I have read thousands of comments on upgraded fuses improving the performance of sound. I am very open minded but not sold either way. So, the question I have is....if fuses were so important, than why don't Amplifier companies all install them as OEM equipment? To me, if they are as good as people say, that would provide companies who use them a competitive advantage?
Every High End Audio store I go to in Phoenix have told me it does not make a difference and is a waste of money. For the record, I have fuses purchased at an automotive store for under $10 and I think my sound is awesome. The Company that built my amp tested the Synergistic Fuses and he emphatically said there was no difference.
If I were to try a fuse for fun, given my equipment, what would your recommendation be to try?
Mapman They are also not complicated devices and as difficult to understand as some vendors make them. Its reasonable to expect that some portion of the discussion about them is just noise but hey only one way to find out if one actually cares. Personally, I’d focus on making sure my fuse is good quality and in good working order and look pretty much anywhere else (except Machina Dynamica for example) for things that will make clear significant differences in sound quality.
>>>>>I’m giving serious consideration to promoting you to associate shill as you demonstrate that very special skill I’m looking for - pretending to loathe and mock Machina Dynamica yet giving it a shout out at every opportunity. But not too much, otherwise folks will catch onto the scam. 😛 Keep up the good work.
“It’s too late for old folks like me to change.” - Mapman
Vendors don’t make fuses difficult to understand. You do, grasshopper. Look within.
”Does all of that sound at least somewhat implausible, even though Ralph’s claims are based on actual experiments? It would not be unreasonable to think so, IMO. However, I feel safe in saying that to most of those having an extensive background in electronic design (such as myself) the notion that a fuse would have **inherent** directional characteristics to an audibly significant degree is substantially MORE implausible.”
>>>>>I hate to judge before all the facts are in but it appears that having a background in electronic design like Ralph and Al actually does not allow them to make informed judgements regarding fuse directionality. You know, in light of the fact that they ARE directional. It appears they are in denial. Oh, well. Whereas my background in physics and materials science does allow ME to make such judgments. We’ve already debunked the infamous fuse holder pseudo argument, gents. Let’s move this thing along, shall we?
Wow! I think I see what the problem is. Some people are confusing real skepticism, you know the spirit of curiosity and investigation - the backbone of all scientific endeavor - with simply being overly suspicious or even superstitious. I suspect these same people are afraid that cameras can take their souls. 👻 just remember, the only thing you have to fear is fear itself. 😳
I
just don't like liars. And that's pretty much what I see here ... That's psychiatric ... Some not only buy the lie, they run with it and expand
on it regardless of the truth to the contrary. ... This is like debating
flat earthers. I'm wondering how many of you have magnets on your fuel
lines to polarize the gas molecules.
Given your opinion of this forum, why do you continue to participate?
Now please continue with your regularly scheduled ranting
@kosst....What we think we hear ? Did you really make that statement ? Stop embarrassing yourself. Go back to your measurements. Your Focals did not wind up in your listening room entirely with the use of measurements, as you must have listened to them, with a set of ears, I assume. But, you know what they say, when you assume ? Then again, you needed your mom's approval. So, I guess that says, all that needs to be said.
"
I don't know why I keep doing it. It's like some weird compulsion. Maybe my life doesn't have enough fantasy and fiction. "
@kosst_amojan this is a medical condition please ask your parents for help compulsive behaviors can really ruin your life there is no need to suffer alone there are many ways you can be helped with this. Since you understand that you have these compulsions you have already made a giant step towards a resolution good luck too you!
pbnaudio Perhaps because we want the protection a properly designed and manufactured fuse provides, you know the ones by Bussman or Littlefuse (sic) for an example.
>>>>>Wow! Another manufacturer checks in.
“We don’t need any of your stinking tweaks!”
“We want customers to hear the pure sound of our products.”
“We don’t fall for snake oil. Only solid engineering here.”
😛
Idle question: Why not simply improve a “properly designed and manufactured fuse?” Hel-loo!
kosst_amogan I’ve made this point before, but I’ll make it again. Anything that can be heard can be measured. I don’t understand why some of you think that there are some characteristics in audio that don’t have a measurement signature, but that isn’t the case. You people attribute qualities to a fuse that most definitely would reveal themselves through a spectrum analyzer. But they don’t. One can only conclude that’s because it makes no difference at all.
>>>>>Excellent example of a Strawman Argument. I.e., logical fallacy. Most who try them hear them. Capish? Actually, fuses DO reveal themselves through a spectrum analyzer. You yourself claim anything that can be heard can be measured. Hel-loo! Same for cables. Fuse and cable directionality shows up on a spectrum analyzer, too. You’re grasping at straws.
Look, it’s really the same thing as the Dunking Chair. The Dunking Chair was used to find out if the suspected witch really was a witch. 🧙🏻♀️If she died in the Dunking Chair she couldn’t have been a real witch, since a real witch would have been able to save herself. Of course nobody survived the Dunking Chair. There was a hitch. Here we have naysayers and pseudo skeptics who either can’t hear differences between fuses or won’t try, claiming the whole thing’s a fraud. Basically claiming it’s witchcraft. This is why the naysayers’ argument comes down to superstition, just like the witch hunters of Salem, Mass.
Not sure what provoked all the personal insults and attacks, but I'm not dealing with it.
Maybe starting off by calling people liars would be good place to start looking. Pontificating from your high horse under the delusion that anyone here looks up to you could be another. Just saying.
Not to cut straws but there is a difference between calling someone a liar and not believing what people say they hear. Nobody can hear what another does exactly the same way so why take offense at that? OR if they do not believe in fuses? If one is sure one does, who cares what others think or say?
