Anyone used these audio ceramic slow blow fuses from Littlefuse?

This is new...

Looks like littlefuse is stepping into the audio market.

Now, some hack please tell me how wrong I am about how a fuse can possibly make a difference.

Imagine a chip into existence on my shoulder and then proceed to rail against it --- and try to knock it off with your own very real chip....

First, though, they’ll have to get edjumacated about how fuses work, and how electrical circuits work, and how those two integrate with an ear, and how this ear thingie works.

If the hack did that, they’d know what they are talking about. For the first time.

And they’d shut up.

But...no.....

I need no persuasion as to the lack of any sound reasoning or science behind "audio" fuses. I'm simply asking if any believers in the congregation of audio fuse purchasers have formed an opinion about Littlefuse's offerings?  No need to re-argue the same objectivist-subjectivist points in every single thread. 

Nothing wrong per se with Littelfuses. They do their job fine. But in terms of sound quality they don’t sound as good as premium audiophile fuses. It’s the age old audiophile conundrum, whether it’s worth the much higher cost to get a premium fuse.

Littlefuse and Bussman have always made ceramic fuses. It would be interesting to compare the specs and test results to these new ceramics. It's worth $9.00 to compare the gold/ rhodium-plated vs. the standard ceramic fuse.

I do hear a sonic difference when using audiophile fuses, some more than others. But to hear a worthwhile improvement does cost more.

Yes, Littlefuse has always made ceramic fuses but up to this point their offerings have cost a dollar or so at the most. The economy of scale that they potentially have in manufacturing does make one curious as to how these compare to standard issue fuses and the $50-$200 varieties. Fuses are simple things. Other than the wire elements, the material that caps are made from, and any possible filler, there's not much that can differ between brands. If no one chimes in with actual user experience, I'll have to spring for some myself to test in my PSA BHK preamp and amp.

“Fuses are simple things.”

They look simple, anyway. 🤗 What do audiophiles know that Littelfuse doesn’t? 

At the very least we know Littelfuss will spec accurately and have excellent quality control. They have an enormous and sophisticated customer base in. Ritical industries. I’ll buy and try when the opportunity arises. 

In reality, Littelfuse fuses blow prematurely just as much as fancy audiophile fuses. Nice try, anyway. No industry is more ritical than audio. Didn’t you know that? I assume you don’t know any audiophiles. 

Cccritical industries :)

Little fuss when you use Littlefuse fuses.

They’re for the Littel people. 

I've always gotten excellent results with Littlefuse fuses.  A true bargain for audiophiles!

Littelfuse. Preferred by most Amish audiophiles. 

photon46,

It seems you are on your own about this.

Well, thanks for all the witty replies (even if we're none the more enlightened.) I'll order a few and report back. It doesn't appear that these fuses are getting any great push into the marketplace from Littlefuse. Product pages on Littlefuse's website let you see what retailers have had inventory shipped to them and only two retailers are carrying these at present. 

Please do report back. These fuses are cheap enough that I may try for myself without feeling ripped-off and settle the fuse debate once and for all. At least with myself.

Yes, I use them.

Yes, I use them.

An intermediate test such as this, with cheaper fuses, can be beneficial for those horrified at the thought of spending $50 to try something. When I did my first informal test of audio cables I went to a home improvement store (this was about 30 years ago) and bought the thickest cable I could and yet terminate to fit into a component. That showed me immediately that cables made a difference. So, a cheap run with an alternative fuse is a good idea. 

Well, maybe so but on the other hand, never up, never in. Of course we could all find some super cheap audio thing - a cable, a CD player, a turntable, speakers, whatever. There’s a market for every purse and taste. It all depends on what you’re trying to achieve and how much you got in your purse. For those who are a little more competitive or ambitious then most likely a cheap stock fuse will prove rather unsatisfactory in the long run. Think ahead. 

I don't personally see how a fuse can make a difference knowing what I know about what is on either side of it. However many people are willing to support the foolishness of premium fuses and fund the snake oil salesmen. One was a used car salesman who found out audiophiles are more gullableand are more easily parted with their money  than, well... need i go on?

The advantage of LittleFuse is that their fuses are real, tested, certified by real testing labs. Audiophile fuses are generally not tested by anyone and would likely fail those tests. I read a test report on the ones from Germany. The report was a joke, meaningless, proved nothing.

Besides being a waste of money audiophile fuses may damage your equipment. 

I use Ceramic High Breaking LittleFuses in all my products because they have an interrupt rating of10,000 amps which is necessary for a tube fuse. On a 200 Ma fuse this is not easy to do, but they do it. Interrupt rating is not well known in the audio community. Its quite interesting if you own a tube amp. 

