Audiophile Fuses

[shel50]

Most manufacturers will fuse their product on the conservative side. So no, the slightest delta is mostly not an issue. I am talking about the real world of product manufacture however, if you want to stay in pure theory that is fine.

And I'm talking about a fuse value varying from recommended specification that can blow an Amp to hell & back

 

[highstream]

And I'm talking about a fuse value varying from recommended specification that can blow an Amp to hell & back

While that’s theoretical academic engineering thinking, long since shown to have little if anything to do with the real world, the solution is simple: buy aftermarket fuses that meet your components’ spec values. That doesn’t, however, seem to be your real beef with aftermarket fuses. In any case, happy listening.

 

[kennyb123]

when many of the manufacturers recommended to me you can use a different value-Ie one said to me we don't have the exact value you need so go up to the next notch------thats DANGEROUS!

I respectfully but absolutely do not concur

“Dangerous” very much overstates the case. Going up one size might increase the risk slightly but there is an extremely low likelihood that exactly the right conditions occur where some damage might occur. This is mitigated as well when a manufacturer approves use of the higher value.

It’s up to every individual how much risk one is willing to take.

The first time that I elected to go up one size was when I purchased a pair of SR Orange fuses for my amp. That was in August of 2020 and my amp is still doing just fine. Had lightning stuck my home maybe I’d regret that fuse choice, but according to ChatGPT:

“On average, the odds of any given home in the U.S. being struck in a year are about 1 in 200,000, but in Washington, the probability is even lower.”

I might make a different decision about the fuse sizing if I lived somewhere that put my home at much higher odds of being stuck.

 

[kennyb123]

clearly we went to different engineering schools-------the slightest delta can be dangerous----
game over

I’m curious which engineering school you went to. That’s not how engineers think about things. Engineering aims to balance tradeoffs. Just declaring something dangerous is something I’d expect someone who has had no engineering training might do.

 

[SeagoatLeo]

“Dangerous” very much overstates the case. Going up one size might increase the risk slightly but there is an extremely low likelihood that exactly the right conditions occur where some damage might occur. This is mitigated as well when a manufacturer approves use of the higher value.

It’s up to every individual how much risk one is willing to take.

The first time that I elected to go up one size was when I purchased a pair of SR Orange fuses for my amp. That was in August of 2020 and my amp is still doing just fine. Had lightning stuck my home maybe I’d regret that fuse choice, but according to ChatGPT:

“On average, the odds of any given home in the U.S. being struck in a year are about 1 in 200,000, but in Washington, the probability is even lower.”

I might make a different decision about the fuse sizing if I lived somewhere that put my home at much higher odds of being stuck.

I remember at 21 when I was listening to my stereo with Dynaco mark 3 amps that lightning struck the power pole at the corner of our lot My tubes lit up bright red. I thought they would explode. Instead, the glow receded rather quickly and they went back to normal. No destruction of any appliances or equipment. I saw a second strike outside a few minutes later and saw the sparks fly from the pole. Nothing bad happened. Maybe we were lucky. This was in the San Fernando Valley that gets few lighting strikes. That was 48 years ago.

 

[highstream]

In parts of Colorado lightning strikes are very real, but there are things one can do to mitigate their potential effects on gear, whether by creating a “conditioner wall” or earlier at electrical feed/box. That doesn’t seem to be shel50’s objection, which seems based on certain academic engineering biases.

 

[agisthos]

My city in Oz (Adelaide) used to have the usual crack, power off/on, breaker trip, after a lightening strike my whole life until about 10 years ago they upgraded all the sub station infrastructure with capacitor banks to smooth it out.

Now you rarely have the power even effected by a lightning strike.

 

[SeagoatLeo]

@shel50 give it a rest. You cannot hear any fuse difference, we get it. No need for you to troll this thread. Move on.

