Fuses that matter.

I am not an EE ( though I do have expertise in other areas of engineering) but what AL says makes sense. I would tend to think that if a fuse did make too much difference in sound quality that this might be an indicator of certain design elements lacking elsewhere.

Just because every component in the signal path can have an effect on the sound does not mean it should.

I'd like to think that my gear performs at a certain reputable level as long as quality components are used (including fuse). SOme audiophile fuses might qualify, some might not, but I do not even want to have to be concerned about how my fuse sounds, just that it does its job reliably and does not negatively impact what the design overall is supposed to accomplish.

Mapman wrote,

"I'd like to think that my gear performs at a certain reputable level as long as quality components are used (including fuse). SOme audiophile fuses might qualify, some might not, but I do not even want to have to be concerned about how my fuse sounds, just that it does its job reliably and does not negatively impact what the design overall is supposed to accomplish."

While it may be true that a "certain reputable level," as you say, can be achieved without paying attention to fuses and such, it all comes down to what one is trying to achieve and how one defines "a certain reputable level" of quality. A lot of folks would say Bose achieves a certain reputable level of quality. The same argument can be made for any audio component or cable or speaker, depending on the level of sound quality one hopes to achieve by selecting X speaker and Y amplifier or Z cable. Most of us lay our money down and live with whatever sound we get, then perhaps system engineer things a bit to squeeze some more out. Is't it a little premature to write fuses off in light of all the positive press and customer testimony? With the potential of 5-10% or more improvement to the level of sound quality at stake, I'm not sure I completely understand all the handwringing and nonchalance. It can't all be anti tweak sentiment, can it?

"Is't it a little premature to write fuses off in light of all the positive press and customer testimony?"

Geof, if you read my posts, you'll see that I do not write fuses off. I acknowledge that they might make a difference. I just put them way down on the list of potential tweaks I would make just to improve sound.

IF my gear does not sound right and I isolate a problem to a particular piece, then a fuse replacement is probably something I would consider. I would replace with a good quality fuse recommended by the maker most likely. It may or may not be an "audiphile" fuse. If the new fuse works, I will loose no sleep thereafter until the next "real" issue pops up.

Sorry, I have better things to do than continuously tweak in hopes of better sound with little or no basis for decision making other than some things worked for some.

Others may differ in their priorities. More power to them!

Not sure how/why you would take issue with this. There are many out there willing to try the tweak of the month. They will probablly end up happy as well as long as the result is not negative. Not to hard to accomplish with fuses IMHO.

"Not sure how/why you would take issue with this. "

Well, actually I do in that you are a vendor of tweaks that at worse probably do nothing which is good enough for many I suppose.

Let's talk about "minor" tweaks for a minute.

1) by definition the effects of a minor tweak will be minor or subtle probably at best.

2) some minor tweaks may in fact do nothing. THese have less downside than tweaks that actually do something. That something could be judged better or worse.

3) Tweaks that do nothing have less potential downside. Therefore, fewer are likely to be disappointed.