FUSE BOX delivers perfect protection and superior sound


Encouraged by the improvement offered by the PURON plug-in filters, I spent some additional time reading 

 

I wondered if a second product, unrelated to PURON, can also raise the bar for recorded music?  FUSE BOX is a system that replaces a fuse in a piece of electronics.  A metal SLUGGO (insert either the brass or copper option) goes in the fuse holder.  The power cord you have been using goes into one end of the slim, lightweight BOX.  From the other end of the BOX, another power cord (quality counts!) leads to your power conditioner or to the wall.  Simply plug and play.

Each FUSE BOX is calibrated according to the traditional fuse it will be replacing.  By providing the amp value, fuse size, and slow/fast blow, a unit can be tailored to your specs.

I took the plunge by requesting a FUSE BOX to fit into two different systems.  I use a Black Ice FOZ SS-X Sound Expander in both a headphone (Synergistic blue) and main system (Synergistic orange).  This wonderful piece is in the middle of both systems, between the cd player and the amplifier.

Starting first in the smaller system, there was a break-in period of about 30 hours before the sound really took off.  A huge positive step (for me) was then replacing the copper sluggo with the brass version.  Now I heard the depth and warmth, in addition to the detail of the copper version.  The traditional Grado sound through the over the ear headphones (Prestige 125 model) was rich, detailed, and balanced.

I spend much more time listening through full range Martin Logan Expression ESL 13a speakers.  I recently added two PURONS to this system, plugged into a Synergistic Research Powercell 12 conditioner.  Even when (intellectually) I believed this combination had already taken me to the "top of the mountain," I was happy to be proven wrong.  With the brass sluggo in the SS-X, the "you are at the recording event" is very powerful, and in a way I had never heard before.  It's like I have the best seat in the house, for every recording.

For me, FUSE BOX offers the protection of traditional fuses, without fearing they may need to be replaced (since FUSE BOX can be easily reset).  With the two sluggos provided, the sound can be adjusted to one's preference.  And I still have the flexibility to change this arrangement in the future, as the sluggo is never permanently fixed to the fuse holder.

A big thanks to Mark Schifter at Vera-Fi Audio, for patiently helping me.  With a 30 day return policy, my guess is that many music lovers will be asking Mark to program a unit, so they can evaluate it in their systems.

My answer, to "how can the sound possibly get any better?" is FUSE BOX.  Highly recommended.

 

sgordon1

Interesting....

Not sure I would personally risk doing this on my equipment, but, I was curious, so I looked it up:

 

P.S. the hyperlink does NOT appear to work when copy/pasting it here 🤷‍♂️

If it's the same Mark Schifter, he was one of the pioneers in digital audio (Audio Alchemy, Perpetual Technology) and has always represented innovation & value in the audio industry.  Audio Alchemy was responsible for the DITB (Dac in the Box) and DTI (Digital Transmission Interface), among the first commercially available DACs and anti-jitter devices.

Unfortunately, he's had a checkered legal life.  Last I recall, he was up on charity fraud charges, but I don't know if he was ever convicted.  Hopefully (if it's the same guy) he's put all that behind him and is totally legit now.

Specially the 30 hour burn in time is interesting.

And if the brass slug made suh a huge difference, why not change all internal wiring to brass? Heck, you need a brass power cable!

Hmmm...without getting into rancour or heated dialogs...

Fuses are inherently bad for audio.

@carlsbad , being curious and noting the various postings that have gone on re fuses and the esoteric offerings (’good’, ’bad’, or indifferent..), why would they still be showing up in equipment and speakers?

I’ve blown a couple over ’my life in audio’ over the years; the most ’recent’ (which wasn’t) saved one of my AMTs’ from toasting....so...

What’s the rational alternative? Without resorting to the ’inherently bad’?

...or is ’audionoia’ something to resign to....;)

Pensively yours, J *G*

Btw, query response open for comment...and the only Swiss I really like is cheese... ;)

Regardless of whether or not this works, replacing the mains fuse in a piece of gear with a solid piece of copper will almost certainly invalidate any manufacturer's warranty. Plus invalidate one's house insurance in the even there was ever a fire caused by an equipment fault.

@asvjerry 

Fuses are there to protect equipment.  Sometimes fuses blow from equipment failure and they prevent other equipment from failing, for example, they protect expensive output transformers. 

More often, fuses blow due to human errors and protect equipment from humans.

if you are a power cable denier, you can stop reading here and go on with your happy life.  But if you're like most audiophiles, you put thousands of dollars into power for your rig, fancy regenerators and power cables half the size of your wrist.  Then after the electricity is delivered to the amp in a conductor the size of a straw, we strain the electrons through a filter the size of a human hair, aka, a fuse. This limits current during dynamic and bass sections and degrades performance.

