But I can tell your Maggies will sound a touch better with just a piece of copper wire soldered lightly outside of the fuse clamps and no fuses. This makes them vulnerable to an amp blowing and going dc, as you know having electronic knowledge background, but no more so than any other speaker would have no dc protection either.
George, for once I actually agree with you. Bypassing speaker fuses can have clearly audible benefits. However manufacturer‘s warranties go out the window, and you are taking a gamble, especially if your amp is underpowered or remotely unstable.
I took the gamble and it was well worthwhile to me.
If you are an experienced audiophile with an intimate knowledge of your equipment‘s driving ability and volume capabilities. I would endorse the replacement of speaker fuses by a direct bypass rather than an audiophile fuse. Having owned many unfused speakers I am totally unconvinced of their necessity in the signal chain.
Never had a bypassed speaker fail. Just a whole lot better sound.
Having owned many unfused speakers I am totally unconvinced by their necessity in the signal chain.
Are you serious!! where have you been, this statement proves you have absolutely no idea.
99.9% of good passive speakers are not fused for a reason, it has the same bad effects as putting fuses on an amps dc rail lines or it’s output terminal.🤦♂️🤦♂️
Perhaps someday a clever inventor will develop a direct drop-in fuse protector with a built in breaker switch instead of a fuse. Using only audiophile approved wiring and metals (of course). It would only require 2 wires with an attached suitably sized
breaker. Heck, I may even pursue the idea...
@ozzy i would start your worthy search w aerospace grade breakers… all manner of delicate and resolving circuit are protected in this way….just imagine F-22 pilot changing a fuse on the phased array while in a 5g turn……
Using a drop in breaker made of audiophile approved metals is one to go. The other is to use fuses with superior metals for conducting instead of the cheap low conductive metals found in bog standard fuses.
Imagine using any of the metals found in standard fuses in any of your cables and it will start to make sense.
Been using on/off breaker switches in my mods and gear for many years. Sounds better than a stock fuse. I learned the idea from Paul Weitzel of Tube Research Labs some 16 ears ago. Eaton Heinemann. Does it sound better than a QSA fuse? Don’t know as I never compared.
cerberus79 A few months ago I purchased a used pair of speakers from another Agon member. To my surprise all the fuses were Orange fuses. I listened to them and then to satisfy my curiosity I replaced them with ordinary buss fuses and could not hear a difference. I did this test with a bunch of friends and neither I or them could hear a difference. Kind of just says it all doesn't it?
To those non technical thinking of purchasing these $$$ fuses. Just save your $150+ and do this instead.
A fuse: 1: two end caps 2: short piece of fuse wire connecting the two end caps through a glass tube (that’s all she wrote).
To those "non technical" members that are interested in "maybe" wasting their money, do not listen to the non-technical, listen to the technicians of this industry that design the audio products you have and listen to. AND YOU WON"T SEE THEM ON THREADS LIKE THIS AGREEING WITH WHAT SAID HERE ABOUT THE SOUND IMPROVMENT DETAILS AND AC FUSE PLACEMENT DIRECTION, EVER!!! Just clean and tighten your fuse holder and re-new your fuse (if old) with a good quality 50cent Bussman, Littlefuse or similar.As with "many switch-on surges" they do deteriorate, bend, stretch and get crusty with electrolysis formations on their fusible wire elements before they give out, as these pics show of a fuse wire element ageing over time show. https://ibb.co/9NbTwqK (even the $$$ boutique ones will age just as much also)
@cerberus79 I rarely post anything here. I did so this
time because I had direct experience on the topic and reported it in a
factual and non judgmental fashion. My reward was to be called a lier by
one member and told I was in the wrong hobby by another ( I have been
in this hobby for 49 years ). I am and always have been in this hobby
for the enjoyment of music. I once got into a discussion with Geof Kait
on the directionality of fuses and realized
You/we are
lucky GK has disappeared (or been banned) he was a real comic piece of
work but fitted in well in these types of threads, and his website is
really out there https://www.machinadynamica.com/machina5.htm best one is the pebbles.
As for your Maggies I had quite a bit to do with them owning the big Tympanies also, before going on to big ESL’s.
cerberus79A
few months ago I purchased a used pair of speakers from another Agon
member. To my surprise all the fuses were Orange fuses. I listened to
them and then to satisfy my curiosity I replaced them with ordinary buss
fuses and could not hear a difference. I did this test with a bunch of
friends and neither I or them could hear a difference.
As
you stated no difference in sound whether 10cent Bussman fuses were in
or $150 SR Orange were in, to yourself or when the guys were around to
do the A/B with.
cerberus79 Has the purpose of a
fuse been lost ? How it is designed to work ? By design there is no
directionality in a fuse. it is simply designed to open in an
overcurrent situation. If it was directional in relation to the current
passing through it would be a diode
Same thing I say to them, if it’s directional then it’s trying to be a diode, and that NOT good in either direction!
