PADIS vs Furutech fuses
I now have about 260 hours on my PADIS fuse and ready to some listening. The PADIS fuse appears to look exactly like the Furutech fuse. It has the same blue casing with the PF logo on one side. Actually, the only visible difference between the PADIS and Furutech is that the Furutech has “FURUTECH” printed on the opposite side. However, there are actually differences:
My very initial thoughts on the PADIS fuse (in the first few hours) was that the PADIS seemed somewhat dryer sounding than the Furutech. The PADIS did not have the typical “cold / wet /chimey” tones that fresh rhodium plated Furutech components generally have (I’ve tested Furutech rhodium fuses, power cord connectors, interconnect – they all initially contribute this cold/chime character).
I have often stated that Furutech rhodium is painful to burn in. I have burned in many Furutech fuses and it goes through several painful areas. There are days in Furutech rhodium burn-in where I would sit down to listen and the sound would just be so bright / harsh / hard-edged that I said “I can’t listen to this”. At that point, I would just walk away and let it continue to burn in. With the PADIS fuses, it never got that painful. I could hear the burn-in process changes, but it was always listenable. At the 180-200 hour mark, the PADIS did get very bright/hard-edged, but it was still somewhat listenable (I did not have to walk away). At 220 hours it was fully resolved.
Now, for the comparison. I will say that the PADIS is an excellent fuse. For the money, you really cannot beat it, unless you need a warm signature (in which case you need an Isoclean fuse). Both the PADIS and Furutech share the same essential sonic signature. However, there is definitely a difference. The PADIS sounds very good – do not get me wrong, it is an excellent fuse. However, the Furutech really did have an improvement. The tones on the Furutech were just a bit more pure and true sounding. The Furutech had a more “solid” sound to the audio. The Furutech had a bit more punch and meatiness to the bass / midbass. The PADIS, on the other hand, was a bit more loose in the highs, causing the high frequencies to be a bit more messy and rattling. This does cause the PADIS to sound a bit more dry. The PADIS also did not have quite the depth of soundstage when compared to the Furutech.
Now some people might sit down with me and say “I can’t hear a difference” or “your just splitting hairs”. I might be. The difference in sound is VERY subtle, but to me it makes a significant improvement. The differences could also be revealed when listening over a longer period (like 20-30 minutes). The music with the Furutech is just more engaging.
If you have very low resolution or warm equipment, it is possible that you would not hear the difference at all. However, on high resolution stuff, the Furutech could make that equipment “shine” just a little bit better. The PADIS is an excellent buy. For half the cost, you get a whole heck of a lot of performance (almost a no-brainer if you’re still running a stock fuse!). For those who want to bleed out the most amount of performance and resolution – the Furutech is worth the cost.
There are a few possible reasons I can think of that would cause the PADIS/Furutech difference:
- Furutech fuse state a special damping filler inside to reduce electrical resonance. I cannot find an reference to a damping filler for the PADIS fuses. This could be why the PADIS sounds a bit more loose/dry/harsh in the highs
- Furutech does a Cryogenic treatment process. I cannot find any reference that the PADIS fuses get the same treatement.
- Rhodium plating. It is possible that the Furutech fuses are manufactured with a much thicker rhodium plating. I know Furutech likes a thick rhodium plating on their A/C connectors. The PADIS could have put a thin plating on their generic “PADIS” fuses. This could help explain why my burn-in process was not as painful.
Anyways, those are my findings. Maybe next year I’ll do a BLUE vs. Furutech analysis.
Kavakat1, You can get the PADIS fuses from the European Amazon site here: PADIS Rhodium Feinsicherung 5x20mm 8A: Amazon.de: Elektronik or from the Canadian eBay site here: padis fuse | eBay All the best, Nonoise |
Sorry for the delayed response folks. Been very busy with work. Thanks for the advice all. I think I'll do the LS 27 change to start with, and see how it goes. Now to just decide on what brand/model to choose from. I'll give it some thought before purchasing. @auxinput As far as the MEN goes, I am not especially attached to it by any means. In fact, it has just been returned from some warranty work (AGAIN) and has been sitting in the stand in by-pass mode since it's return a few weeks ago. I do put a lot of effort into room treatment, and given the complexity of my room, is challenging, to say the least, but through many trial and error experimentations over the past few years, I am getting some positive results. I bought the MEN in hopes of, for lack of a better term "quick fix solution" It does help (when it works), but the more I achieve better room treatment successes, the less the MEN seems important. On a bit of a side note, my room is a dedicated listening environment, so I have only myself to please aesthetically. I can do whatever I want, without having to compromise for other family members taste in décor. :) |
Some of you guys talk about lower resistance sounding better. That would mean a higher value fuse, or a solid bar would sound better. Did you try one of these? Temporarily of course. I did try the solid bar, about 20 years ago, and the unit did not sound better. Maybe there was a small difference, but not worth the chance to me. Another person suggests to "toss" your amplifier if a specialty fuse makes a difference in sound. No, don't do that. He also said an amplifier is faulty and needs repair if a specialty fuse makes a difference in sound. Well, probably not. If your amplifier if faulty, you would most likely hear a noise, buzz, etc. Or one channel will be weak. Specialty fuses, power cords, interconnects, and non electrical products such as isolation platforms, will change the sound somewhat. It's a matter of do you want to spend time experimenting, and also do you want to spend quite a lot of money in doing so. Good luck! |
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I get so sick and tired of the "people" who are always kicking, screaming, pouting, and whatever else they feel the need to do as they rant about measurements. So, To all the measurement people I put this out there: do you go to concerts, symphonies or any venue and listen to live music? Have you ever sat with a classical trained violinist and ask them what violin(s) they prefer, perhaps a Stradivari or Amati, and if they have a preference, ask them if they measured the violin for its performance. I would be willing to bet not, at least not the violin players I know. I get responses from them like "it just feels right", or "I can hear the difference from the first moment I move the bow across the strings". So, I guess those who play expensive musical instruments for a living do not know of what they speak for they have no measurements. Give it a rest all of your measurement freaks. Ears are also tools for measuring. We can hear distress in a voice, sorrow, pain, happiness and we can certainly hear what we hear with our own musical equipment. Go sulk in a corner, or go get drunk and rant at the bartender about your need for numbers but for those of us who can actually hear a difference between fuses, cables, tubes and whatever else we change or tweak, I will side with the person or people who hear a difference without the need for numbers. |
