What are fuses used for?

Speaking of preservation of the species, how on earth did we ever survive this long without double blind A/B testing? Can someone bring in that saber tooth tiger again just to make sure that was what I heard and not some water buffalo. 

All the best,
Nonoise

Nope, it's not BS. I think its more system dependent than anything. What I'm finding through conversations with other members is that some tweaks, like those wall socket plug-in thingies (I forgot the name of them again), counteract other tweaks. Either that or its a hearing problem of some sort. Or maybe we're just listening for different things? 

On proving it through measurements, I've personally measured each upgrade through one of the most accurate measurement devises known to man ... the human ear. Not as good by far as the ears on dogs, but good enough to be used throughout the ages for a variety of things, including the preservation of the species. 

Frank

The naysayers must be studying the script of 12 Angry Men. “You can’t prove it!” “But you said we can forget about all the other stuff.” “How can be be so sure?! “I’m telling you, some of you people in here must be out of your minds.” “Don't give me that. I'm sick and tired of facts! You can twist 'em anyway you like, you know what I mean?”

No, it's not BS. It's being able to hear and appreciate the difference. 👍
By the way, who's been busy getting posts deleted? Someone with their fee-fees hurt?

All the best,
Nonoise

It’s explained by the fact that people spending 150 bucks on a fuse really NEED to hear an improvement or they feel like they’ve been duped, and also feel the need to join a support group (like the ones here) for the same reason. Most audiophiles and gear manufacturers (like Roger Modjeski) don’t care at all about "magic" fuses...what explains this?

Interesting how the majority of those who have upgraded to the SR Blue fuses hear a pronounced improvement in their systems, and how few hear nothing or just a slight improvement. What explains this? 

Frank

I second wolf's response

I recently tried some SR Blues in my system.  The company I purchased from was out of stock on a couple, my system requires 6.  I installed in the preamp and the phono preamp.  I REALLY wanted to hear a difference as the salesman had me so excited.  He assured that this would not be one of those experiences where you are struggling to hear a difference....it would be jaw-dropping.  Well, I thought it sounded better but was not jaw-dropping.  I listened to for about a week.  Still no update on the backorder fuses, so I put in 1 of 2 in each of my ARC mono block amps.  I turned them on and one fuse popped.  I asked the sales guy and he said that cheap fuses are built with a wide variance in their actual ratings.  The SR are so closely built that my amp likely was drifting above that rating and my stock fuses covered it where the SR didn't.  Oooookaaayyyy
So now I asked him, well if that's the case why didn't we up the rating on all 6 fuses?  He said we could have done that, but no worries.  I said well this is quite frustrating and concerning to me and now I AM gonna worry about the other fuses popping.  If this happens after my trial period then I'm subject to changing $150 fuses if they pop.
I went ahead and switched all the fuses back to stock and actually felt the sound improved.  This told me that my emotions were dictating what I heard.  

@E
I would love to see a spec that described how something sounded.

erik_squires4,257 posts11-23-2018 8:12pmI’m definitely not about to take work assigned by you, George.

I was merely pointing out that if audiophile fuses do anything at all the effects would be super easy to measure at the fuse itself.

>>>>Isn’t it nice to think so, Eric? The name is Geoff, by the way, not George. It’s probably best if you don’t do the test after all. 😀

I'm definitely not about to take work assigned by you, George.

I have no particular interest in fuses, I was merely pointing out that if audiophile fuses do anything at all the effects would be super easy to measure at the fuse itself.

If I was going to sell an expensive gadget that actually did something I'd be jumping at the chance to prove it's efficacy.

Best,
E

Great idea. Why don’t you do it and report your findings? Are you waiting for someone else to do it?

Could a fuse make a difference? I doubt it, but there's good ways to tell.

Put an oscilloscope on both ends of a fuse, ideally something with a frequency analyzier. Look at the scope.

When anyone provides visible proof of a fuse in anyway showing a voltage differential in real time between the input and output I'll be interested.

Now, that's not to say you could not do something cool, like have a fuse with a built in ferrite bead or something, which would reduce EMI / RFI. Would it be audible? See above. :)

Best,

E

Glubson, just curious, did you forget to take your smart pills this morning?

"Yet capacitors are also directional due to the wire running through them."

What is the definition of "wire" for this purpose? Surely not what first comes to one's mind.

Did somebody forget to set out the roach motels last over the holiday? 🏨

Oh boy !! And so it continues ................

I highly recommend a fuse selector/switch to facilitate a convenient change for different genres of music. This could likely be automated with an interface to the music source.  You would then use the program that someone else wrote to automate you fuse selections.
With all the worry about which fuse now set aside, you could now enjoy your music without needing to think about the fuse.  Unless, you wanted to account, of course, for time of day, phases of the moon, temperature, etc.  I am sure that, for a small fee, updates would be available for every eventuality.  However, the improvement realized in SQ would be worth every penny.

Three guesses. The first two don’t count.

Who said anything about two years?

Oh, they got their PhD in two years? Wow! They must have very large heads.

@ geoffkait1

I worked with several Acoustical Engineers (some PhDs) in the past, their coursework all expanded on Mechanical Engineering as this is how acoustics is best modeled. Just a plain old BSEE here.

