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Fuse Question...Any difference?

PR Audio

PR Audio

Super Member
I have to replace the current fuse on my amp to a 2 Amp Slow Blow, right now it has a Fast Blow that is not the manufacturers spec'd fuse. In a website, I saw these hand made $34.95 fuses, that have gold plated silver caps, pure silver wiring, and ceramic body, instead of the standard glass with tin, or whatever material a regular $0.25 fuse is made of.

Do these high end fuses, supposedly made for music, make a difference in the sound? To me it sounds ridiculous to pay $34.95 for a fuse. Just imagine that you didn't figure out correctly a problem with your amp, and the ceramic fuse blows one or two times; that is an expensive problem. Obviously, you would use the $0.25 fuses to diagnose, and once the amp is properly repaired you use the expensive fuse. But, again is it really worth it? Is there a sonic difference? And, if there is a difference, is the difference worth $34.95?
 
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PR Audio said:
Do these high end fuses, supposedly made for music, make a difference in the sound? To me it sounds ridiculous to pay $34.95 for a fuse. Just imagine that you didn't figure out correctly a problem with your amp, and the ceramic fuse blows one or two times; that is an expensive problem. Obviously, you would use the $0.25 fuses to diagnose, and once the amp is properly repaired you use the expensive fuse. But, again is it really worth it? Is there a sonic difference? And, if there is a difference, is the difference worth $34.95?
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If it's on the power supply, you'll never hear the difference.

What a load. This is one reason I hate the audio industry.
 
I have to agree. Sure the hifi tuning caps are nice, silver wire and all, but I seriously doubt they will make a difference in the sound at all. Only sound difference I can see is the sound of you screaming when it blows and your $35 dollars goes up in smoke. John
 
They are made by a company called HiFi Tuning, and sold by The Cable Co. Depending on Type and Length they run from $29.95 to $49.95 ea.

Now, to add insult there is and ISOClean fuse for the same price:

"IsoClean Fuses are also getting raves recently for the improvements yielded in many components, for a modest investment. Most components' fuses are a potential bottleneck, when you consider the cheapo construction of many standard fuses.

For best performance, the IsoClean fuses are marked for directionality for the best sonic orientation."

And then Furotech makes one like the one by HiFi Tuning, and it is a bargain at only $54.95 ea. But, they use silver conductors and rhodium contacts.

And I thought everytime we sell to pharmaceuticals a 1" Sch10 Pipe in Hastelloy C22 at $85.00/ft. it was a great sale. Need to change to fuses, they take much less warehouse space than 20' long pipe.

I checked on the website of one of the local electronics companies I buy from, and the have a Slow Blow 2A Ceramic with Gold over Copper Caps with almost the same specs as the HiFi Tuning one. I will splurge, and just in case there is a sonic difference (seriously doubt) get this fuse. I will blow my $0.25 budget and spend $2.50; ten times my original budget.
 
Hello!

I agree with the gang here. A fuse will not make a difference. The best BS audio tweek I ever read was about how some guy dusted his interconnects and power cord and it brought his system to a whole new level! If anyone is going to CES, come by and say hello at the Venetian 30-333. Peace. Robert
 
roberts67 said:
I agree with the gang here. A fuse will not make a difference.
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Fully agree, but I like that ISOClean fuse, for two reasons:

1. They cleverly use ISO (Int'l Stds. Org) in their name.

2. "For best performance, the IsoClean fuses are marked for directionality for the best sonic orientation". You cannot go wrong on this one, no need for a compass to find North.

By the way, if at CES you see one these fuse companies ask them what is all the BS about, would love to hear their marketing mumbo-jumbo.
 
People swear power cords matter. A directional fuse in series surely matters. $50 is a steal (the seller being the thief) for deep critical listening. Soundstage, depth, imaging and musicality all will improve in proportion to the inverse square of cost. Bragging rights are directly proportional to the cube of cost. Now about the fuse holder.........
 
Stereophile likes them...
http://www.stereophile.com/powerlineaccessories/907fuse/

Reminds me of the foam blocks that raise the cables off of the floor. For a 3 hundred bucks! "increases soundstage, presence and imaging" is what most of these things claim. And how about those wacky wood things called Hallographs for $1000! Are they kidding? I guess if you spent $64k on a Burmester cd player then it is chump change. I have to stop reading these "Audiophile" magazines. They really start to make me wonder what they are thinking sometimes.
 
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sloober said:
Stereophile likes them...
http://www.stereophile.com/powerlineaccessories/907fuse/

Reminds me of the foam blocks that raise the cables off of the floor. For a 3 hundred bucks! "increases soundstage, presence and imaging" is what most of these things claim. And how about those wacky wood things called Hallographs for $1000! Are they kidding? I guess if you spent $64k on a Burmester cd player then it is chump change. I have to stop reading these "Audiophile" magazines. They really start to make me wonder what they are thinking sometimes.
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I wonder if Stereophile themselves could afford a room with all the equipment and gadgets they recommend. I am sure that maybe Superdog can differentiate between the sound of a $0.25 fuse and the $35.00 one, or the sound from a cable on the floor, or one over the $300.00 bridges.

If you really want to find out if those bridges really work just go to the hardware store buy a can of insulating foam, then build a mold from plywood you must probably have lying around, and enjoy your day of critical listening.

As for the fuse, get a regular $1.00 ceramic body fuse with copper caps, then melt your wifes 24K earrings and coat the fuse ends. Probably it will not do a thing to sound, but it will sure be fun for us hearing how your wife got all pissed off about your DIY obsession, how much the divorce lawyer will charge, and how she wants to keep your audio equipment as part of the settlement.
 
I once heard Eric Johnson (famous guitarist) could hear the difference in brands of batteries in his equipment. As for the rest of us.......
 
eteller said:
I once heard Eric Johnson (famous guitarist) could hear the difference in brands of batteries in his equipment. As for the rest of us.......
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I've heard and read that, too and I want to test him when he comes to town again. I have some Harbor Freight rechargeables that kick butt on any alkaline I have ever heard. Much more chunky, better everything! It's like an effect with one knob labeled 'More'.

:guitar::arrow::lazer:
 
The bottom line here is that EVERYTHING before the power transformer is just wire or a means to connect wires carrying line current and voltage. There is nothing in that circuitry (if operating within specs) that could "choke" or "strangle" the music output (typical claim for this crap). If it’s in front of the power tranny, use your local hardware store, get commercial grade equipment (such as Levittown switches or outlets) and save your money for something that you can hear the difference with.:yes: The fuse is just a wire designed to melt at a certain current. Less current its fine, more it melts. That's what it does and because its a safety device that's what it HAS to do, so it doesn't matter if its silver or copper or anything else, it will not affect the results. Slo blow means that it will not blow as soon as the current limit is reached, it will delay that action slightly, long enough for an inrush surge to pass. It is (I think) defined by the number of cycles that pass before it blows.

Take the cheap path and don't look back.

The people who make and sell these things are Gonifs (crooks).
 
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