Fuses that matter.

Hi Mapman - It seems like there's a growing consensus that IF fuses and/or fuse direction have audible effects, it must be as a result of fuse parameters that are either unmeasured or unmeasurable. If that's true, then the only "evidence" available for deciding whether fuses have audible effects is personal experience and anecdotal reports.

Recently I joined the ranks of those who believe they've heard differences among fuses (but, in my case, not fuse direction). By the end of this week, I will have fuses from each of the major manufacturers - Isoclean, Furutech, and Hifi Tuning. So I should have more to report by the weekend, FWIW.

Headed deeper and deeper down the rabbit hole. I hope I can find my way back.

Bryon

Bryon,

You are a brave man!

Will look forward to your findings.

Remember that the primary function of a fuse is to provide protection against current surges. If a fuse sounds great but fails to blow when it should, that would be a no go for me.

Also I would be interested in value proposition as I am with all audio gear. IE is the cost justified? Is the cost of "audiophile fuses" justified compared to similar fuses sold for general use?

Also how can you determine if the same fuse will produce similar results in different designs, or at least reliably positive results in all cases?

THose are my questions. I don't expect you to answer them all for free, but might as well get them out there.

All good questions, Mapman. I won't pretend to know the answers. I'm just trying to do my part to keep the streets safe! ;-)

bc

Bryon, Imagine that you listen to your system at 5:50PM to establish a baseline and again with new fuse at 6:00PM. At 6:00PM radio stations cut power in half according to FCC regulations - you detected improvement. Now you test other fuses. You already know that original stock fuse was not as good as expensive fuses, therefore you believe in differences between them. Once you believe there are likely differences (or perhaps wife keeps adjusted dimmer switch) you will hear it . It is difficult to eliminate all influences including movement/position of cables during fuse replacement, not to mention placebo effect. You move your amp to change fuse direction and cables got better contact - improvement in sound. Now when you change direction again placebo effect is much stronger since you already heard improvement one way.

Yes, good point Kijanki!

I tend to shy away from a/b tests likely involving subtle and unpredictable differences because it is so hard to control all variables that can affect sound in subtle ways.

Now when I hear a consensus that clear major differences can be heard in a predictable manner, I tend to take more notice.

BE careful Bryon. Those streets could be slippery!