fuses - the $39 ones or the 85 cent ones

Running off to work, BUT...
I agree, at first glance with Audiofeil.

I hear what I want to hear, just like my car runs better after a washjob or an oil change.

How else could the 'rocks' get positive reviews? These discussions verge on religion, a place where I won't go.

As for DBT usefulness for drug tests. Yep, but so much more. This technique is widely used.
You COULD get such a test together for Hi-end, but the loops you need to go thru make it a Practical near-impossiblilty.
Stuff like, 1. who gets the good seat? 2. What is the reference system....couldn't get 3 people to agree on THAT.
3. Who has time to organize such a test? 4. Where are you going to do it? 5. Who will do the Experimental Design?
6. Who will crunch the numbers?

So, while audiophiles have huge emotional reaction to DBT, they really have little to worry about. The chances of actually getting such a test off the ground is ZERO.
On the other hand, Cables and I/Cs to make a difference. I have heard it myself. Usually not for the better, once you have found your comfort zone.

Have fun with it. It's not the end of the world....or IS it?

Pubul57 has it pretty much down to basics.
For any 2-way test, the basic chances of a choice being right is 50:50. There is some more match to it, like levels of significance, but that is the basic idea.

Magfan, obviously you heard differences yourself with ICs and Cables because you wanted to. At least by your logic.

Cheers

Re my disconcerting experience with the last fuse (and they, or mine at least, cost $27, not $39), a couple of points.

* I tried it in both directions. No difference. Yeah, Geoff, I have bad ears.

* All the other HiFi Tuning fuses I used worked for me --i.e., they improved the sound. This one didn't. So it's not just whether or not you hear good things by upgrading fuses. Apparently some components may benefit, some may not.

* In many cases (in my system) the change is subtle verging on REAL subtle. And it takes time to really lock in on the change. But after a week or so you can put the original fuse back and THEN it's not so subtle. In this case I chose not to wait because the HiFi Tuning fuse made the CDP sound actively worse.

* Could I "hear" a fuse via a DBT? Probably not. Does that mean anything? No.