Fuses that matter.

Bryon said,

"Then I decided to clean and apply Progold to every contact in the system, including the contacts on the power cords and IEC inlets. Now THAT was audible."

Well, I hate to judge before all the facts are in but I suppose there is some possibility that the unclean contacts masked the results of the fuse tests.

:-)

That occurred to me, Geoff. But that ambiguity is present in EVERY listening test. In other words, when you fail to hear a difference during an A/B, there are ALWAYS three possible interpretations...

1. There is no difference between A and B.
2. The system is not sufficiently resolving to hear the difference between A and B.
3. Your brain is not sufficiently resolving to hear the difference between A and B.

If your A/B testing is limited to a single system, then it is literally impossible to know which interpretation is correct. The only way around this is to (a) change an element of your system and test again, or (b) listen to the reports of others who have performed similar tests on their systems. I tend to do both.

But I dread the idea of another fuse test. I think I will just leave in the fancy fuses. After all, they look pretty.

Bryon

Bryon said, "That occurred to me, Geoff. But that ambiguity is present in EVERY listening test.

That's weird...all the reviews of Hi Fi Tuning and Isoclean Fuses in all of the major audio magazines are anything but ambiguous. For example, below find the conclusion of the Stereo Times review of Hi Fi Tuning fuses:

Conclusion
My time spent with both, the Ultra Systems HiFi-Tuning Fuses and Supreme Fuses over the years has equated to a audio life-changing experience. It’s impossible to tell if you will experience the same effects that I have since all systems are different, and my taste in music may be different from yours. However, I have not heard of anyone who’s tried these fuses utter anything but high praise. All I have heard were accolades expressing pure amazement as to how their systems have transformed with more focus, clarity, enhanced soundstage and transparency to die for.

Ok, first off, that quote from Stereo Times stretches the limits of credibility. "Transparency to die for"? Really? Come on.

Second, your interpretation of my last post is odd, to put it politely. I was NOT saying that the results of every fuse listening test are ambiguous. I was saying that there is ambiguity present in every A/B listening test WHEN YOU ARE UNABLE TO DISCERN A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A AND B.

If that was not obvious from the sentence you quoted, it should have been obvious from the very next sentence...

In other words, WHEN YOU FAIL TO HEAR A DIFFERENCE DURING AN A/B, there are always three possible interpretations... [emphasis added]

I suspect, of all the people following this thread, your uncharitable interpretation of my post is unique. That should tell you something.

Oh, and one other thing. Your mischaracterization of my comments falls into a category you have a particular affection for...

It is a Straw Man.

Bryon

Bryon, more grist for the mill is the recent review last year of the Supreme3 fuses from Hi Fi Tuning in Positive Feedback by Greg Weaver (a very experienced reviewer). Please note the use of the word, transparency. Coincidence? Not to mention the word, astonishing.

"After a brief bout of quite to install all eight fuses, I re-fired all my components to let everything have some time to "run in." Over the next three to three and a half weeks, I heard some exemplary, if subtle, improvements.

While I had expected some slight advances here or there, in a few specific categories, I was treated to small but encompassing, readily distinguishable, sonic improvements to virtually every attribute of my rig. The overall improvement wrought by their insertion was simply astonishing.

What stood out from the first was the notable enhancement in overall timbre, especially through the lower to mid bass, and the upper midrange through lower treble regions. Bass runs, from the thundering electric bass licks of the "Ox" Entwistle, to the engaging and often nuanced cello efforts of Janos Starker, were weightier, "woodier" sounding, and more tonally balanced. Strings, horns, and cymbals further shed most remnants of that "white-ish" sonic tinge and were rendered in a more fluid and coherent manner.

Transparency enjoyed a wholesale improvement; slight, granted, but bettered without question. This comes in two forms as I heard it. First, through the reduction of a miniscule yet inclusive fine graining, offering a more liquid texture overall, and secondly, by contributing to a slight reduction of the noise floor.

Spatial recreation enjoys special attention. Dimensionality takes on a slightly more focused nature, and at the same time, instrumental lines are recreated with better delineation and seemingly more accurate and appropriate size.

Both microdynamic events and microdynamic shadings are more readily revealed, unleashing enhanced detail and offering enhanced perception of physical and emotional involvement."