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Why don't amplifier Companies use high end fuses?

My equipment - Raven Integrated Reflection MK2 tube amp 58wpc. / Lumin A-1 DAC Streamer / Synology NAS / Isotex Aquarius Power Conditioner / Furutech Rhodium Plug / Sonus Faber Amati Homage Tradition speakers.  

I have read thousands of comments on upgraded fuses improving the performance of sound.  I am very open minded but not sold either way.  So, the question I have is....if fuses were so important, than why don't Amplifier companies all install them as OEM equipment?  To me, if they are as good as people say, that would provide companies who use them a competitive advantage?  

Every High End Audio store I go to in Phoenix have told me it does not make a difference and is a waste of money.  For the record, I have fuses purchased at an automotive store for under $10 and I think my sound is awesome.  The Company that built my amp tested the Synergistic Fuses and he emphatically said there was no difference.  

If I were to try a fuse for fun, given my equipment, what would your recommendation be to try?  
willgolf
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
All the laws of electronics? Georgie, didn’t you get the memo? Laws are meant to be broken. Like a broken record. 😀

elrod
52 posts
 
"So, the question I have is....if fuses were so important, than why don’t Amplifier companies all install them as OEM equipment?"

I suppose the jury is still out about fuses, as are many tweaks in the audiophile world.

That being said, I'm guessing the reason OEM's don't install them is that they don't think it's a make/break point for the vast majority of buyers (so why piss off the bean counters)?
gs5556
769 posts
 
Two reasons: one is that a $100 component is a big cost with respect to the rest of the electronics. That costs more than all the output transistors in a high end high power amplifier.

The second reason (I’m guessing): the fuse makers cannot or will not supply technical data such as time-current curves, interrupt rating, melting, and UL approval numbers. UL file numbers are given to manufacturers and if these fuse makers are relabeling other manufacturers, they are opening themselves for legal action if they use another’s file number. Why would an amp manufacturer get in the middle of that. Again, that’s just a guess.
don_c55
823 posts
 
They do not seem to think they are an improvement over regular fuses.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
8,673 posts
 
Gs5556 9-4-2017
The second reason (I’m guessing): the fuse makers cannot or will not supply technical data such as time-current curves, interrupt rating, melting, and UL approval numbers.
That’s an excellent point, IMO. I’m not sure how a design can be created in an intelligent manner, that would assure long-term reliability as well as good performance, without comprehensive technical data on the parts that are being used.

Another possibility, it seems to me, relates to expenses the manufacturer might end up having to pay under the warranty coverage he provides, to replace blown fuses. In the past two years or so there have been at least seven different members, and perhaps more, who reported in the SR Red Fuse thread that SR fuses had blown unnecessarily, often soon after being installed. In at least one or two of those cases the fuse that blew even had a higher current rating than the stock fuse. Why would a manufacturer want to risk both the expenses and the damage to the reputation of his company that might result, given also that there may be ambiguity as to whether a failure is the fault of the fuse, or the fuse being overstressed by the design of his equipment.

Regards,
-- Al

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