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

Thank you @almarg.  I was going to comment as I can accept disagreements, but I cannot accept false statement about what I say.

That being said, I also have experienced the 2-3db effect when changing fuses or power cords or op amps.  I'm going out on a theory here and I'm sure there will be a lot of conjecture to this, but I believe this all has to do with how a particular circuit "slews" in response to the input waveform.  This also has mostly to do with digital sources (if we played from an analog tape, we probably wouldn't have this scenario). 

Waveforms from a DAC chip are always created by the DAC chip sending out flat-line DC at different voltage levels.  With a 16-bit CD, we have the ability to define 65,536 different possible voltage levels between the lowest point on a waveform and the highest point.  However, the output from the DAC chip is always DC (essentially a square-stepped waveform).  If we put a tap on the output of the DAC chip and look at the total waveform, it looks like a true analog waveform to us.  However, once you zoom into the waveform very closely, you will still see that it's just square-stepped DC at different levels.  You might have to zoom 1000% or more to actually see this.

The fight we have with any audio chain based on a DAC is to smooth out this square-stepped waveform so that it resembles a true analog waveform (with no steps).  This can be done by applying several/many op amp circuits.  The negative feedback capacitor value can affect how this adjusts the waveform as well.  Class A circuits are excellent for waveform "smoothing" as they have a very gradual response to the initial input and have more "decay" on the back side of the waveform.

When an op amp (or discrete circuit) responds to the square-stepped wave, it will try to "slew" up to proper voltage to generate this on the output.  As soon as it starts "slewing" it will draw voltage from the capacitors in a power supply.  Because the capacitor are "temporary" storage, the available voltage starts going down.  This is where A/C will start to flow in and restore any voltage in the caps.

Now, if a circuit responds too fast to the incoming "square-stepped" waveform, then it will try to reproduce that "square-stepped" effect as accurately as possible.  Slowing down the "response" to a change in input voltage is where want to go.

Different fuses can adjust things one way or the other.  For example, using a silver-based fuse can allow very fast and very high conductivity when the op amp circuit tries to draw from the power supply.  It will do as least amount of "waveform smoothing " as possible because it can respond and slew very quickly.  However, putting in a gold-plated Isoclean fuse can slow down the "initial draw" of current from A/C.  It's not the total amount of current we are limiting.  It is the "response of the initial draw" (like a water faucet slowly turning on until it get to full output).  The Furutech rhodium fuses behave in a different way.  They are quicker responding than the gold-plated Isocleans, but not as quick responding as the HI-Fi Tuning silver.  This slower response of "initial draw" can cause a more smoothing of the waveforms, causing us to get "louder noise".

It's all based on speaker drivers as well.  The square stepped waveform (when measure by a scope) can seem to be correct size, but when most of this is very fast slews to the next point where we have an area of straight DC, you won't get the volume that you expect.  Since what we hear as based on the speaker moving (i.e. response to "changes" in voltage), if there is any DC in the waveform, we will not hear it.

This also can explain why silver elements or op amps with extremely fast slew rates will tend to translate waveforms to be faster than what they really should be.

This is all theory based on what I have learned over the years, but I believe it can explain why one fuse will "sound louder" than a different fuse.

Couple extra comments:

My description of how the power supply works is not 100% completely correct. However, it was meant to give a "general idea" to those who don’t know.

Any sort of DC in a waveform is not good. The preamp and amplifier will still use "power/watts" to raise the voltage to the correct level and KEEP that voltage level. However, any sort of DC in the waveform means the speaker is NOT moving! Speakers only react to "changes in voltage". So, if there is DC in the waveform (even if it’s in tiny chunks and only makes up 50% of the waveform), then we will NOT hear it.

If there is still 50% DC in the waveforms, then the sound will indeed be about 3 db quieter. (essentially, half the power is being used to move the speaker - the other half of the power is used to keep DC at a particular voltage).

Also, changing the direction of the fuse could affect how the power supply does the "initial response to draw" from the A/C.

Wrong, Auxinput. CD audio signals are signed meaning you get 8 bits positive and 8 negative, at least according to the red book spec. Because it's signed, it's an AC wave form, even if it is a square wave form. 

@geoffkait 
There you go again spouting meaningless platitudes. Nothing in this hobby defies the laws of physics. Plenty of people are skeptical of things that don't actually exist. I like those people. I get worried when I'm around people hearing things that can't possibly exist. 

Yes, it's signed.  That means the values don't actually represent 0 to 65,536.  The values represent -32768 to +32767.  This represents the waveform on both the positive side as well as the negative side the waveform (mid point representing 0 volts).  When the 16-bit word is read, DAC knows to output 0 volts DC when the 16-bit data word represents the mid point.  However, it is still 65,536 different actual points of voltage.  It is not 8 bits positive and 8 bits negative.  An 8 bit word would only represent about 256 different steps and that is not nearly enough for audio.

I also never said it was not a "A/C" waveform (A/C meaning alternating current).  I only said it was not a true "analog waveform".  As opposed to a digital waveform, which is usually interpreted to be "square stepped" or "on/off" in most cases.

I'm going to politely state the above as known facts for everyone who doesn't know and not respond from a post that I see only as a troll intending to start a flame war.

nonoise
As for measuring, I had to turn down my volume by 2-3db because after changing directions, it was too loud.


auxinput

That being said, I also have experienced the 2-3db effect when changing fuses or power cords or op amps.




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

Cheers George