There has never been a reasonable explanation from any "boutique" fuse manufacturer of exactly why or how their fuse may improve the sound of any component...the reason for this is that fuses simply work or don’t, are reliable or not, and can’t influence the sound of anything because they’re fuses...in the midst of the rabid hyperbole surrounding the predatory marketing of expensive pseudo tweaks, simple facts are conveniently ignored. Most reasonable audio geeks (i.e. those not driven by expectation bias, and who can utilize logical critical thinking without faith based mythology) do NOT use Magic Fuses, although those who have invested their tweak bucks in them will generally make claims of improvement so as not to look foolish. Geoffkait’s point about the 80,000 to 50 score is like asking members of a cult how many feel it’s a GREAT cult...Littelfuse and Buss fuses have established excellent reputations over many years, and are used in an overwhelming majority of excellent sounding audio components, and offer products that cost a tiny fraction of what boutique fuses generally cost while providing outstanding build quality and performance. |
Businesses don't do 2 day conference calls with competing businesses where thy discuss sales, and geoffkait's imagined "industry insider" status is laughable. Consequently his sales figures are merely a product of his fertile (or fertilized) addled brain. Regardless of all that, most sane audiophiles ignore useless and inexplicable tweaks like magic magnetized placemats and fancy overpriced fuses because they're not idiots or sheep. |
Not overnight...to profit from "magic tweaks" you really need to engage a cadre of enthusiastic sales people armed with hyperbole to push a product that is immune to objective criticism ("I don't know HOW it works, but it transforms your system and has a 30 day return policy"), and banter about it ad nauseam in a discussion forum to lure otherwise naive, gullible, or insecure audio fans. That's how you do it. |
To clarify Kaitty’s insider claims, I was wrong...it wasn’t an imaginary conference call, it was an imaginary online thing...Kaitty said: "I was in an online conference two days ago with principals of HiFi Tuning and Synergistic Research and a dealer for both." From the Blue Fuse thread...it wasn’t a 2 day thing...I stand corrected except for the part that this sort of thing among competitors never actually happens in the business world. Also, the reason I don't make up nonsense and market it is simply because that would be unethical and perhaps criminal, neither of which I find particularly appealing. |
Objecting to the hard sell of nonsensical and inexplicable pseudo tweaks is tough on people who have bought into the hyperbole fueled sales scams and fraudulent claims. I get that, and my sympathies go out to those who rely on others to tell them how they should hear things, and those fragile butterflies who remain frightened of criticism of the often expensive tweaks that allow them to imagine they can hear new things. Regarding oregonpapa’s "10,000 to 1" comment, it’s a fact that MOST rational hifi geeks are too smart to be lured into the fake tweak world, and the ratio of those who know their stock fuses work as well as premium "magic" junk (including the vast majority of brilliant audio component designers) is likely 1,000,000 to 1. Also it’s interesting that Kaitty claims to not actually use "special" or any other fuses in his walkman/headphone rig, he simply joins the conversation hoping somebody will buy his closet full of magic pebbles and his claim of being an "industry insider"...he clearly needs the attention. |
I don't miss out on anything by being skeptical of overhyped nonsense. I don't question every tweak, only ones I feel are hyperbole festooned nonsense. I understand many feel they experience benefits from inexplicable (or at least never explicted) tweaks like special fuses, as who wouldn't want to think they got their money's worth? My experience (and thorough testing of some SR stuff) tells me that fuses are simply fuses, and I've heard zero logical or even illogical explanations of why a fuse that is simply a fuse will actually do anything musical in a circuit, even with claims from Kaitty that it's been explained. Claims of "special" materials making the fuse work better somehow, or direction reversal making a difference, could possibly only provide the tiniest of differences that become swamped and rendered irrelevant by the piles of circuitry that components contain. That's simply a fact. If my writing about the hyperbole seems offensive to anybody I obviously don't care, as clearly I chafe at the silly hype and ridiculous claims of fuse "magic." Tell me that putting premium valve stem caps on my BMW tires will make it corner faster, provide testimonials from users to back up those claims, and I'll still point out how ridiculous that is. |
If you "claim" to hear things (nobody actually knows what anybody else hears) that others don't, you should be able to handle the criticism especially if you use extreme hyperbole in those claims. The difference between an SR fuse and, for example, a Littelfuse IS dramatic...one works perfectly as designed, from a company with a stellar reputation for safety and consistency and costs 2 bucks or so, and the other costs 100 to 150 bucks for reasons nobody can explain...except sales profit. Now that "sounds" different for sure! Also, I was talking about imagined valve stem covers that would be a joke if 10 times as expensive as standard, not racing stripes which have obvious performance benefits...everybody knows that... |
Again, promoting tweaks as a commercial endeavor on a chat forum is my main beef...and questioning hyperbole is just a hobby...I'm guilty of posting about stuff I like, but it's clear I REALLY don't care who agrees with me, although those who do are generally smart and good looking. |
It's a fuse, and if it is functioning as designed, to protect the component, it will have zero impact on the tonality or performance of any audio component, regardless of what people think they hear in "premium" fuses. Standard Littelfuse products are all you need, the rest are simply a scam to sell you things. You're welcome. |
