Fuse replacement

If you’re really interested in trying some, buy them used or buy ACME Audio Fuses. 

Way back when fuses first showed up in the high-end arena, I tried just about every brand out there.  From around $200 per fuse to the Acme fuses that were around $20.  

IMHO, it did make a nice, very small, subtle improvement, but sure wasn’t worth the expensive brand(s).

Can’t remember who turned me on to the Acme brand, but if you want to try fuses, please don’t spend a bunch of money.  

Acme fuses have some pretty decent reviews.

https://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1021/Acme_Audio_Labs_Silver_Cryo_Fuses_Review.htm

You could always take out a second mortgage and buy the QSA fuses...

Notable Audiophile fuses:

• Hi-Fi Tuning Supreme Diamond Silver/Gold fuses
• Swiss Digital Fuse Box+ +slug
• Synergistic Research
• QSA

Good luck.

@spenav Thanks for the warning. I know SR fuses are premium in price, and I most likely won’t even consider them.  

@mofimadness 

I noticed that ACME uses a CFC coating/plating on the contacts, which led to my original question. In terms of electrical conductivity, CFC appears to be several orders of magnitude lower than the commonly used contact metals, ranging from silver to rhodium. Rhodium is widely used by several well-known brands such as Padis and Furutech.

I understand the durability advantages of rhodium, but gold-plated fuses are also quite popular. This makes me wonder why those major brands choose to use the harder rhodium plating, knowing that users will inevitably complain about the longer and more difficult break-in process.

The electrical conductivity among them are listed below:

• Silver ≈ 6.3 × 10⁷ Siemens / m)
• Copper ≈ 5.9 × 10⁷ S/m)
• Gold ≈ 4.1 × 10⁷ S/m)
• Rhodium​ ≈ 2.3×10^7 S/m
• CFC ​ ≈10^2 to 10^5 S/m

The next question that also confounds me is this: once fully broken in, rhodium-plated fuses are often praised for their sound quality. The author you have referred also highly praise the CFC coated ACME fuses, which has poorest conductivity.  Would a gold-plated fuse, with its higher electrical conductivity, outperform them instead easily?

@kennyc Thanks for the recommendations.  I am most interested in Hi-Fi Tuning because of the cryo treated silver (99%) from tip to tip and the price.  Did you find it improves the sound?

work on your room, your speakers your placement for much much greater potential sonic improvement