What I glean from your post is that fourth grade was a watershed year in your development. 👦

No offense taken there Kaitty as my skills come from over 5 decades of on the job experience as a working musician with no time for whatever Acoustic Engineering School might offer. My experience of working with those having been "trained" varies from smart and talented people to those with zero aptitude or talent. Ya never know. I get these live sound gigs from reputation only...sorry Kaitty...I know this bothers you, and my interest in audio has also been due to many years of practical experience, although it's only been during the last 30 years or so that I've been able to afford the gear I want, and focus on hifi instead of the musician gear needed to play live constantly as well as do personal and commercial recording work. As an aside...in the fourth grade I was trained by somebody in the audio-video department of my elementary school to run the 16 millimeter projector for a teacher with severe "projector phobia"...they'd take me out of my class from time to time and off I'd go to wheel a projector set into her classroom, which I thought was GREAT. That's where that stuff started I suppose.

Wolf, we all know acoustic engineering school is a scam. They don’t teach anything to prepare you for high end audio. They don’t even teach engineering. Give me a break. They teach you how to be a knob turner and wire puller. Though, on the plus side, being all thumbs might actually be good for knob turning. You should run down with great haste to whatever two-year podunk school you went to and demand your money back. No offense.

Some crafty manufacturers found that by claiming a lot of nonsense about Special fuses made with beeswax or silly pseudo science, with very little rational explanation of why they could make this magic: "New UEF Graphene coating, two years in development, and UEF quantum treatments make the BLUE fuse significantly more holographic and dynamic than even the incredible SR BLACK fuse. Resolution and musicality are second to none"...like that...would make some easy tweak bucks...that’s pretty much it. If 40,000 hopeful and faithful bought in, as says Kaitty, that’s just sad and likely inaccurate, but far more than 40,000 HAVEN’T bought in (they perhaps haven’t heard about the astonishing benefits of fuse "upgrades"). For weird reasons better explained by non-layabouts, Conference Call Kaitty has issues with the fact that I actually did a pretty thorough test, and am a successful (admittedly frequently overpaid) live concert sound engineer...likely more fun than being an imagined Audio Insider.

OP
Probably a very wise decision... Lol.
One more item not to fret over or spend money on!

rvpiano,

I appreciate your candidness and respect the decision.

I think I’m going to be a flatearther on this one.
It seems like too much trouble.

It is also possible if you have newer gear there maybe NO "user" accessible fuse to change.
There has been a trend to just solder a fuse internally on a board.

Obviously not something you can just switch out quickly and easily.

Some even more enlightened manufacturers have abandoned fuses altogether in favour of circuit breakers.

Thats a tough one ill try to figure it out get back to you asap.

rockass,

You catch on pretty quick...I would start with remote control. Please report back which button on your remote control now allows you to hear the subtle nuances (previously inaudible) with Rock, Blues and Jazz music 😉

For best performance listen to the fuse one way, and then reverse the other way to determine best sonic orientation.

So, do different fuses work better for different genres of music? What fuse should I get for Rock? Blues? Jazz?

Is the same fuse (brand/series, I know I will need different ratings) best for all equipment, or will I need to try various combinations for all equipment (turntable, pre-amp, amp, cd player, speakers)?

Is there a fuse that I can swap out in my remote control, if so how important is that to sound quality?

@phillyb asked:

Why the put downs? If he heard nothing so what. It is his money and his experience. If you heard a huge improvement then good for you. Leave it there.

You have to know the motives of Geoffy the fuse troll. He is all about defending his science fiction fuse empire, and his feeble attempts to try to make fun of legit members is how he does it. 

Playing the old fear angle, eh.

Fuses are used to prop up the egos of some super human beings on this site who pretend they can hear the difference they make to the sound :-)

In the real world however, they will be very thoroughly investigated by your insurance company if and when you have a fire which may be caused by faulty equipment.

Everyone should decide for themselves what sounds best in their system. Leaving it to others is like doing art, by committee. The final result won't please anyone.

All the best,
Nonoise

Sounds like marqmike is in my group, the group where we don't give a rats what anybody else thinks or says.
It's our money, our system, our ears and to infinity and beyond for the rest of you.

Oh. I should have said that I really don't care what other people think about that. It matters what I think when I am listening to my system. Good thing too because it would be weird if I had to ask what somebody else heard, while I am listening to my system, to enjoy my system.

After trying a few different brands of fuses I heard amazing differences between them all. I thought people would like to hear what I experienced, then I read the thread on fuses and realized I was wrong.

Whoa! What? Why the put downs? Hey, phillyb, no offense but I’m afraid you’re not following. Wolfie is claiming everyone who hears the fuse is crazy. And he’s the only sane one because he can’t hear the fuse. Capish? If that ain’t a freakin Catch 22 I don’t know what is!

Why the put downs? If he heard nothing so what. It is his money and his experience. If you heard a huge improvement then good for you. Leave it there. 

OK, Wolfie, I’ll give you that - they didn’t work for you. So it’s what, you against 40,000? The smart money is on the 40,000, not some pro audio layabout. 

I tested some "premium" fuses a while back after disputing the insane hyperbole attached to them by a few shameless salespeople...I figured it would be interesting and I had access to a pile of 'em...I found them to be absolutely useless relative to SQ, and some were actually rated improperly and blew in a power amp.