We Need A Separate Forum for Fuses

My 2 cents, getting back to the general topic....  I'm always interested in the technical aspects of equipment, but ultimately I listen with my ears.  I became interested in fuse upgrades for the same reason that "Elizabeth" stated in her earlier post.  I have a pair of Magnepan 1.7s that have a fuse in each speaker for the midrange/tweeter.  I've always been concerned about the effect of the speaker vibrations on these cheap, generic fuses. I've spent a substantial amount of money on good quality cables, etc. to get the signal intact to my speakers.  To then have the signal go through a cheap, thin (vibrating?) fuse wire just prior to getting to the driver made no sense to me.... I was hoping to find a fuse that would at least provide some dampening for the actual fuse wire.  I purchased a pair of Synergistic Research Black fuses when they were first released.  I was hoping that they would improve the upper frequencies of my Maggies (e.g. less distortion, grains, etc.).  Although they did have a minimal sonic affect on the upper frequencies, to my surprise the greater effect was in the BASS. It became more prominent, with better pitch definition. This kinda blew my mind, as it was not at all what I had anticipated.  All that I can assume is that the level of distortion in the mids/highs was decreased to the point that the bass was allowed to come through more readily.  In any case, it was obvious to me that there was a sonic change, especially since that sonic change was not at all what I had expected.

No longer being a skeptic about fuses, I decided to swap some in my electronics with SR red fuses.  I started with the main power fuse in my Rogue Sphinx integrated amp.  Improvements in noise floor and dynamics were immediately apparent.  So then I replaced the other 2 internal fuses in the amp with the same fuses.  No real  obvious benefit.  Just my wallet was a bit lighter....

I replaced the fuses in my Simaudio Moon CD transport/DAC with Hi-Fi Tuning fuses, as I'd read a user review recommending them for this unit. This did have some minimal, but still obvious benefits in terms of noise floor and dynamics (similar to the effects of the main power fuse in my amp).  

I know what my ears tell me, especially when it comes to long-term listening in a system I'm intimately familiar with and with recordings that I normally use as references.  Fuses can certainly make a difference, but apparently to varying degrees depending upon the component and the synergy of the system.  If you don't personally hear these differences, that's great and you've just saved yourself some money.  However, I wouldn't dismiss the fact that other listeners may benefit from fuse upgrades in their own systems.  Cheers all!

Chalk up another one who can hear. 👍

In all matters of what can be heard in systems we cannot discount the influence of hearing loss, ambient room noise, and the level of equipment. That varies across the audiophile universe, so we should expect a certain amount of divergence of opinion on such things as fuses, even among those who have tried. As for those who haven't tried, these variables don't matter. ;) 

niskymichael, interesting that the power fuse held change, but the other signal fuses did not. Have others reported/experienced the same? 

It could be due to the mix of fuse brands that led to niskymichael's results. I've found that different fuses have different sonic effects.

HiFi Tuning fuses tend to accentuate the leading edge of notes at the expense of everything else whilst PADIS fuses, after a long up and down period, tended to dull things a bit. With Brimar fuses, it was like opening that window on all things music.

As for which component gave me the biggest results, it was my SACD player that took a big leap and the integrated, maybe half that, but it was of a different order. The SACD player benefited from a musical stand point and the integrated, a strength stand point.

All the best,
Nonoise

I have to admit being a bit surprised by the mixed effects of the fuses in my Rogue amp as well.  All of the fuses used in that component are Synergistic Research Reds.  I've had personal experience a number of times over the years with how important clean AC power is for good sound.  However, that amp is connected to a Shunyata power conditioner with a Shunyata cable.  I didn't necessarily expect the main power fuse to be the one with the most impact sonically.  I only chose to replace that first because it involved the cost of one fuse vs two...  :)