Fuses that matter.

Whether HiFi Supremes are better than the Iso Cleans,I can't say.I have no experience with any of the other HiFI fuses in the test and I have no expereince with the gear they were used in.I appreciate the effort and respect the findings.How could I argue with them?I wasn't there.

What I can state is that the IsoCleans bettered the stock fuse in the following components, Classe Dr 8 mono blocks,
power conditioner from Foundation research,a Cary SET 300B,and an EAD DVD player.

And the HiFi Supremes have improved the sound in a Manley Steelhead and a pair of Acoustat tube servo amps over their stock fuses.

All gear had to be turned off then on and off again,so that I could start with stock fuse, then Supreme, then back to stock and then Supreme.

I listened to the exact same music track and focused on background detail and the cymbal work.

My observations were that the initial impression of going to the Supreme fuse was favourable, every time. Listening without it less so and then back to satisfactory on the final insertion of the Supreme fuse.

I feel that the degradations of plugging and unplugging were evenly split in this manner.

I also listened with the Supremes in after a few days of play and also noticed a further refinement in the sound.

Well known music used for comparison purposes over years of gear swaps, exposed the increase in detail and body that the Supreme fuses were now providing.

I re-state that I didn't have any other types of fuses to compare the Supremes to, just the stock fuses,other fuses may or may not be better at any price points.

The important thing is that a fuse does affect the sound of what it's used in.

It's just as important as anything else. Because fuses can be constructed differently, like tubes and wires are made up of different materials,why is it hard to understand that they can also sound different from one another?

Cardas products are constructed differently than Nordost, and you can hear the difference and it's your choice what sound you like.

Everything does something to the sound,to state that the fuse can have no impact on sound quality lumps it into the realm of all amps sound the same.

I would presume that most folks on this site could be able to discerne the sonic traits of an EL 34, 300B or 6550 tube, and never state that they all sound the same.

So why should the fuse be different?

I should add this bit of news,the HiFi Supreme fuses will do the job of protecting your gear and they can be destroyed just like any other fuse,I know this from painful experience.

A 500 ma fuse will self destruct when inserted into a 5 amp holder.

The 5 amp fuse was fine in the .5 amp spot.

So much for worries about reliabilty and protection issues concerning the HiFi Supreme fuses.

They do what they are supposed to and sound better in the process.

Lacee, I entirely endorse what you say about the IsoClean fuses. I probably used them in fifteen different components in the last five years. The HiFi Tuning Supremes in my present system all replaced IsoClean fuses.

Your question about why fuses sound different is beyond established scientific knowledge at this time and probably will remain there as few researching scientists would bother with the issue.

I never was one to seek out scientific proof about how any piece of my gear sounds.

I either like it or I don't.

It's an improvement or it's not and I won't try and tell anyone it's 2% or 20% or 200% better.

Night and day differences for me have all been in the past.

It's all shadings now, once you get past entry level gear.

It's also cumulative.

For the folks who like to grade system tweaks, the more 1% improvements you make eventually they add up to a 20% improvement or more.

Science hasn't yet given us all the answers to everything outside of this hobby either.

Neither do reviews give us all the answers, they are specific to who is doing the review and the gear is specific to them.

I can say that the Supreme fuses improve my sound, in my system, but I can't say they will do it yours, or that you could hear the difference in my system.Or that something is wrong with you if you can't.

Some folks make a big point out of the fact that they don't trust their ears,that the ears can be tricked(and provide the scientific proof of such claims, when provoked)so that for them to get a handle on things like fuses, they need proof in the form of a scientific white paper.

I've often thought that these types of audiophiles don't need to even buy audio gear,all they should need for musical enjoyment would be the sheet music.

I've always only had my ears to rely on, and I've been fortunate to have had some friends who were able to indulge in some very costly systems, that did in fact deliver on the goods.It was an education.

They didn't get their money by being fools, they didn't spend their money like fools and they weren't foolish enough to think that out of the box and into the wall was the only way to go.

The more you dable in this hobby and the more experience you have with being able to pick up on subtle as well as profound changes, the more things like fuses should make sense.

What I find so intriguing is that even at 100 bucks a pop,an upgraded fuse in a well tweeked system is about as cheap as it gets, and is so simple that anyone can "mod" their gear this way.

Scientific proof?

I don't need any,to me it's as simple as replacing a burned out light bulb, I know that works, don't care how.
I can see it with my own eyes.

Replace a stock fuse with a Supreme and I can hear the improvement.Don't care how it works.
I can hear it with my own ears.

Tbg said,

"As good as I thought the HiFi Tuning Supremes were, they are now much better. I had relied on the information I got from my amps' (BMC M1s) imported about the direction to be used as well as that of the HiFi Tuning importer on how to install the fuse. Friday I did an A/B direction testing. I had it in wrong."

Hmmmm...one wonders if Bryon Cunningham installed some of the fuses incorrectly during his recent testing of aftermarket fuses. If so, that might explain his less than stellar results. I suspect it would certainly help to know what an incorrectly installed fuse sounds like - noticeably harsher and more "electronic".