Here are their credentials, I would like to see the same for audiophile fuses.  https://www.littelfuse.com/~/media/electronics/application_guides/littelfuse_fuseology_application_g...

@ramtubes excellent post pretty much sums up my views. 

So teoaudio do you think this ram tubes hack knows what he is talking about?  Maybe you should educate him on how electrical circuits work. 🙄🙄

I presume @ramtubes does not use premium resistors, capacitors and tubes in his designs. If he does, then he’s a hypocrite.

Oops...hypocrite revealed:

“The RM-10 MK2 has improved output transformers which yields lower distortion at the higher frequencies and midrange, resulting in more detail. The RM-10 MK2 also features larger binding posts, which are now 1/2 inch. High quality components (such as Dale resistors) have also been incorporated into the RM-10 MK2.”
 
http://www.ramlabs-musicreference.com/rm10mk2.html

Those who engage in bias confirmation are not critical thinkers. Don’t endorse a view simply because it’s consistent with your belief paradigm. It’s lazy thinking and wastes everyone’s time who read your post.

I recently tried the Littelfuse 285 series fuses (1A) in my Benchmark DAC 3, in place of the stock ones. To my ears, the gold plated ones were much richer in midrange tone, with more warmth, and the highs were a bit less extended. Transient attack was less noticeable as well. Very pleasing to listen to with edgy recordings, but missed the upper highs on good recordings. The rhodium plated 285 series in the DAC gave me a similar, beautiful, rich midrange, but more attack than the gold, and very nicely extended upper highs, without the slightly forward sound I was getting with the stock fuses. I did not notice any more or less detail compared to the stock fuses, and nothing better or worse in the soundstage. I'm leaving the rhodium 285 Littelfuses in the DAC, and have been enjoying the system a bit more since, due to the change. I will be trying some 5 amp 285 fuses in my JOB 225 amp next week, and will give you my thoughts on them soon afterwards. 

@celander, you greatly underestimate Roger Modjeski (ramtubes). He uses the parts he finds necessary to achieve superior performance and sound. There is no contradiction between using "improved output transformers" (of his own design) and "High quality components (such as Dale resistors)" while finding other parts to make no audible difference when used in certain applications. If you want to be able to more accurately assess Modjeski’s hypocrisy or lack thereof, watch the videos of his talks at the 2015 and 2018 Burning Amp Festivals, viewable on You Tube. He's forgotten more than I or (I'm assuming) you ever knew about hi-fi electronics and their design.

Call me biased. Wire is wire, regardless of implementation. As long as a wire passes electricity, it’s in play. Electronics theory doesn’t get much simpler than that. 

Here’s another guy who believes audiophile quality fuses make a difference. 

https://youtu.be/kFlnQ1chBno

Thanks for your input BigShutterbug. Where did you purchase your fuses?

Word on the street is that Littelfuse
will send out free samples to those interested. The lot codes for sample orders come in increments of 100 and 1000. But the rumor on the street is that they will send out singles based upon whatever one inputs into the quantity window (that is, don’t expect to receive 500 or 5,000 fuses if one inputs "5" into the quantity window for the corresponding product lot code).

The 285 ceramic tube, slo-blow series identified in their product catalog as 0285001.HXP corresponds to gold-capped fuses having a 1A rating and a description: FUSE CERAMIC 1A 250VAC 5X20MM.

The 285 ceramic tube, slo-blow series in their product catalog as 0285001.HXRP corresponds to rhodium-capped fuses having a 1A rating and a description: FUSE CERAMIC 1A 250VAC 5X20MM.

Please post here those who opt to order some fuse samples for testing and let those here who care know of your results.

Wow! Free samples for a dollar fuse. Gosh, that’s mighty decent of them. By the way the name is Littelfuse.

Lol. Free is free. Whether it’s the fuse or the editorial corrections from the cheap seats. 

The advantage of LittleFuse is that their fuses are real, tested, certified by real testing labs. Audiophile fuses are generally not tested by anyone and would likely fail those tests. I read a test report on the ones from Germany. The report was a joke, meaningless, proved nothing.

PADIS fuses are UL, PSE and SEMKO approved, and are German made. I think you need to broaden your knowledge of what's out there. 

Basing your rant on aftermarket fuses on one brand that you heard about doesn't make you an expert on them. I've tried 3 different brands and they all have their own sonic signature and I've yet to build an amp and lord over people with what I know about them. 

You can come across as very condescending. 

All the best,
Nonoise

Isoclean fuses from Japan, from the first audiophile fuse maker, are UL listed. So are Furutech audiophile fuses from Japan.

It should be mentioned HiFi Tuning Fuses have a type quantum treatment in addition to gold infused high purity silver elements. I’m pretty sure Littelfuses do not, but then they’re only a dollar or free, or whatever.

