Fusewires are copper or fine silver AG 1000. A secret is kept from the connection caps, e.g. synergistic research. I don't know what kind of alloy they use but it works. The increase in sound quality with power amp is enormous. I use the purple fuse with my tube amps
I'm not that concerned about the secret sauce. I just hope I hear something I ascribe as an improvement.
I was hoping to out of the gate get some sense of directionality. I would like to burn the fuse in oriented properly. I will try a fuse flip again tomorrow. They got a good 6 hours today. Maybe after 4 more hours I will try. I just hate cycling tube amps. I thought I heard hot tubes are delicate. I don't want to stress the tubes by switching them on and off over and over while hot.
I'm not that concerned about the secret sauce. I just hope I hear something I ascribe as an improvement.
I was hoping to out of the gate get some sense of directionality. I would like to burn the fuse in oriented properly. I will try a fuse flip again tomorrow. They got a good 6 hours today. Maybe after 4 more hours I will try. I just hate cycling tube amps. I thought I heard hot tubes are delicate. I don't want to stress the tubes by switching them on and off over and over while hot.
Cold is the problem not hot when the full anode voltage is present before the tube is fully heated. Best way is a tube rectifier for the anode voltage which takes more time for it. That's why old tube radios still work after 40 to 50 years. learning from past is not a bad decision.
I didn't realize they use copper melt wire. Copper melts at a much higher temperature so the copper wire fuse will have to get much hotter (approx 2000 deg F for copper vs 500 deg F for normal fuses). This would be a hurdle for the fuse designer but apparently they have gotten over it. I worry about the large resistance curve that the current must climb to get up to the melt temp. Resistance goes up with temp so as the copper heats up the resistance goes up. I'll not speculate on how this is addressed but it must be or the fuses wouldn't work.
So I agree there will be grain in the wire, but I'm not convinced that it is directional when it comes to conductivity. If it were, then wound transformers, with perhaps miles of wire, would show directional performance when leads are reversed, and they don't. Long transmission lines would perform differently in opposite directions. Now AC reverses 60 cycles so current flow is more complicated, but there are also 500KVDC transmission lines. So I can't prove a negative but lets just say I'm skeptical about the directional electrical characteristics of wire.
I still have my concerns that the melt wire has to be so small that it presents a resistance (otherwise it wouldn't heat up and melt) which limits current. To me, the overcurrent relay (such as the SDFB) is the way to go.
I have heard people like the Swiss Digital Fuse Box. SDFB. But now we are having a conversation about the sound of a fuse vs the sound of a circuit breaker (CB). And rhe SDFB slugs have a voice. My preamp, DAC, server all have built in CB. My phono is battery with a wall wort. No fuse or CB I see. Maybe inside.
I did take 4 x Hifif Supreme fuse blocks to Fremers with 4 copper fuses. These are the blocks with fuse the size of your pinkie finger. I rigged up a system in his panel where in about 2 minutes I could move the branch wires between fuse or CB. We were both shocked how different they voiced. Fremer easily picked it out in a blind test.
Overcurrent protection is based upon thermal as well as magnetic rise. A fuse is excellent at detecting either and tripping on magnetic in half a cycle. A good CB is the same. I have no idea how precise the SDFB box is. How was it tested? Only a couple cycles is approaching an overvoltage condition that damages equipment.
When I heard about the SDFB, I asked myself, why not place a din rail mounted 4 amp circuit breaker in my power line and do the same thing? Basically, ypass the fuse. I never got around to it. Fremer liked the fuse much better than the CB.
I'm sorry if some people can not wrap their head around AC power being influenced by wire grain directionality. There are plenty of cable manufacturer I have spoken to that recognize this and test each batch of wire before going into production. I have wire that was oriented and I built a tool to test new wire I get. I have had guests at my house and demonstrated the affect. They have all heard it.
When I use to grain orient a batch of wire, I would blind test the sample pieces 4 times. In maybe 80 tests, I came out with the same result 78 times. Now I am prepping the wire to send to a lab to have the samples analysed instead of spending the time to do it by ear.
What I hear is one direction is a little more full and harmonicly complere. The other direcrion is a tad more thin and faster. That is similar to what I hear when I compare Romex to my grain oriented, twisted wire. The romex is a little more thin and faster. I tell everyone put your subs on Romex. The amps and front end on the twisted wire.
Anyhow, my point is I believe a fuse can be heard as direcrional.
Second day. Ran for 6 hours yesterday. About 5 hours this morning. Now for an hour this afternoon. Their appears a sizable gain in bass and overall body. Very clean and easy to listen too. No forward or abrasiveness. No change is soundstage width. It may be a touch more solid in image placement.