So most designers see fuses as a necessary evil.  Some users, like me, realize they can afford to replace equipment that gets damaged and remove fuses from the circuit.  some spend thousands of dollars on audiophile fuses that are slightly better but never as good as no fuse at all.

I don't know why audiophile local circuit breakers haven't been invented to replace fuses with full current options.

Jerry  

@carlsbad ....now, That sounds like a leap into the audio future, considering the $s' that some spend on high end fusing.....👍

Doesn't seem like an improbable item, either.  Replace the fuse with a dongle, and the tech involved ought not to be too unobtainium.  I personally don't have the background to render such, but....

Sounds like a 'go fund me' scenario, but...*shrug*

There's other 'tweaks' of a potential I can wish up...instead of cables, fiber optics from pre to the amp at the speaker.  I used to own L-07 amps with a 1 m. cable to the speakers, with the amp>pre line designed for the balance of the system...

Still kicking self for letting that get away, but...hindsight, 'n all that.

If wishes were fishes, the world would stink from all the rot.

Yeah, rather negative a view....I'll get over/under/around/through it...;)

sgordon1 is not a scammer, please. I have personal experience dealing with him trading our home-made tweaks on several occasions, money not involved. There's no way he would recommend something he believed was a scam or an inferior product. sg1 is the best kind of audio enthusiast and very generous, so please don't doubt his sincerity. Thanks. I have no idea what the fuse box is, by the way.

@whostolethebatmobile , understood, granted, and thanks for your insight. *S*

But I still have a healthy cynical curiousity about small sealed boxes and the gremlins within....

And the belief that a fuse shouldn't do anything other than serve and protect, with zero effects. Therein lies the discussions and the advent of major money fuses.

When a fuse has a tiny whisker of wire being fed by 12ga. and lower, or exotic cables is a reasonable consideration.  Which is why the concept of a active circut breaker monitoring the inputs is an outstanding idea, and mho worth wondering over....

...but I'm just a weird troll, gargling in the fringes... ;)

Geeez, so if a small child or animal bumps the power cord, I live 120V brass sluggo is exposed on the floor???

@carlsbad 

I said: Fuses are are inherently good for audio equipment.

Fuses can protect the internals of audio equipment from damage. Have a good day. 

@petaluman

I was altered to your note and yes of course – one in the same

I’ve worked very hard over the last 12 + years to pay back and pay forward both with good works.

I have run Product Development for Underwood (Core Power Tech, LSA, and Emerald Physics) and the work product etc. over these 12 years can speak for itself. Doing tjne same for the new Bob Carver Corp. Hearing it from me will have little meaning – except to say at 66 it’s still the “core driver” of my life daily.

The product being spoken about here is the Swiss Digital FUSE BOX and in my (albeit biased) opinion it IS a real step up. The product is Science Driven – it works well and those that have tested and bought seem to really like it. Thanks to @sgordon1 for stepping up to get it said.

Like Puron in another area – doing what I like and enjoy doing with fine products and a long 54 year history sadly littered by a big mistake driven by greed and avarice (with a big dollop of stupidity).

 

Here to do better –

 

Thanks

Mark

Mark: @verafiaudio :

 

I have no horse on this race, but I must say, your posts strike me as a down to earth, and very nice guy. Good human being. We all make mistakes in our lives. Some small, some big, with terrible consequences. They key is to 1) learn from the mistakes, and 2) take full ownership of them. Apologizing ain’t easy. You appear to do both. And I personally appreciate that.

 

Best of luck with your life. I realize you are not a young guy. And I truly wish you spend what’s left happy and in good health. Life is short. Enjoy it

I can't speak for the Swiss Digital FUSE BOX....I've never owned one.

I can speak for Mark's character...he's a good man, and an audio genius.

Mark's resume is is way beyond what he stated in his above post. At the end of the day...your not buying his past SIN...your buying his incredible expertise in the audio playback world.

I recently purchased 2 of Mark's products...and couldn't be happier.

@thyname

Thanks for your message. Meaningful message that resonates deeply. Appreciate it.

Each day brings a reminder in unique ways – today no different.

Firstly, what I did was wrong and with consequences that were deep and really profound. BUT, so many positive things have happened since 2010 and virtually all of them great reminders with allowance to regain footing.

Once day I might tell the entire story – but I’m ok right where I am, here and now.


