade to transform the entire system.

Nite and day transformations seldom occur as you move up the food chain in this hobby.

Things get to a certain level and the differences a single tweek like one power cord can make are not always game changing, so folks give up and cry snake oil.

I've found that you have to treat every component as eligeable for tweaking.

That means do all the fuses, do all the same upgraded power cords, IC, etc., and if you can run dedicated lines and use upscale power conditioning go for it.
I am especially pleased with the results when you isolate the cd player on it's own line.
There is less one dimensional, flat sound,you start to notice more distinctions around the instruments, more space if you will.

Tweaking the power cords and fuses then makes these upgrades more noticeable.

You get out of this hobby what you put into it.

If you really want to hear the music,all of the music, you need to make your components work the way they were designed to,at their optimum capacity.
You can't be complacent or lazy,just spinning some discs is fine,if all you want is a few minutes of musical entertainment.

When you sweat the details you reap the benefits and a few minutes turns into hours of musical bliss.

The better the system ,the less you feel like finding something to do as you listen.

The music takes over and demands your full attention, and that's not a hard thing for it to do when it's tweeked.

That's when the system as a whole sounds like you just replaced all the electronics with more expensive ones, when in fact all you've changed are some power products.

I can tell you from painful expereience that the HiFi Supreme fuses will blow if you place a .5 amp fuse in a 5 amp slot.

No fireworks, and no ill affects to the gear it was protecting.

Words to the wise,never do a fuse swap in less than adequate lighting late at nite and without checking the tiny print on the end caps.