one last question that puzzles me is that in the time taken to change fuses and then to do some critical listening how can anyone even remember what the difference in sound even is to comment with any degree of certainty?
You are right you cannot and why sometimes a sideways move (say amp or speaker for simplicity) is initially seen as an improvement rather than a more specific pros/cons situation most provide, but certain parameters regarding self perception helps to determine ones level of satisfaction, issues, fatigue, enjoyment, less attentive to the music,etc.
Not the same but can be helpful, although relying upon longer listening windows IMO, and so can work in this case with fuses as well, while some auditory memory will still exist (just need to be very careful ensuring one does not fall into the trap of imagining differences - relates to listeners will usually still choose A or B even if they are unsure and consciously cannot tell the difference as very simple example).
However I feel it is critical to remember this is about anecdotal experience Steve rather than the scope of a satisfactory study that then has to be very careful in both scope and scale of implementation and then interpretation of the data.
We done that thread a few times with the various DBT,etc
The thread is not saying "Scientific proof fuses make a difference".
Cheers
Orb