 

@krelldog

As well, thanks…

The power of creating is still the “daily driver” 😊

Lots more to work on – and as a result, even more time to reflect and pay forward for my mistakes and stupidity.

 

Maybe some people will choose to not do business with me, and that’s OK too. Even a mention here can change the course of “good”. I caused this – no one else… so the “balance” has to continue to be weighed.

Best always

Thousands of dollars in power conditioning, cables and such.. all to run through a tiny little wire you buy for around $3… well unless you buy the something like a $125 “blue” or “black” fuse type thing..

“Inductive Quantum Coupling” ..  in a fuse..   ????

“In addition to a proprietary conditioning process followed by a 1,000,000 volt signal we call Quantum Tunneling that alters conductive pathways within the burn wire”….

“We call Quantum Tunneling”. Doesn’t matter that term has a specific meaning.. it sounds cool..
maybe next they can turn lead into gold, maybe only a billion volts to alter physical structure.

Quantum Alchemical process makes everyone rich! Just send $4.99 and $5,555 for shipping and handling..

 

or maybe, with sufficient entangled pairs, we can just inject your brain with half the pair and push music directly into your head via “actual” quantum tunneling (1,000,000volts not required) inducing direct transference of the audio and just bypass all this “gear”.. then everyone can “hear” the exact same thing and no one need argue over “sound quality” ever again. Seriously, no side effects to the injection… promise (brought to you by our trusted partner firms of pfizer and moderna)

 

Extremely silly.  The Swiss ought to know better; they still make good watches.

PS It's not a fuse box as it's a circuit breaker not a fuse.

Given the dictionary definitions for fuse, perhaps just as well:))

fuse

2 of 4

noun (1)

: an electrical safety device consisting of or including a wire or strip of fusible metal that melts and interrupts the circuit when the current exceeds a particular amperage

fuse

3 of 4

noun (2)

1
: a continuous train of a combustible substance enclosed in a cord or cable for setting off an explosive charge by transmitting fire to it
2
or less commonly fuze : a mechanical or electrical detonating device for setting off the bursting charge of a projectile, bomb, or torpedo

How is the fuse value set on the SD fuse box?  Is it set from the factory or user-adjustable?

Does anyone know the maximum fuse rating?

@yoyoyaya

The guys that worked with me on this product are Swiss. It’s their name and I kinda like it

@68pete

Many thanks sir. Every day doing what I can to do “my part” – still having fun 😊

@skucie

Thanks for your question

It's Programmed – at this point we can only do up to 10 amps – later, we can do up to 15 amps.

Fast or Slow Blow

We can support 5 x 20mm and 1.25m x .25 inch fuses types

Ships with Brass Slug and Solid Copper Slug


All

After several messages yesterday and today – we are setting up the site to offer those interested our full Instruction Manual (with Warnings)

 

More to follow

 

 

@verafiaudio 

Thank you for your response.

 

Regarding the programming, is that done in production or can the end user alter the settings?  I'm trying to determine if it would be possible to try it on a few different pieces of equipment to see where it would have the most impact.

 

Thanks again.

Post removed 

@verafyaudio. Thank you Mark. I actually think the product makes sense. Is it or will it be CE marked?

@skucie

Appreciate your note -

Programming is done via ICP – Lots of care went into the programming protocol(s) and it’s very foolproof in fact

The idea was that IF you wanted the FUSE BOX re-programmed we at the factory would do it for you for a nominal (like $25 dollars nominal) charge

Re trying it – please ring me up (phone number on the site) @ www.verafiaudio.com and I would be glad to send you a unit or two to try.

There’s no shortage of people here who think this is all a bucket of hooey – only it’s not.

We’ve had 11 units in the field for 6 + months and the unanimity of positive voice re FUSE BOX has been great.

Money where my mouth is – please get in touch.

Thanks


 

@steakster

Great Forum Name – lets start there.

I want to find the proper way to say this without sounding like a complete ass.

Over several companies and many OEM’s that I’ve built for I’d like to think that I’ve spent the last 16 + months thinking about how to best move forward with FUSE BOX

Daniel and Markus have as well. We feel this is the best way to “prove out” the concept and product efficacy. Your idea is quite good and maybe in the future that might work well – In fact, I can imagine it would

Lots and lots of testing through Alpha and Beta before the first production was run.

We’d like to drive the cost down – but until we get further down the road it won’t be easy.


@yoyoyaya

Thanks as well.

We are looking now at ways to certify. That said – Sluggo makes that difficult… but there are ways.

I know that FUSE BOX will impress. I also know it’s a hard sell to many that cannot imagine how this can improve the sound. Only it does (forgive me).