For the avoidance of any doubt, i re-inserted the amplifier fuse in opposite direction for a test: The sound stage collapsed, overall volume was a bit lower and dynamics were slightly off-pitch. So within 5 minutes, I changed the directionality of the fuse back to the default I had and now I am 100% certain that it's correct. Thanks for the heads up though. What would be the explanation that 1/6 fuses, in your case, are directionally inverted? Is it a production error or is there another explanation for it?
I have about 80 to 100 hours on the fuses. They suck breaking in. They really do change in character day to day. I have had some days the music is very forward and thin. Just annoying. Then I have had days where its more balanced and even. At the moment its sort of in a more balanced place.
I did get frustrated and put the glass fuse back in to hear the difference. There was a change. It was a little hard to put my finger on as I have to shut down, change the fuse, then turning back in takes a minute between reenergizing the heaters, then flipping a second switch to activate the amp fully. After I listened to the glass fuse for a few minutes I put the Hifi CU fuse back in and thought I heard more warmth. The glass may have been snappier and possibly more powerful sounding. Not really sure. Being that my amps are very clean and neutral, I like the warmth.
I think they need to run longer to fully settle. At this time I would say, for $76 per fuse, I am not disappointed in the investment. If I had spent $400 to $700 I would be less than enthusiastic. I would say its probably been worth it. Maybe in a month I will try the glass again and see what I think.
If memory serves HiFi Tuning used to have a symbol on the fuse, a diode I think, which was to alert the user the fuse was directional. As I recall the diode symbol with an arrow wasn’t necessarily pointing the direction the fuse should go in the circuit but rather just a way to keep track of which way to flip the fuse when listening for correct directionality.
Not to mention the *fuse data sheets* that were published on HiFi Tuning’s web site - are they still there? - that provided evidence of electrical directionality, I.e., the voltage drop lower is in “correct direction,” not only for their fuses but all fuses that were tested, including stock run of the mill fuses. The data sheets also showed the positive electrical effect of cryogenically treating fuses, as I recall the tests were performed by an independent testing company.
I took my volt meter, and determined the flow path through the power cord to each piece of gear when I installed the fuses. I followed the hot or line conductor if you will and all of my orange fuses went in the correct way according the SR site. it should flow from the S to the R side of the fuse.
I am now considering buying 3 master fuses for my Pre amp, and my DAC and Phono stage. Do you think there would be much gain including the Sugden mono blocks? They have orange fuses in them now. Would a purple for the Amps be adequate?
If there is more than one fuse in the system, say one in each amp and one in the preamp things can get a little dicey trying to determine the correct orientation of all fuses. The most straightforward method is to reverse the direction one fuse at a time, audition the sound each time. Then, as the correct direction of each fuse is determined, it will be easier to hear the difference in sound when flipping the remaining fuses, since the system will be incrementally more revealing.
If there is more than one fuse in the system, say one in each amp and one in the preamp things can get a little dicey trying to determine the correct orientation of all fuses. The most straightforward method is to reverse the direction one fuse at a time, audition the sound each time. Then, as the correct direction of each fuse is determined, it will be easier to hear the difference in sound when flipping the remaining fuses, since the system will be incrementally more revealing.
Well, I have puked up my hesitation over hundreds of hours of break in time with fuses. And I really can't make a solid causation argument. But I can say after a couple hundred hours there is more depth and body. The glass fuse in comparison has the same speed and power. But it lacks the body. I feel for me, the $80 x 2 is worth it. I can immediately hear it when changing the fuse out. The stock fuse sits in the spare holder in the socket to keep the correct direction and have it warm. You can definitely hear the Hifi Supreme copper is richer with more body.
Now, I have one I need to remove the gold from and polish for a friend. I want to hear his thoughts. If he likes it, I may strip mine too. I don't know I need the gold. I like plain copper. Its predictable.
In typical fashion a.lot has gone on with my system. I put the fuse in. Amps were new and hitting 700 hours. Fuses pushing 300. I also put the horn back into my PAP Trio about 60 hours ago. They sat unused for about a year.
This morning the music is exceptional. Vis Qobuz and my Mojo Audio server and Mystique XSE DAC the sound is massive in scale and balance. I think a $80 per fuse investment was worth it. Not sure I would spend much more. I think I can chase performance in other way. But I am highly confident a decent copper fuse is an improvement over a glass fuse.
I suspect you might find that the investment in an SR Orange or Purple just as easily justify their purchase price. I know that might sound difficult to believe, but these fuses really do tend to punch above their weight.
I can’t comment on fuse sound but please ensure your fuse is approved by your countries testing authority and rated as per the one you are replacing. They have a purpose and that is to protect your equipment and most important to prevent electrical injury or fire.
I’ve never heard of anyone ever experiencing a fire or injury because of an audiophile fuse. Have you? As of several years ago the top 3 audiophile fuse companies total sales of fuses exceeded 100,000. No fires, no injuries.