Even the most jaded friend of mine who has no tweaks and manufactures both audio equipment and known for his cable manufacturing replaced his big tube monoblock amps fuses with circuit breakers and installed a higher end fuse in his DAC. The rest of my friends all upgrade our fuses where relatively safe (and older equipment) using Acme $22/24 vibration coated fuses. I've said I've used SR fuses since the red ones but after the blue fuses, I did not like the next two. I can afford pink and white fuses but refuse to alter my high end equipment while the Acme fuses remain neutral compared to the colorations of the SR fuses.

 

[agisthos]

Even the most jaded friend of mine who has no tweaks and manufactures both audio equipment and known for his cable manufacturing replaced his big tube monoblock amps fuses with circuit breakers and installed a higher end fuse in his DAC. The rest of my friends all upgrade our fuses where relatively safe (and older equipment) using Acme $22/24 vibration coated fuses. I've said I've used SR fuses since the red ones but after the blue fuses, I did not like the next two. I can afford pink and white fuses but refuse to alter my high end equipment while the Acme fuses remain neutral compared to the colorations of the SR fuses.

Well I am glad to hear that, as I had every SR fuse then stopped at BLUE !!
You think the Acme crystal coated is even more neutral than the blue?

 

[SeagoatLeo]

I previously used 6 blue fuses and they sounded warm and superior to stock fuses. Compared to the Acme (and the Orange & Purple SR fuses), the blue fuses are rolled off in the highs and darker sounding. Pleasant but inferior to the Acme coated. Acme fuses sound superior (neutral) to stock fuses and just get of the way. Equipment from my friends and I that we did this with: X=different owner's/friends units using Acme fuses
EAR 912 pre-amp
EAR 864 pre-amp (2X)
EAR 890 amp (2X)
Altec 1569A extreme modified Grover Huffman (2X)
Dynaco ST70 extreme modified Grover Huffman
Shanling ET3 transport (3X)
Topping D70s DAC (3X)
Roger Mojeski RAM 9 amp
McIntosh C30 pre-amp (2X)
Emotiva XDA 1 DAC (2X)
Yamaha CR 620 (3X)
COS Engineering D1v
COS Engineering D2v
I forgot the other equipment

Well I am glad to hear that, as I had every SR fuse then stopped at BLUE !!
You think the Acme crystal coated is even more neutral than the blue

 

[Anyoldears]

Oh Really??? I presented 2 different issues-1 being I heard no difference and 2-that going beyond specs as some suggest is not smart--EH? And frankly I don't appreciate being told I'm "wasting your time"-----I shouldn't even dignify your comment with a reply!!!!!!!!!-EH?--

Maybe ASR would be a better suited website for you?

 

[SeagoatLeo]

Maybe ASR would be a better suited website for you?

I'll second that motion. Maybe he wants graphic tested proof that there is no sonic difference because he can't hear a difference-an ASR future member. I've been berated for stating that a speaker that I heard for two months in my home with half a dozen people excoriating its sound. I blamed on a mismatch with 3 different types of tube amps while others denied that my statement true based on using different amps. Here we have somewhere stating the opposite, that there is sonic difference because he heard none.

 

[highstream]

Well I am glad to hear that, as I had every SR fuse then stopped at BLUE !!
You think the Acme crystal coated is even more neutral than the blue?

I found the SR Blue the only one I couldn't listen to, and got rid of. Not a gram of warmth. I think SR got the message, as the Orange and Purple solved that.

 

[kennyb123]

Maybe ASR would be a better suited website for you?

What's fascinating to me is that those who declare on this thread that audiophile fuses "made zero difference" seem to not wonder why that might be the case. I have a hard time believing the sincerity of those who make this claim when they appear to place all the fault on the fuses without even entertaining the idea that their system has somehow hindered their ability to notice the differences.

 

[highstream]

What's fascinating to me is that those who declare on this thread that audiophile fuses "made zero difference" seem to not wonder why that might be the case. I have a hard time believing the sincerity of those who make this claim when they appear to place all the fault on the fuses without even entertaining the idea that their system has somehow hindered their ability to notice the differences.