But
I can tell your Maggies will sound a touch better with just a piece of
copper wire soldered lightly outside of the fuse clamps and no fuses.
This makes them vulnerable to an amp blowing and going dc, as you know
having electronic knowledge background, but no more so than any other
speaker would have no dc protection either.
First off I’m an audiophile, been this way going on 50+ years now and if something improves sound quality then I am in.
But, I do have to wonder what could possibly make the QSA fuses improve the sound quality. As George would say it is only 2 end caps and an internal wire. Is the wire inside special?
Synergistic Research claims their fuses are hit with a million volts of energy.
So what is special about the QSA fuses? I asked Mike at Tweak Geeks and he had no idea.
coralkong, I am using Furutech NCF outlets. These outlets were made specifically for audiophile use.
Biggest improvement I have ever obtained In the power supply chain was when I purchased a 240:240 isolation transformer on a local audiophile trading site. It is an industrial unit with at least 750W capacity. The improvement to digital playback is quite obvious. Just a layer of hash removed and improved clarity. This thing even works wonders on my Robertson power amp, which is a great surprise, since any previous forms of power conditioning on amplifiers have proved counter productive.
Its use with other power amps has proven unsuccessful. Probably due to its limited capacity.
Is this the 1260 paste that was being referred to earlier as an alternative to Total Contact and preferred over Total Contact by (at least) one person here?:
I purchased a 240:240 isolation transformer on a local audiophile trading site. 750W capacity
Yes, I believe this is the first intelligent thing you’ve said, as noise does not jump the gap of an isolation transformer, because primary and secondary areI believe air gap isolated from each other.
They’re only good for source equipment, as none are big enough for big amps. (You need rating of at least 20A) Now say you’ve got 100w+ power amp on it, and you’ll be back in the dummy seats. As 750w is only 3amps, and you’ll see far more than that going into speakers with a sample/hold/scope, especially big dynamic peaks, I’ve seen 60amp peaks, and it’ll saturate the isolation tranny, and cause dynamic compression.
Couldn’t agree with you more George - causes significant dynamic compression on virtually alll power amps. Why it works with the Robertson is beyond my comprehension.
"First listen, definitely a sharper image than the yellow."
That was my first impression when I replaced the SR Orange fuses with the QSA Yellow fuses. There definitely was more detail because of a perceived improvement in transparency. However, eventually, I went back to the SR Orange fuses in order to enjoy the music.
I’m looking forward to your assessment of the red fuse as it breaks in, Ozzy. There are a couple of A’goners getting ready to receive the QSA Violet fuses, and I’m looking forward to their assessments as well.
I’m very curious at this point how far up the QSA fuse line one would have to go in order to outperform the prototype fuses (price to be determined) I’m using now. The QSA Yellows certainly don’t do it at $213. Maybe the QSA Violet fuse at $711 might be the ticket. Or ... maybe the QSA Red fuse at $1422 will do the trick. We’ll see down the road.
At any rate, the improvements made by these aftermarket fuses boggles the mind, as do the prices. :-)
@kingbarbudaIs this the 1260 paste that was being referred to earlier as an alternative to Total Contact and preferred over Total Contact by (at least) one person here?
No, I used 1260 contact enhancer. It is $350 for a 1.5 ml bottle. I don't think it is as good as PPT but I am out of PPT. Try the Cable Company...they have it.
I went back to the SR orange over the Light Blue in my Rogue RP 7 tube linestage. At first I thought the Light blue was better. Gave it a couple weeks. Switched the Orange back in. Much more sparkle and detail. Reinstalled the blue for a few days. The Blue has a little more body but at the cost of resolution
At first install I was surprised how good the Light Blue sounded. Usually fuses are rollercoasters the first 100 hours or so. Definitely a nice pace and very enjoyable. After a couple weeks I swapped the SR Orange back in and just more lively and better separation of the instruments. The blue sounds real good but in my system I prefer the SR Orange. You may like the Blue better. I’m 63 and I can hear a 12kz tone and that’s about it. With the Townshend Podiums and a room that is at 30 db it is really easy to hear all changes in gear and add ons. I was thinking of trading up in the QS line. What improvements does the Yellow bring over the Light Blue?
I had the SR Orange fuses throughout the system. I went with the QSA Yellow fuses. My experience was the same as you had with the LIght Blue fuses. I went back to the SR Orange fuses and all was okay again. Maybe not as detailed, but more musically satisfying.
In my system, I realized that I would have to do fuse tests separately for each component.
My preferences after warming up QSA fuses (300h continuously), compared to my Orange:
Classe M300 power amp (biamp mid/high). With Yellow, there are not big, but pleasant improvements.
Classe CP-700 pre-amp. There is no winner. I chose Yellow, because I hope that they will not burn here like SR.
