Audiophile Fuses

[Kcin]

Truly a cost effective upgrade if it works for you.

Just to relate my experience with SR Orange along with other's in my group that have tried them over the last few months.

2 of us further struggled with break-in for hundreds of hours. My experience was more energy in the upper registers losing perceived body- more filigreed layering , spatial resolution - but almost etched for over 400 or so hours until they changed again.

I was ready to pull them. This past weekend they transformed after running my entire system for another 140 hrs straight with a break-in CD. They are still "high resolution" but have more benefit than detriment for now.

Most of us prematurely popped fuses based on +10% rating increase. I had similar experience with blues - orange seem more sensitive.

Blues did not seem to need nearly as much time to break in - yet they did pop prematurely at the specified equipment rating for two of us that got in on a group buy for the blues back then.

Just fyi

 

[dan31]

Kcin how do you run your Io phono? 300 hours is a lot of on time. Do you just turn it on and let it run 24/7 for two weeks. I’m somewhat interested in these fuses as an interesting way to tune/upgrade but that’s a lot of power and heat.

I turn my Io on maybe thirty minutes to one hour before listening. If I followed my practice it would take me several months before I would get to 300 hours.

 

[Kcin]

Hi dan31,

I run the Io 24hrs a day hooked up to SS amp for load... and the granite audio phono burn in disc direct in to the phono inputs.

Essentially about 2 weeks. I did 1 week.. and not good. Now it is so much better.

I use NOS telefunkens almost everywhere in the phono stage, Mullard el34s in the power supply and NOS RCAs.. for the 12ax7 in the PS.. ( really mullards labled RCA)

The telefunkens test like new after running 2 years. I change one or two for OCD on section balance- the El34s have run for 4 years and test new. What I am saying is these NOS tubes are almost bullet proof.

If you are fearful of your tube life... buy a bunch of cheap sovteks ... throw them in for two weeks and away you go.. I don't worry about that too much.

The Io is a commitment ... I'm ok with it in order to maximize the performance.

This is a similar experience I had when I got my Io updated to Eclipse. It was the most awful burn in experience ever.. about 500hrs. The caps in the eclipse take forever......

I can only listen about 6 hrs per week mostly on weekends. Doing the burn in through listening won't work for me either.

For those that can't hear caps or fuses, I envy them- I don't claim to have advanced hearing at all. However, I am highly sensitive to the effects of wire, caps and tubes especially with the Beveridges, they can be ruthless.

The other thing that I do, and this is for another thread if there is interest... is that I clean all the tube pins, sockets , cable connections and re-burn in my cables , phono included about 2 times a year. This is transformative.

I need to do the power cords now it is the last step and the most improvement can be gained from this last step.

 

[bazelio]

Thermistors (thermal fuses) perform a similar function. I don’t know why more designs don’t use them as it eliminates the fuse holder as well as the fuse itself.

The thermistor is used to limit in-rush at power on. To protect against a random current spike later, you want a fuse.

 

[Sablon Audio]

The thermistor is used to limit in-rush at power on. To protect against a random current spike later, you want a fuse.

Best you tell T&A that they designed their dac incorrectly.

 

[bazelio]

I don't know who or what T&A is, nor what that has to do with anything. I'm simply letting you know that a thermistor is not a replacement for a fuse. The Pass/First Watt amps I've built had both fuses and CL30 thermistors in the schematics. In order to remove the thermistor, I'd need to increase the fuse rating by several amps or it'd pop within a fraction of a second after power on.

 

[Kingrex]

s. In order to remove the thermistor, I'd need to increase the fuse rating by several amps or it'd pop within a fraction of a second after power on.

Off topic, but my Altec modded by Transition audio have a soft start. Its a nice way to get everything running, without jarring the entire amp with inrush current. It probably saves fuses.

 

[bazelio]

Yeah, the thermistor gradually becomes a near short at power up. A lot of people like to remove them, for fear that they might be adding noise or are somehow current limiting after power up. I did this in a First Watt F5, but then had to run 12A fuses. Eventually, I just put the CL30s back.

 

[Ricardo007]

I have just received two of the Audio Magic Ultimate Premiers which replaced the Audio Magic Ultimates, the previous highest level fuses from them. These are beyond spectacular. I have only fried one of their fuses, but it was my fault not theirs. Highly recommended.

