Iso Clean Fuses


I just installed the Isoclean fuses in my Marantz SA-11S1 SaCd player. This player has 5 fuses inside. Turned it on and boy did it sound bad. The worst tweek I have ever tried. The highs were gone. In fact the over all volume was reduced! My heart sank. Faintly remembering the info sheet says these fuses have a direction to them, I had hope. Out comes the player from the stand. Fuses pointed in the other direction, now towards tha front of the player. Back in the stand, all connections remade. When i turned off the amp I left the volume at the same level. Power on. Hurray! SET magic sound restored. The crystal clear mids are there and the delicate highs have returned.
These fuses are supposed to be placed following the direction of current. I do not know if I have each circuit fused correctly as I do not have a diagram of the current flow. But in the Marantz the fuse arrow sounds better pointing to the front versus all pointing towards the rear.
So if you try an Isoclean fuse, try it in both directions before deciding if it helps or not.
David Pritchard
128x128davidpritchard

Showing 6 responses by bicycle_man

Directionality in a fuse makes me wonder if it has diode-like properties. Otherwise, how could you explain directionality? Does it have shielding that is grounded only on one side like interconnect that thus makes it "directional." If so, I doubt that the length is enough to pick up emi or rfi.

Anyone?
Do any high-end manufacturers equip their amps, pre-amps, tuners, or cd players with these fuses? I would be interested to hear what an actual professional electronics designer for a high-end audio manufacturer has to say about these fuses. I am not interested in what a marketing company for the fuses or for a high-end manufacturer has to say. Spare me the reviews from them; they just want to sell a product. I am talking about a real electronics engineer who designs amps, etc.

I understand the reported observations from audiophiles. No one seems to understand what is going on, nor can they explain it technically -- just get a bunch of superlatives and recommendations for inserting it one way or another because there is directionality to any metal conductor.

I don't think the conductivity of metal is as directional as that of doped silicon with a voltage drop across it. By "directionality" I mean impedance is more or less with current flowing in one direction than the other through the metal. Not the mere fact that current flows one a specific direction. Maybe at radio or microwave frequencies there is directionality of electrical conduction -- perhaps due to the molecular grain. I don't know; I am not a radio or microwave frequency electronics designer. However, even 20kHz is not high frequency by any means.
Good point about the thin, tin wire construction of a cheap fuse. However, fuses are rated for current flow. If the rating is exceeded, the fuse blows. I think manufacturers specify the current rating of the fuse based on the demands of the equipment. I would also think that a small voltage drop across the fuse due to its resistance is far less than the fluctuations inherent in our ac power, and that a well designed power supply will easily handle any voltage drop across a fuse. I would dare say that any voltage drop across a fuse would be considered negligible compared to the ac line voltage.

The copper wire inside my 3 amp slo-blow fuse for my 35 w/ch amp looks pretty good. It doesn't look like tin at all. And, it is actually not hair-diameter thin.

As for your power cord argument, for a dvd player, or a receiver, yes I do think that 20g zip cord is more than adequate. Is it really 20g? I thought zip cord was more like 14g. Anyway the crap that comes with those machines is more than adequate as they don't draw much current. If the wire did not substantially exceed the current demands, the manufacturers would have a huge liability on their hands (oodles of law suits). For a high quality amplifier, however, you may hear an improvement in sound quality if you use a thicker cord with a filter near the amplifier. The filter for filtering out rf interference, of course. (I don't go for the skin effect arguments about power cords. There just isn't any at 60 hz.)

Let's not forget about phase since you brought it up. The phase switches that I have seen for audio equipment are not for the phase of the line voltage. It is for the phase of the output to the pre-amp in the case of a source, or to the amp in the case of a pre-amp. This switch is generally there because some music is recorded 180 degrees out of phase compared to usual recordings. In such a case, you will usually hear an improvement in the sound when you play the music back with the phase switched. Here, you most likely will hear an improvement when you turn the thing around (the phase in this instance, that is).

Perhaps I should try reversing the position of my amp's slo-blow fuse and see how it sounds. Interconnect wires and power cords with filter circuits installed in them typically sound better installed in one direction versus the other because of the shielding being grounded on one end. This is at the far end (i.e. the end where the power cord plugs into your amp, or the amp end where you have an interconnect from your pre-amp to your amp). This is because the wires and shielding pick up rf interference (acting as an antenna) so it makes sense to shunt this to ground at the end where it is being terminated. A fuse reversed sounding better? I would have to experience it for myself to believe it. Money back guarantee on the fuse? Even then the experiment is not worth it to me; the shipping costs that I would have to eat would make it a far too expensive experiment.
It is a non-issue with me. I am very happy with my system thus far.

$39 is too much for me to pay for a fuse.

I read Isoclean's website information on their fuse. It contained implications, but no solid information about the how's and why's of their fuse and improvement in sound. They just basically said, "it improves the sound."

I simply reiterate, $39! It's just a fuse. Although I might add it is gold plated; that looks neat. And you can show it to your friends. Oh, and it says "audio grade" on it; you can point that out to your friends, as well.

But hey, if you are happy with your choice, good for you.

Cheers.
I put my 39 bucks towards things like cartridges, tubes, and coupling caps that I upgrade.

I prefer to put my money into my system where it makes sense from an engineering and electronics standpoint to do so. I do not listen to marketing rhetoric. I prefer to do the research myself and make an educated decision about the changes I make to my system.

Some of you have a derogatory tone in your response to my postings on this topic. Understandable -- you have plunked down a lot of money relative to the part you bought. It sounds to me, however, like the same arguments I heard from bozos who tweaked their systems with specially "treated" black plastic zip ties and used specially "treated" black plastic tweezers peddled for a lot of money by some audio "guru", or who bought the, again, specially "treated" Tice clock and refused to return it because their egos did not let them. Obviously their ears were better than mine; that is why I could not hear the difference. And, I did not love music as much as they did. Of course, don't forget that they did not actually listen to music; they only listened to the sound their system was making.
Chashas1,
Well said.

I do not pretend for a moment to be an expert. I base my opinions on an education at, in my day, a top ten engineering school, experience in the audio retail industry, and my personal experience as an audiophile. I am knowledgeable, but not perfect.

I know that I have not tried the audio fuse. Of course, this is the big hole in my argument. If I had the means to do so for free, I might. However, my argument is that it is absurdly priced, and that it has no technological basis behind it.

In my system I can clearly hear the difference in tubes, capacitors, cables, and power line conditioners, among other things. I would make a gentleman's bet that the fuse I put in it would not make a difference. I would do that in any system because it has no basis in engineering principles. (I would also bet real money on it, if my opponent required it.) Of course I understand that the argument is that high end audio and engineering are at odds with each other. I hold that that need not be. I believe that sound engineering principles, if the designer were to pay attention to the minutiae, would coincide with great sound as far as an audiophile is concerned. That is the basis upon which I have built my system, and upon which I modify my amps.

Having worked in the industry, I witnessed a lot of snake oil being marketed. This was especially true of accessories where there is the highest profit margin. I am very skeptical of accessories and tweaks. Forty dollars is an exorbitant price too pay for something that most likely costs pennies to make. It seems that what you are paying for is perceived value and mystique. That is the only conclusion that I can draw when no one, including the sellers, can offer some technical principles for the supposed improvements on which this product is based.

I understand your Julian Hirsch comment. I am open to trying new ideas. However, I still maintain that there is a rational and scientific explanation to improvements in the music coming from the speakers. So far, there have been none concerning these fuses.