What is the science behind audiophile fuses?

@thyname thanks for the shout out as the original "we don't need no stinking fuses" guy.

I have tested the Swiss Digital Fuse Box and recommend it over any fuse.

My impression was that it wasn't as good as the "large gauge piece of metal" (high conductivity copper) but not a lot of difference.  If you feel you need/want electrical protection, I recommend the SDFB.

I think some people are confused about the configuration of the SDFB.  It provides better protection than a fuse.  Generally a magnetic current monitoring circuit will trip much faster than a slow blo fuse.

Of course we've all had experience where a compoent failed and the fuse didn't protect it.  that's just the nature of electronics  the fuse protects against upstream disturbances more than downstream failures.

Jerry

No way!  I’m ordering the copper slug.  Wait.  What if the copper slug does more for the sound than upgraded fuses?  Then I’ll be torn between protecting my amps vs better sound.  Or worse, I have to spend more money and get the SDFB’s.  The saying is so true:  “Ignorance is bliss.”

A corollary to Murphy’s Law:  A $10 transistor will blow to protect a $0.10 fuse.

Is everyone familiar with Murphy’s Law? It states that if something can go wrong it will.
Corollary 1: When left to themselves, things go from bad to worse.

My favorite: in order for something to become clean, something else must become dirty, but everything can become dirty without anything becoming clean.

HI, I see the issue of fuses like so many other things in the world of audio and that revolves around why it is worth buying a power cable, or any audio component from certain famous and expensive brands. A class D power amp can be had for less than $1000 and can play music from 20hz to 20khz. However, there are people who buy $100,000 power amps that also play 20hz to 20khz music. Those who can afford it will say that this purchase is because subjectively the music sounds better with that amplifier than with another one at a much lower cost. Spending $600 on a penny-priced fuse is one of those situations. I am not satisfied with the statements that a HIFI fuse has no effect on the sound of a device, based on the fact that the manufacturer would put it as standard if that improvement in sound was true. If we apply that same rule, why do 90% of the owners of amplifiers such as Boulder, Pass, Soulution, etc. buy a power cable, when the device already comes with one as standard. I don't know many people who keep their black power cords in their high-end appliances.

A whole other thing is personal experimentation with what a fuse in your audio system can do and whether you can hear the difference in sound and whether that difference in sound justifies the purchase. Each and every one of these issues are subjective and personal. It is very hard and slow to change a fuse in a device, and that the auditory memory does not betray you in that interval. For this reason, very few of those who have bought a HIFI fuse are willing to do those A vs. B tests, and in general terms we just assume the purchase and forget about it. All this under the idea that this new fuse is not going to cause the equipment to sound worse.