In days to come we will have the Instructions on the site. We will also post some tech data for those that like to understand what they hear to the measurements.  

 

I just got an email from a dealer selling these.  I have a question about if it will work with equipment that has more than one fuse.  Would love to read about someone trying this.

Quick note

We are now set up “digitally” with UPS for an even better International shipping experience

All digital – very quick and painless now

Thanks to all of you for your incredible support re Puron and FUSE BOX

@emailists

FUSE BOX will work fine with Amplifiers etc. with multiple values

We set FUSE BOX for your Power Transformer “value”.

How can you know what’s what – simple

Lets say your amp has 2 x 3amp fuse and 1 x 6 amp

 

SELECT THE LARGER SINGLE VALUE – in this case 6 amps

Here to help

Mark

 

BTW – the complete Instruction Manual is now on our Home Page

www.verafiaudiollc.com

 

Please read it - Thanks

PS - sgordon1 is using this product successfully - please connect with him 

We have shipped several manufacturers their first FUSE BOXES 

More about that shortly 

Thanks

Can you explain further how a 6 amp protection circuit can protect a part of the equipment rated for only 3 amps?  

Also I might suggest making some comparison recordings made with the Fuse box and without.   Positive Feedback did an article including links to WAV files (linked below) about a mastering facility trying out Niagara 5000 power conditioners.  They did two masterings of tracks - one using the power conditioning and one without.  The difference is astonishing, even listening via my small system in another location.  

If you could record the differences of the output of a preamp or DAC the way this article does, I feel it could be helpful to illustrate this new very interesting product category.  

 

 

Just received my 2 "Fuse Box" 6A units that I will use to power my mono block amps.

ozzy

@emailists

I apologize for not getting back here earlier

The main purpose is to PROTECH the amplifier within your question.

Protecting the Power Transformer is KEY – the B+ fuses that still remain (no slug inserted) will work fine doing their job @ 3amps. Nothing changes there

I do urge reading the manual which is on our home page verafiaudiollc.com




FUSE BOX is in several systems now. Had e-mails last night with very positive early results.

 

Thanks

Mark

I just installed the Fuse Boxes. I’m not sure if there is a break in period, but at this moment I am liking what I hear. There seems to be more dynamics and perhaps the music seems louder.
I mean when you think about it we are using perhaps 12-10 gauge wiring (including power cords etc.) and it is all passing through a small hair like wire (fuse) but by-passing that (fuse) stumbling block there should be more power available.

More to come.

ozzy

Guys,

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a product here on this forum called a Swiss Digital Fuse Box. I must say that after reading the description of the Fuse Box, I was intrigued! I immediately remembered back in the old days when a lot of guys were bypassing their fuses on their Magnepan with noticeable improvements.

I do own both Synergistic Research Black, Blue and Orange Fuses as well as Quantum Science Blue and Yellow Fuses and with the steady increase in fuse costs, the Swiss Digital Fuse Box from a cost basis and the potential of increased sound quality made sense to me.

I could not wait any longer and placed my order for 10A SB (Tube Amp) device and package was received within 3 days after ordering. I just had to experience this Fuse Box in my system to “Hear” what others were raving about…

It does not take long to discern the meaningful and impactful sound that the Fuse Box is allowing your component to extract delicate and nuanced sound without restriction; in my system, I discerned a very welcoming and noticeable increase spatial ambiance cues… These spatial cues extended the soundstage 2-3 feet outside the edges of my loudspeakers but the Fuse Box did even more tightening up the center image focus, more impactful bass, more nuanced texture, better soundstage separation/depth/layering. Transparency/clarity is quite remarkable as well and its crystal clear and warm at the same time.

The sound is smooth, yet dynamic with everything within the soundstage being laid out distinctly with precision!

The best way I can describe the sound is that you are immersed in a sound field with sound coming from all around you… I did notice better sound the next day and imagine the Fuse Box will improve with use and settling in time.

I can say without reservation that the Fuse Box slaughtered my SR and QSA Fuses and Highly recommend this product to those looking to remove their restrictive and expensive boutique fuses…

Wig 😁👍

Post removed 

I received my Fuse Box and right out of the box it’s a nice improvement over the stock fuse. I also agree the Brass is the better sluggo and along with the Purons have added an impressive uptick in performance!

In my system, I prefer the copper sluggo as it’s closer to scale in terms of image size; if you thought your speakers were holographic, wait until you add a Fuse Box and your front wall becomes a "chameleon".

Will do more listening between the sluggos after more settling in time...

Wig