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Fuses

I’ve read of views on whether amp fuses impart any sound quality or coloring. I had a recent experience that has made me re-think my views (fuses do not affect sound) and wondered if others had a similar experience. 
I have a Line Magnetic integrated amp. After heavy regular use for over 5 years, one day it just wouldn’t power up. After checking the power supply, I assumed it must be a blown fuse. I recalled that Line Magnetic sent with the amp two replacement fuses of the same type/quality that was pre-installed. I dug out one of them from storage, replaced the fuse and the amp powered up normally. 

What surprised and delighted me was the change in sound with the replacement fuse. Fuller bass, more detail and more warmth. I have rolled the tubes several times in the amp, and am attuned to the subtle changes that can make. Popping in a fresh fuse seems to have had a similar affect. And these appear to be cheap fuses, available for a few dollars at most. I don’t think I understand any of this. 
bmcbrad
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 

Told you already, any one that says it a good idea, has no idea.

By-passing powersupply or voltage rail caps is a good idea, but it’s not a good idea to bypass caps that are in the signal path as they will have different time constants, and smear at frequencies where they are both doing work.
Alway use the best quality "single cap" in the signal path.

Cheers George
yuviarora's avatar
yuviarora
537 posts
 
Sorry George,
I can’t take anything you say seriously. You have blown all your credibility with me, and at this point I am more inclined to thinking that bypassing capacitors is a good idea just because you stand so vehemently against it.
I’ll wait for @millercarbon to chime in.

millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
I haven't directly compared to be able to say for sure. Tinned copper are what I used based on HHF reviews. Don't quote me, it seems unlikely, but 1uf might not have worked because "maybe" that is enough to shift response. It seems like an insignificant amount. But I was careful to keep all my values exactly the same as stock so as to avoid any risk of that. It could be .01uf works because it is enough to help detail without affecting crossover points at all. Just a hunch.
yuviarora's avatar
yuviarora
537 posts
 
They were 0.1uf
I tried 3 different capacitors.
From everything I have read, .01uf is the value that is best used for bypassing.
Larger values can cause coherence issues, which is exactly what I experienced.
I’ll give them a shot, hopefully they work out.
Thanks for your input.

P.S. @millercarbon Take care of yourself and your family, things are about to get pretty rough out there. 

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 


Sorry George,
I can’t take anything you say seriously. You have blown all your credibility with me, and at this point I am more inclined to thinking that bypassing capacitors is a good idea just because you stand so vehemently against it.


Don’t be sorry, it’s obvious from that reply, that you have no idea, don’t wish to know what’s correct, and only hope what your dreaming up will come true.

Check out any hi-end equipment, amps or speakers, dacs, phono stages etc etc any sources and SEE IF ANY CAPS IN THE SIGNAL PATH are by-passed with another different cap. And you’ll find the answer is no, as to use 2 different time constant components in parallel in the signal path will only create distortion/smearing of the signal.

The only time this will not happen is if both caps are identical in all parameters, make, voltage and uf.
And you won’t get anyone here that knows what’s what, saying anything other than that.

Good luck🙏
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