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
Really??? 2-3db difference in absolute volume because of changing the direction of the mains fuse? I’m stunned and speechless.

Cheers George
All you need to do is to try it. That's all anyone who doubts this has to do. Until then, you're just knocking your head against the wall. 

I get it. People who are deep into this hobby and "know it" inside out, have overlooked something very simple: the fuse. Imagine all the amp builders/designers out there, laboring away at their craft, scratching their heads as to why, despite reading all the manuals, following the schematics, they end up with something that doesn't sound quite right.

So they get inventive. More NFB here, less there. More shunts and chokes. Tinker here, tinker there. Change this, change that. And like a child of their own, no one can tell them it can be improved.

Then along comes this schome who has a hard time putting a battery in a remote, who swaps out a fuse and all of a sudden, maybe they didn't have to do this, or that, to get better sound.
I get it.

All the best,
Nonoise



I might argue, while agreeing with you in context, that hearing is a 'sensory function' , perception is what a particular individual experiences. 
Let's take the 'fuse' improvement hypothesis for argument's sake.
Generalizing that those who do not change the fuse, or power cord, are 'missing out' is a huge assumption. When 'you' in fact may be the one missing out from what someone else hears using a 50c fuse.
You can't get around perception. Without it, our brain would not be able to 'fill in' small details in a variety of stimuli. Obviously, the condition of our sensory organs is also a player. 
There are so many factors related to our acoustic environment, personal physical condition, like an individual's perception, that changing a fuse is a drop in the proverbial bucket when it comes to hearing an improvement that can be shared. Notice I said, an 'improvement'. I will not argue that there can be a 'difference', no matter how small, even measurable. 
I will go one step further, if the only variable is listening the next day, in the same exact physical environment one would perceive a difference just based on their personal condition, like brain chemistry at that time. IF you want to argue, leaving everything the same except either the fuse or power cord, etc., will also provide a noticeable difference of the same magnitude, then that's fine. I can argue about the physical world, but never about perception. If you hear it, and you like it, that's all that counts. All the rationale and explanation need not take that from you. I know I am not disagreeing with the Flat Earth Society here. Whether it's an opinion, or a perception, it is always our own. 
To the "no one has ever lost an amp comment, my friends at Conrad-Johnson tell me that when an amp comes in for service, aftermarket fuses are the first thing they check.  Inevitably, the AM Fuse not responding correctly is the cause of the problem.  So... use at your own risk.  That said, I have SR Blacks in my C-J amps and liked the difference. The old C-J supplied fuses had been in there for many years so just the contact cleaning process in replacement may have been the difference.  And, I only use them for the mains, the other internal fuses, B+ supply, etc I would never change to aftermarket.
While an amusing anecdote that Conrad Johnson story doesn’t actually mean anything. The same thing can happen for regular stock fuses. It’s because either the amp is not conservatively rated or because the customer makes a mistake. it certainly can’t be true that the AM fuses is always the problem. Of it doesn’t make sense it’s not true. I'm a ten minute walk from Conrad Johnson as we speak. If you like I can over and straighten them out.

Have a nice weekend 🌞

dalebeshansky
"I might argue, while agreeing with you in context, that hearing is a ’sensory function’ , perception is what a particular individual experiences.

Let’s take the ’fuse’ improvement hypothesis for argument’s sake.
Generalizing that those who do not change the fuse, or power cord, are ’missing out’ is a huge assumption. When ’you’ in fact may be the one missing out from what someone else hears using a 50c fuse."

>>>>You might convince yourself or some people with that argument but not me. Once you experience it yourself and experience cable directionality yourself there’s no going back. I mean, unless you wish to be in denial.

"You can’t get around perception. Without it, our brain would not be able to ’fill in’ small details in a variety of stimuli. Obviously, the condition of our sensory organs is also a player."

>>>>>I agree. That’s why I say perception of sound is the same thing as hearing. They are not two different things. And of course the brain is involved with the perception. That’s not exactly news.

"There are so many factors related to our acoustic environment, personal physical condition, like an individual’s perception, that changing a fuse is a drop in the proverbial bucket when it comes to hearing an improvement that can be shared. Notice I said, an ’improvement’. I will not argue that there can be a ’difference’, no matter how small, even measurable."

>>>>>Once you experience it yourself you will/should change your expectation to account for your new perception, no? Unless you experience it yourself you’re just guessing.

"I will go one step further, if the only variable is listening the next day, in the same exact physical environment one would perceive a difference just based on their personal condition, like brain chemistry at that time."

>>>>I disagree. The weather, time of day, and things you might have done to your system either on purpose or accidentally as well as other variables must be accounted for. There is also break in and warm up to consider. It is certainly not black and white as you suggest.

"IF you want to argue, leaving everything the same except either the fuse or power cord, etc., will also provide a noticeable difference of the same magnitude, then that’s fine."

>>>>I’m not saying any such thing. You are.

"I can argue about the physical world, but never about perception. If you hear it, and you like it, that’s all that counts. All the rationale and explanation need not take that from you. I know I am not disagreeing with the Flat Earth Society here. Whether it’s an opinion, or a perception, it is always our own."

>>>>I’m not talking about personal preference or some vague thing that can be interpreted any old way. I’m taking about something that is physical and that is very noticeable. I’m talking about physical reality, not some philosophical argument about reality or perception. That doesn’t mean some people will not hear it. But most people do hear it. Thousands of people have heard it. That’s the preponderance of the evidence in this case. You can throw away the negative results. They're outliers. Case closed.