I’m pretty sure it’s just a bad case of audio nervosa. You can get it from obsessive compulsive behaviors such as participation in the Blowtorch thread on DIY a little bit too much. 😡 Take two placebos and see me in the morning.
The fact that kosst is unable and unwilling to " try " a few of these simple tests, using his ears, says to me, that he will never really enjoy his music system, because, he is leaving so much on the table. He is disturbed, as he cannot let this go, thinking he will change any of us. I suggested a simple fuse tweak, that all of my musically inclined family and friends can hear ( on their systems as well as mine ), but he carried on about the fuse getting stuck in the holder. I can go on, but the fact that he needs proof, it is in the listening, and he is unwilling to try. He probably could not hear these differences anyway, and he must be afraid of that outcome. Come on kosst, let's have some more, because, you cannot let this go, and I am having fun, even though you are annoying.
I completely agree with you, that all that stuff makes a difference. Am I to assume, that all of this, can be measured with equipment, because the ears can pick up on it as well.
@kosst, when you built your diy amplifier, did you try different " isolation feet ", such as brass or metal cones, or the rubber type, because, there is a huge difference in the sound of an amp heard through the speakers. I am not sure these differences are measurable, but certainly audible. One would have to try it though. Steve McCormack, when he started the Mod Squad, shared with listeners, that there was an audible difference in these isolation things. It was up to " us " listeners to hear it for ourselves. Now, there are so many of these devices, of all designs and materials, at all price levels. Many specific to equipment, speakers and so on. I do not claim these can be scientifically be measured, but I do claim they are audible. Again, one would have to try them. This is my biggest beef with you, that you are so closed minded as not to try, and listen. With so many money back guarantees offered, you have very little to lose, other than some time. You do not rely on your ears. Again, I feel you are at a loss. I will continue pursuing these tweaks ( snake oil to you ), because, I enjoy the experimentation, and make up my own mind, by listening. I do not care if it is measurable through equipment, as, I am not an engineer, but I was a musician ( vocalist actually ), and have trained my ears to many things. I want to point out, one does not need to be a musician to hear much of this. Two pre amps ( amps, cd players, d/a converters, etc.) can measure quite closely, but sound quite different. This is the world of high end audio.
Measurable changes? Huh? Spare me! Nobody measures audio feet. Especially not you. But just for grins, how would you measure the difference between carbon fiber feet and ceramic feet? And between ordinary steel springs and cryogenically treated steel springs? The difference between cones points down and cones points up?
@geoffkait . kosst does not understand how the ear is a measurement device in and of itself. My thoughts are that kosst is listening to his system, and not the music. I know some people, like him, but most I know ( not all ), have been open to listen. But even those folks who do not bother with " my little experiments ", ever doubt what I hear, as many of them have heard my system, and, that says enough.
" I don't know why I keep doing it. It's like some weird compulsion. Maybe my life doesn't have enough fantasy and fiction. I should probably go back to reading Dune. Honestly, I'm really curious why people believe in things that don't exist. "
Very sad I hope you get the help you need for this.
I also don't care if the Special Fuses are particularly measurable relative to what they could be doing, but I'd certainly settle for "explainable," especially from somebody who designs them.
You have two ears and one mouth for a reason, Wolfie. It’s already been explained. You musta missed it when you were jibber jabbing. So, now the explanation has to be from a manufacturer? Not just any old explanation will do for you guys, anymore. You’re SO sophisticated!
As the original writer of this particular forum, I think it is time to find new subjects to debate. If you go back and read my original post I was asking for input on fuses to try. I ended up putting in a Padis Fuse and the Synergistic Blue fuse. I did hear an upgrade from the $2 fuse I had in my amp. I then played around with different vintage power tubes on my Raven Amp. Certain tubes were better than other and I settled on KT 88 Golden Lion. I now have ordered a matched said of quad KT150's which I am going to try as soon as they arrive. I took it a step further and purchased a EMM Lab DAC 2X V2 which was suppose to take my sound to another level. We are talking about a $150 fuse versus a $15K DAC. Did I hear a major difference between adding the DAC to my Lumin A-1. No, and that sucks. Yes, I am chasing the ultimate 2 channel sound system.
So to all the people who are arguing whether a fuse helps or not, be it quantifiable or not, if you think it does great. For $50 to $200 with a money back guarantee, you should try it out. What have you got to lose. In my case I probably wasted a major chunk of money buying the DAC which in my mind did not take my sound to a new level.
Is it snake oil? Beauty is in the ears of the beholder. To some Yes....to others no. Go in peace and happy holidays to all music lovers!
There are actually some completely legitimate reasons that could explain why you didn’t have luck with the new DAC. So I wouldn’t give up quite yet. It’s a lot like aftermarket fuses, or cables or anything, there are reasons why someone might not get the results he was looking for. Hey, look on the bright side. At least the new super duper DAC didn’t make the sound worse. 😛
@willgolf, although you were the OP on this thread, you did open a can of worms. I noticed it has been over 2 months since you contributed to your own thread. However, I am with you, and I am, at this point, out. I know, what I know, because I try, I listen, and I evaluate, for a change, whether positive, negative or none. Thank you all, MrD.
The reason I have not responded in two months is simple. It turned into a hotly debated subject with neither side willing to lose. Second, I accomplished my objective in trying a few different fuses. Third, I shut my email off regarding this subject because my in box was getting overloaded by the responses
Very unscientific, but I thought the sound improved with improved fuses in my gear in my environment (Synergistic). I did blind A/B testing with a friend and (unknown to him at the time) he preferred the Synergistic over the stock fuses. I put them in all my audio gear now (the ones that have easily-accessible fuses). Really enjoy the sound of my systems!
I'm thinking some smart entrepreneur could sell gold plated circuit breakers.Would be a great business.Maybe some special wire,going from the panel to whatever outlet is used.
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