Lumin U1 & Paul Hynes SR5 PSU. I am very surprised, but Yellow and Purple did not bring significant changes.
Sotm clock (feeds Esoteric G-01 and D-02 DAC, USBultra, Switches) and USBultra & Paul Hynes SR5 PSU. A strong performance jump with QSA Yellow and then with Purple. Without Purple, life goes out of music. In this place, I will test Red.
PS Audio P10 (feeds SR SX PowerCell). Switching to Yellow has made the biggest contribution to the sound of my system. It is comparable to replacing the USD3000 cable with USD6000. I order Red.
Just swapped the SR Orange fuse back into my amp, replacing the QSA Light Blue. Please note that the Orange is treated with TC, whereas the Light Blue is not. Although I kind of understand what Frank is saying about the midrange with the Orange, I clearly prefer the QSA Light Blue over the SR Orange in my amp, in my system. The Light Blue sounds more open, clear and transparent, while still being very musical.
I haven’t tried the QSA Yellow yet, but hope to, as funds allow. If you have tried both the Light Blue and Yellow, what differences do you hear?
‘Lumin U1 & Paul Hynes SR5 PSU. I am very surprised, but Yellow and Purple did not bring significant changes’
Thru my time of upgrading fuses starting with the Hi Fi Tuning Supreme and the SR reds I have noticed the Streamer is the least sensitive to fuse upgrades. Power amps and Pre’s make the biggest jump in my experience.
But, I do have to wonder what could possibly make the QSA fuses improve the sound quality.
Also Ozzy-
I just received my red QSA fuse today. I also applied the 1260 to the end caps.
So there you go, something like 1260 can make them better. Doesn't even have to be end caps or wire. Can just be something added, like under the paper.
Or on the outside. Ever notice the gray gob on all the SR fuses? Same gray gob on their outlets too, by the way. Look at the more expensive QSA fuses. Notice they have stuff stuck on the outside. Almost like they need to add more secret sauce and so stick it on the outside.
The secret sauce is exactly what it is too by the way. Yes they can zap em with a million volts. Yes they can cryogenically treat them. Yes they can use all kinds of alloys and coatings and special materials and means of bonding it all together.
Yes to all of that stuff. Which is why it is sort of puzzling to me why anyone wonders what they can be doing? With all these things to choose from the real question would seem to be what are they NOT doing! 🤣
PPT by the way was a prime example of this. Total Contact was just some goop you spread around. Mats were the same goop only applied to a refrigerator magnet. AC outlet covers, RCA grounding plugs, all the various doo-dads were just that- doo-dads. All just different delivery methods, different ways of getting the goop where it will do some good.
This is what I was saying some time ago about this being a new Golden Age of sound. People are just now starting to figure out the real magic isn't really in the wire. Current, volts, all these crude numbers we all think mean so much, they are every bit as primitive as I have been saying. The real magic is in the fields. That is where the real music happens.
Frank I think knows what I'm talking about. He's got his field control goop all over the place. There is nothing else like it. Anyway, that is "what could possibly make the QSA fuses" (and a lot of other stuff) "improve the sound quality."
I agree with tommylion in the comparison with the QSA light blue and the SR Orange. When I swapped the Orange treated with PPT paste out of my dac for the light blue it was instantly better in every way. The amount of detail retrieval while still being very musical and tube like in its tone and presence just makes for me a no brainer between the two, especially given the QSA blue is less than half the price of the Orange.
I've moved on to a yellow and now a violet in the dac and everything keeps getting better with more realism and a musically engaging experience. I have a violet on order to put in my preamp and also ordered a light blue for my Add-Powr Wizard to try.
Would like to try one of their receptacles to compare to the Furutech NCF's that I've been using for the last several years.
My experience has been when going from the light blue to the yellow and the violet you just get more of everything that you get with the blue. More presence and a sense of a deeper soundstage while still having the tube like musicality and tone the blue gives you. Instruments and vocals have more realism too as you go up
When I told Mike the violet was already making me want to try a red he said in his opinion the biggest jump in performance among the fuses was going from violet to red. Thankfully the 90 day trade up program allows a little bit of time to make that decision.
When I told Mike the violet was already making me want to try a red he said in his opinion the biggest jump in performance among the fuses was going from violet to red.
Of course the fact that the price goes from $711 for the violet to $1,422 for the red and everyone makes at least twice as much on the sale has nothing to do with it.
Well after a couple of days the QSA red fuse is really starting to impress. The sharpness that I once noticed on the first day has relaxed and the images are natural and pleasant.
BTW, I tried the fuse in both directions and you can really tell the correct direction. Actually more so than any fuse I have ever tried.
I would like to update on my Yellow fuses. I was still not happy with them at around 100hrs. Now around 160 hr mark I am really impressed . The constriction I was hearing is all gone. Great prat!! I can say now the Yellows have surpassed the Blues
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