Hello Joe
What did you do to fry your fuse? I have 2 ultimate premier to try soon so I am eager to know what not to do!
Regards
Richard

 

[Joe Cohen]

Hello Joe
What did you do to fry your fuse? I have 2 ultimate premier to try soon so I am eager to know what not to do!
Regards
Richard

Hi Richard,

To be clear I did not blow an Ultimate Premier. I blew an Ultimate, but through no fault of the fuse. My amp does not have an on off switch. I got lazy and unplugged and replugged it from the IEC end, which is not a wise thing to do in general, The ground pin of a NEMA wall plug makes contact first, but on the IEC all contacts are equal. In this case I saw a spark and knew I had made an error. It turned out to be fortuitous as I had to open the amp which lead to my deciding to treat all the electrolytic caps with fo.Q TA-102 damping material, and that turned out to be quite a blessing.

Please let us know your experience with the Ultimate Premier. Since my post I have had to tone down my recommendation for it. I find that it sacrifices a little in the way of micro-dynamics in favor of richness. I will be very curious to hear your take.

 

[Ricardo007]

Hi Joe
Thanks for your answer, good to know indeed
I have also foQ u material ( what a funny name....) bought ten years ago sitting around...
I am very interested if u could send a picture of your caps treated with it to know where to position it and the shape and size so that I get idea of the proportion needed for a cap.
Like audio magic fuse don't u fear this damping will kill micro details and vibrancy?
Sincerely yours

 

[Ricardo007]

On the same vein did u try to apply foQ ta 52 on the fuse?

 

[Joe Cohen]

Hi Joe
Thanks for your answer, good to know indeed
I have also foQ u material ( what a funny name....) bought ten years ago sitting around...
I am very interested if u could send a picture of your caps treated with it to know where to position it and the shape and size so that I get idea of the proportion needed for a cap.
Like audio magic fuse don't u fear this damping will kill micro details and vibrancy?
Sincerely yours

Hi Ricardo,

Here are before and after photos:



Mishap Equals Opportunity (link to my blog on the topic)


I have yet to experience using too much TA-102 in this fashion. I also have it all over my system in various places. It is under the lids of my amp, preamp and phono stage. It is massively applied between the plinth and subplinth of my turntable and is between the armboard and the plinth and is also between the platform and the leg assembly of the stand as well as many other locations throughout. The only place in my experience to date where I did not favor it was on the base of the tonearm just above where the din plug enters. I think the Durand arm is so well tuned that it shouldn’t be messed with. Also, after I applied it between the tonearm and the plinth I discovered that I could not adjust the armboard front to back. It was literally stuck to the plinth. I used a hair dry to free it up and the applied masking tape to cover it so it would slide against the wooden plinth.


What is your experience with the Premier Ultimates. I have several customers who are loving them and I have spoken with another manufacturer who is over the moon with them. In my system I am preferring the Ultimates which are stellar.

 

[highstream]

Hello Joe
What did you do to fry your fuse? I have 2 ultimate premier to try soon so I am eager to know what not to do!
Regards
Richard

See my caveat emptor post 852 (p 43) for some ideas about what to do and not.

 

[Joe Cohen]

See my caveat emptor post 852 (p 43) for some ideas about what to do and not.

Please see my post #890 above. Thanks.

 

[highstream]

Please see my post #890 above. Thanks.

Your point? You already spoke to what happened with your Ultimate. Not sure what you did has do with what I discuss.

 

[Joe Cohen]

On the same vein did u try to apply foQ ta 52 on the fuse?

I have not tried that. I would use TA-32 because it is 1/3 the thickness of the TA-102 and wraps around a small circumference. Though you won’t get a reading with a multimeter, these materials are very slightly conductive so you do not want them to come into contact with any live traces. I don’t believe it would pose any danger, but I do believe it could affect sq adversely. Avoid joining both end caps of the fuse.

 

[Joe Cohen]

Your point? You already spoke to what happened with your Ultimate. Not sure what you did has do with what I discuss.

My apologies. I read the quote rather than the post. I have now read it. So sorry that happened. So you never got to hear the Ultimate Premier?

 

[highstream]

My apologies. I read the quote rather than the post. I have now read it. So sorry that happened. So you never got to hear the Ultimate Premier?

Thanks. I was hoping it wasn't the defensive reaction of a retailer. I do appreciate your honesty in modifying your appraisal. Btw, I once also messed up an Ultimate by forgetting how the twist-in fuse holder worked and forcing the matter.

I was able to listen to the Ultimate Premier very briefly, though don't ask what I heard. Because it had been used for a short time by the original purchaser, I wanted to check if a "better" direction had been established yet. Plus it's always a good idea to check both. I have a directional-by-lettering SR Orange that has the label on backwards.

 

[asindc]

I’ve read the posts about the need to go higher than the manufacturer’s recommendation amperage for SR Orange fuses. My amps require 6A fuses. Would 10A fuses work? I ask because a friend of mine has 10A SR Orange fuses that he is not using.