“And you know something’s happening but you don’t know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones?”

For those who don’t know, Mr. Jones was a pin boy.

Nonoise, the original poster (RAM) of your copied quotation is an accomplished audio designer, for what it’s worth. So it’s surprising that he would simply write off the notion of fuses having an audible characteristic based upon only theoretical considerations. I don’t know if he even listens to his designs before they head out the door. The vague suggestion from the designer is that if his product designs should sound superior based upon theoretical considerations, then it must be true in reality. 

By contrast, Paul McGowan of PS Audio in the above YouTube clip came to the conclusion that the fuses have audible characteristics based upon listening sessions, where some “sounded better” (e.g., less grunge, greater clarity and openness etc.) than others. While Paul admitted he didn’t understand why such is the case, PS Audio include fuses having better sonic qualities in their products. 

And on the assumption one can find a supplier of those Littelfuses (Mouser and DigiKey don’t carry them), they are $8-$10 per fuse to the customer, plus tax and S/H. 

Celander, yes, I've been following this and other threads and really don't mind the back and forth. It's just the attitude and closed minded nature of some that gets my hackles up. 

I've seen that video of Paul's and linked it before and yet those who've seen it just dismiss it as not valid enough for them to consider it. There's only so much one can do.....

As for the costs of the Littlefuses, I'll gladly pay twice that for the PADIS fuses as they go further in their construction and metallurgy and still meet all criteria for rating from the good old USA to Europe to Asia. 👍

All the best,
Nonoise

I designed a lot of equipment with Littelfuse devices.  Not all of them are cheap, some are pretty pricey, the last 10A, 600VAC ones I used were 20$ each in quantities of a 100 but they are all very good quality.   The gold does make sense, there are solid engineering reasons for gold contacts, of which I am sure most everyone knows.   As for the fuse 'inards', they still have to meet the I2t spec.   The last amplifier I designed I put the fuse in the feedback loop bypassed with a 100K resistor to eliminate the non linearity of the fuse.   I'll have to check these out.

Photon46: 
celander is correct, I got them as free samples from Littelfuse (in China) on their website. His product numbers are correct. Their website is a bit difficult to navigate, but if you take some time to figure it out, you can order some FREE samples. The ship quickly via Fed-Ex from overseas, and I got mine in about a week. I got two for my Job 225 amp, one gold plated and one rhodium, and tried them both last week. I got the same results as I did with their fuses in my Benchmark DAC3...The gold plated one is warm and rich, with good bass weight, sweet on the top end, and highs are slightly rolled off. Rhodium was my favorite, with more extended highs and a bit more attack than the gold ones. Great rich tone, never edgy. I liked the rhodiums more than stock glass fuses due to their tone. I also compared the rhodiums to my Synergistic blue fuses in both components. The blues showed a very noticeable improvement in small background details and especially the added "ambience" to the soundstage in my room, and the way the notes "lingered" in the room and decayed more realistically. Both the stock fuses and the Littelfuses were not able to compete in that area to the blues. I did like to tone of my system a little bit better with the rhodiums though. I know the Synergistic fuses are insanely priced for a fuse, but I have used other tweaks that made similar improvements for the same money, and ended up not being able to enjoy the system as much without them either. 
If you are one of the "naysayers" out there who refuse to spend a penny on upgraded fuses because you claim they won't make any sonic difference, do yourself a favor and order some gold and rhodiums from them for FREE, and actually take the time to listen and compare. If you can't tell a difference with your ears and your system, then you can smile and know that other similar, simple tweaks are also a waste of time and money for you as well. For the rest of us who are "cursed" with the ability to hear these differences....keep on tweaking! 

@bigshutterbug 
Thanks for mentioning the comparison of the rhodium capped fuses to the SR Blue fuses. I've always wondered if the added cost over the PADIS fuses would be worth it. As it is, I get excellent decay, ambience, detail and extension with the PADIS, along with the wonderful tone you mention, so I think I'll stick with them and pocket the difference. 👍

But I can see how it would be a no-brainer to get some of those free rhodium capped Littlefuses. 🤔

All the best,
Nonoise

Thanks for the follow up Bigshutterbug, sorry I didn't respond earlier. I wouldn't exactly say I'm a nonbeliever in tweaks of this nature, it's more an issue of whether the effects achieved by most tweaks are really worth the money one spends. By the time one spends money for a few of the most highly touted fuses, footers, cables, etc. for a system of separates you could  find you've spent a significant proportion of the cost needed to upgrade to the next level of component quality. I certainly have spent the money on upgraded cables,footers, etc., but have also been wary of spending disproportionate to the level of improvements achieved.  I've only experimented with a few Hi-Fi Tuning fuses to this point and haven't been all that impressed with what I've heard.