Or their hearing is just not that good. There are a fair number of people in that category.

 

[kennyb123]

Or their hearing is just not that good. There are a fair number of people in that category.

Absolutely. I think though when someone is unwilling or unable to look introspectively, the issue is more likely found between their ears.

 

[SeagoatLeo]

Absolutely. I think though when someone is unwilling or unable to look introspectively, the issue is more likely found between their ears.

Is someone inferring that I
1. either used fuses and hear their differences on cheap or bad quality equipment or
2. I have inadequate hearing-I have recorded 150+ orchestral, chamber and choral performances, including major venues, tested up to 16kHz hearing, have audio recording and remastering engineer friends who indicate I have acutely fine hearing even if I am too easily satisfied by less than SOTA sound when the music captures my attention more, as well as 1000s of people who appreciate what I do and how it sounds (I am self deprecating and do not find my recordings are generally more than routine captures for historical documentation). So, I hear differences in sound using different fuses or that equipment that my friends and I hear don't exist either. Lastly, that I am too deaf to hear differences?

(P.S. my wife has Type 1 diabetes and cannot hear an alarm or phone while sleeping at night-sleeps like she is dead. I hear every subtle sound in our bedroom while sleeping. When an alarm goes off, I jump to see the dexcom reading and take the proper action for low blood sugar).

 

[Hilroy48]

It is rare that everyone will hear the differences in tweaks etc. Unfortunately for my bank account, I can. So can my buddy who set up my turntable. We adjusted the counterweight, and both looked at each other and said 'THERE IT IS" As well I was blown away with the SR HFT dots. I have 6 in my listening room.

As for fuses, I am leaning towards a master fuse in my Sugden pre amp, and pinks in the rest of my gear.

 

[highstream]

Is someone inferring that I
1. either used fuses and hear their differences on cheap or bad quality equipment or
2. I have inadequate hearing-I have recorded 150+ orchestral, chamber and choral performances, including major venues, tested up to 16kHz hearing, have audio recording and remastering engineer friends who indicate I have acutely fine hearing even if I am too easily satisfied by less than SOTA sound when the music captures my attention more, as well as 1000s of people who appreciate what I do and how it sounds (I am self deprecating and do not find my recordings are generally more than routine captures for historical documentation). So, I hear differences in sound using different fuses or that equipment that my friends and I hear don't exist either. Lastly, that I am too deaf to hear differences?

(P.S. my wife has Type 1 diabetes and cannot hear an alarm or phone while sleeping at night-sleeps like she is dead. I hear every subtle sound in our bedroom while sleeping. When an alarm goes off, I jump to see the dexcom reading and take the proper action for low blood sugar).

I think there’s a misunderstanding. The discussion came from shel50’s trolling, not anything you said at all, afaik. The matter has been brought to the moderators’ attention.

 

[SeagoatLeo]

I think there’s a misunderstanding. The discussion came from shel50’s trolling, not anything you said at all, afaik. The matter has been brought to the moderators’ attention.

Well, this is a much nicer forum than some Audiogon and superior to ASR (where many posters and myself were definitely considered uneducated, deaf and had money to burn-we were all banned from the site). There are some older gentlemen who don't like to hear negativity but generally I enjoy hearing about great equipment. I also write on sites concerning great music and recordings. That's my forte.

SR HFTs mentioned. With my inferior Legacy Focus speakers, I installed 38 HFTs on speakers and all around the custom built listening room. When I switched out to my Signature IIIs, the rear wall and some of the front wall HFTs were removed (plenty of ambiance and open sound). The with my Von Schweikert VR9 SE Mk2, no need for them as the dispersion is fantastic. So, HFTs can improve a problematic system but not necessarily a properly designed system. I still have one acoustic tweak, Shakti Hallographs in the front wall corners and mid-room walls. This room also has OEM fuses in higher end equipment.