McIntosh fuse changeout to make better sound

Confirmation bias is a thing, but many people "just can't handle the truth". I stand by my above comment-- that the extra "something" that you're hearing is coming from YOU. Any Qanon fans here?

Yes, confirmation bias is a thing and it’s proven every time someone says fuses can’t, and won’t, make a difference. They believe it so deeply that when they listen, they don’t hear any differences or write off any as of no consequence.

Oh, as for the Qanon reference, it applies to those who choose to live in an alternative world and not in the real world where one can hear the differences for themselves. Followers of Qanon refuse to think for themselves and choose, instead, to be led.

All the best,
Nonoise

You didn't read my first comment above that I was referring to. I assert nothing and when I preview system changes I do not look for an immediate answer, I live with it and decide for myself over time. I'll admit I do not waste much of my time swapping fuses, aligning crystals, or coloring the edges of my CD's (I'm more a vinyl guy anyway) with a green marking pen that uses special ink blessed by a Buddhist Monk. My problems are more pedestrian-- like room reflection, the occasional cable hum, etc. Just because you hear something, or see something with your own eyes does not mean for a New York minute that it's real. You should know that. Most people that (IMO waste) their money (which is totally cool with me) buying a $300 fuse or a $5k power cable EXPECT to hear something-- and so they do. I expect neither because I know that initial reactions to any subtle phenomenon are better approached with an open mind.

Now explain why every time my audiophile buddies over the years have claimed some amazing improvements from fuses, when I forced them to listen blind, those amazing improvements disappear. I do make sure to clean the fuse contact first to remove that variable.

Yes, confirmation bias is a thing and it’s proven every time someone says fuses can’t, and won’t, make a difference. They believe it so deeply that when they listen, they don’t hear any differences or write off any as of no consequence.

I did read your first comment and, sorry to hear that you couldn't hear an immediate difference. I did. Granted, with some changes I've had to wait for certain moments in music to verify what I believed all along, but it was always apparent on first listen that something was amiss, either for the worse, or the better.

The only time I couldn't, was when swapping out fuses on my Kinki EX-M1 integrated. Everything was more of a sideways move and in the end, I stuck with the stock fuse (which was anything but stock: it was a well made, high rupturing fuse that cost about $2.00, but much better made than the usual dreck out there).

All the best,
Nonoise