I bought the HiFi Tuning Fuse - the $37.95 ones (basic ones, I assume). I just got them two days ago.
After only 30 hours, I am quite astounded at the improvements they afford my ASL Hurricanes and hence, the entire system.. I'd spoken to Tosh Goka, who said he didn't hear much difference. But having been a detective, I like to try things for myself.
Welll....they DO have to break in - at least a few hours. At first (meaning as soon as I turned the amps on) the changes I thought I could detect were very subtle, such as a cleaner, less glaring sound. That was clear but subtle and this was with almost no break in. Today a "Supreme" fuse arrived from Music Direct. Apparently, the Supreme version is similar in its construction to the Mundorf Silver/Gold capacitors. I wouldn't know.
I had the less expensive ones on both amps yesterday and, as I said, I DID hear a difference, but had to strain a little. After 24 hours, no strain is needed. The changes are obvious: transients have more leading edge, which enhances the sense of separation of individual instruments, and even the imaging improved (and Hurricanes do NOT need assistance in that category).
When I put in the Supreme on one amp I held my breath: I mean, who wants to experience disapointment. I wouldn't let myself expect much, but, by golly, they're changing by the hour. I would assume the first fuse, which had been going straight for 30 hours (left the amps on playing music) is ahead of its "Supreme" brother (or sister, if you will) in making the music sound like...music.
It also seems -- and I say seems -- to have increased the upper frequencies on the Hurricanes a bit, so that, instead of feeling like you're in a room with only 75 watt bulbs, it's now a room with 85 watt bulbs (which one could do with a rheostat in degrees).
I'm surprised you guys spend so much time doubting instead of doing the empirical thing, like getting one and putting it in your equipment and then playing the equipment for 48 hours straight. You'll hear it. I'll have to write Tosh and suggest he try it again.
The easiest thing to hear is the lessening of grain. And transients have less of a "burr" on them (e.g. violins drawn against the bows sound cleaner and sweeter than before the fuse change).
I put on the Leonard Bernstein recording of The Rites of Spring, an absolutely HORRIBLE recording - which is why I used it: anything that could make it sound better was either euphonic or just plain good - but either way, it would be an improvement, sonically speaking. Pre-fuses: Just a mishmash of instruments jammed together. Only the loudest instruments or the ones in front of the stage could be distinguished (on my system). But today, even though I had the "basic gold" ones on both amps, when I got up and well into the music room, I could tell the difference in the recording. It was starting to make sense, instead of the wall-of-sound it threw up prior to the fuse change. When I put the Supreme in, and played it again, it sounded...musical (well, as musical as the Rites of Spring can sound. Which isn't very, but it became entirely more listenable, meaning I was pulled into listening to the first 10 cuts before I stopped the CD.
Pre-fuse: I'd listen to one cut, and start jumping around to see if I wanted to listen to any other cuts. Just wasn't interested. Now, I find myself highly attentive.
Equipment:
First Sound Deluxe MK II, ASL Hurricanes, Hale Revelation 3s, Arcam FMJ23, Nordost Quattro Fil interconnects, Shunyata Andromeda speaker cable, Shunyata Python CX power cords, Quantum conditioner with QX4 units, Nordost Sort Kones (Brass under preamp, Ceramic under amps), Tube Traps Galore.
With the fuses in the system, it is very easy to hear when a change in the orientation of a tube trap is killing the sound. Of course, I could hear it before (my room has ASC's Wall Damp Treatment (resilient channel and squares of wall damps between two layers of drywall), but now it's so EASY to hear it.
I would rather someone contribute when they actually KNOW what they're talking about, then to simply post to prove Ivor Tiefenbrun's statement, "If you haven't hear it, you DON'T have an opinion."
You should just try it instead of making yourself feel superior for not falling for another "snake oil" get-his-money-before-he-knows-what-hit-him "scheme."
These actually work.
Sorry, I gotta go. I've been watching tv for an hour and I'm DYING to "hear" what else has improved!
