Fuses that matter.

09-08-12: Audioman58
The main reason why a aftermarket fuse makes it oundstaging better is a easy explanation .a stock Steel fuse has 7-8 Times the resistance of Silver. Just check the resistance index online.as we all know resistance in electronics is a Huge bottle neck for everything goes through them.

First, let me say that I don't question the sonic improvements you obtained from your fuse upgrades. Second, let me say that your explanation is one that initially may seem logical.

However, IMO the explanation does not stand up when looked at quantitatively, for several reasons.

Before going into those reasons, let me say that resistance in a fuse can have two effects:

(a)The voltage seen by the component will be reduced from the voltage that is provided at the wall outlet (or the outlet of a power conditioner or regenerator, if present). That reduction will equal the voltage dropped across the fuse, which in turn will correspond to the amount of current being conducted through the fuse multiplied by the resistance the fuse has at that current level.

(b)If the amount of current drawn by the component fluctuates significantly, the voltage seen by the component will also fluctuate, to a degree corresponding to the DIFFERENCE between fuse resistance x current draw when the current draw by the component is at a maximum, and fuse resistance x current draw when the current draw is at a minimum.

If you examine the very extensive test data on various fuses that is provided by HiFi-Tuning, that was linked to by BryonCunningham earlier in this thread, you will see that the resistances of the standard glass and standard ceramic fuses that were tested were such that when carrying amounts of current within the range they are intended to carry the voltage drops across them were a small fraction of a volt, in most cases a tiny fraction of a volt. That leads to the following conclusions:

1)In components that draw relatively constant amounts of current, and/or that have regulated power supplies, the effects of that small fraction of a volt reduction of the AC line voltage seen by the component will be utterly negligible. That would apply to your DAC-Preamp, to nearly all other preamps and source components, and to Class A amplifiers. And lest there be any doubt about that, see the next item:

2)EVEN IF that small fraction of a volt reduction of the AC line voltage seen by those components has any audible significance, minimization of that reduction by a fuse having lower resistance would NOT BE CONSISTENTLY FOR THE BETTER. Suppose for instance that a component is designed such that it works best at 120VAC. If the AC line voltage at the particular location is less than 120 VAC, the slight increase in voltage provided by the upgraded fuse would be in the direction of helping. But if the AC line voltage at the particular location is greater than 120 VAC, the increase would be in the wrong direction, and would degrade sonics if in fact it makes any difference at all.

3)With a component that has an unregulated power supply and draws widely fluctuating amounts of current, such as most Class AB power amplifiers, the FLUCTUATION in voltage drop across the fuse could, if great enough, have sonic consequences. Again, however, it would seem highly farfetched that further reducing what would be a tiny fraction of a volt of fluctuation with a standard fuse would produce significant and consistent improvements among different amplifier designs. And,again, even if there were a benefit in those cases, it would not be applicable to other kinds of components.

Regards,
-- Al

A P.S. to my previous post. Obviously I was addressing AC line fuses, and fuses that are conducting audio or other signals, in speakers or at circuit points within electronic components, may be a completely different story.

Regards,
-- Al

Al, I agree - It doesn't make any sens. 5A slow fuse (3AG Littelfuse) has about 0.02 ohm.

Let assume that another fuse is 0.01 ohm - twice better (hard to believe). The difference of 0.01 ohm is equivalent to about 3 feet of gauge 12 (1.6mohm/ft) house wiring (counting both ways). It would mean that 3' power cord would sound significantly better than 6' cord not to mention differences between rooms or houses that would be huge.

09-08-12: Audioman58
The main reason why a aftermarket fuse makes it oundstaging better is a easy explanation .a stock Steel fuse has 7-8 Times the resistance of Silver

I don't think I have ever seen steel used for the element in a fuse.

But, who knows how many different types of metals it has been through before reaching our home? Then you have all of the various types of metals in the homes electrical system.

A lot of various metals are used in the component and its parts too, before its outputs. If every metal has its own sound, who knows where to begin trying to figure all of this out, since it traveled through all of the different metals?

Trying to describe all of the changes in sound after traveling through all of these metals taken into consideration sounds impossible. And just the one little fuse is supposed to make a fairly noticeable difference, even makes it sound more impossible to make any sense.

The after market fuses I installed made a clear difference and at a low cost. One of the best tweak/upgrades to date.