Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Almarg,

Would it be correct to say that your technical assessment of the potential impact or not of fuses in various applications cited apply only to properly functioning poosibly brand new fuses that are also installed cleanly properly?

For example, fuse might be an electronic bottleneck if not seated in-line properly (poor connection or connections) or if partially or mostly even but not fully blown perhaps, although I have no idea the likeihood of a fuse actually being found in such an intermediate state.

Al also I am interested in you technical assessment of use of Graphene in a fuse, as claimed. In a powercord? That latter in particular would seem to have a lot of potential upside despite some of the seemingly exaggerated marketing claims I have seen.

My assessment based purely on my days as a sales tech who replaced blown fuses in customers gear when needed is that if sound was not good, re-seating the fuse usually resolved the problem. Replacing the fuse when no sound at all of course always resolved that issue.

I never even thought about how one properly installed and working fuse sounded versus another. Not to say there were not differences just nothing that jumped out at me to even consider such a thing, though I always felt it better soundwise to use slow blow fuses when possible which tended to have more robust and likely more conductive filaments but I could not even say conclusively that I actually heard a difference.

Those are interesting thoughts, Mapman. While fuse seating/contact integrity and changes in fuse parameters occurring over time would seem unlikely to result in significant sonic differences, any other conceivable explanation would also seem to be unlikely.

But in particular, regarding possible increases in resistance and consequently in voltage drop that might occur over time, keep in mind that while increased resistance would result in increased voltage drop, it would also result in increased power dissipation in the fuse, and therefore in increased internal heat, and therefore probably also in premature failure of the fuse. Also, degradation of performance over time would seem to fly in the face of the general consensus that hundreds or (some would say) thousands of hours of use is likely to improve the performance of a component, not degrade it.

A couple of experiments that would be of interest, though, if anyone is so inclined, would be to (a)replace an older stock fuse with a new inexpensive Littelfuse or Cooper Bussmann fuse of the same rating; and (b)temporarily, for experimental purposes, replace a stock fuse with an inexpensive Littelfuse or Cooper Bussmann fuse of MUCH higher current rating, which in terms of resistance would be essentially equivalent to eliminating the fuse altogether.

Regarding graphene, I have no particular knowledge.

Best regards,
-- Al

The skeptics are out in full force today. Is it a full moon?

HiFi had a third party actually measure fuses' performance - their fuses, competitor’s fuses, cryo’d fuses, standard fuses, backwards and forwards. And the data is there for all to see. Hel-looo! I hate to judge before all the facts are in but it certainly appears fuse technology evolves just like everything else in this hobby.  The skepticism is charming, no problem there.

ALL. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.

WITCH. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

HiFi had a third party actually measure fuses' performance - their fuses, competitor’s fuses, cryo’d fuses, standard fuses, backwards and forwards. And the data is there for all to see. Hel-looo!

Yup.  And as you may recall I commented on those measurements extensively in various posts in the long-running "Fuses That Matter" thread.  Most notably in my post dated 5-14-2012  11:24 a.m., wherein I summarized my technical comments by saying:

I applaud HiFi-Tuning for providing these measurements. However, IMO they provide the basis for a good case as to why fuse upgrades shouldn't make a difference, or at least a difference that is necessarily for the better....

I don't exclude the possibility that a fuse change can make a difference, but once again the explanations that are offered in support of the existence of those differences do not withstand quantitative scrutiny.

Regards,
-- Al
 

The determined skeptic can find all sorts of arguments why something cannot possibly work even in light of the fact that everyone who has actually tried the thing reports positive results. Geez, talk about not accepting evidence! Do you actually believe that some law(s) of physics are being disobeyed? Without trying too hard I can think of at least four or five perfectly logical reasons why aftermarket fuses SHOULD definitely sound better than stock fuses. Many of those reasons are the EXACT SAME REASONS why some cables sound better than others. I don’t think this is rocket science. Could ten thousand audiophiles be wrong? Not bloody likely. The statistical probability that there is some mysterious error that everyone is making or that there is mass hysteria or mass hypnosis or the placebo effect or expectation bias is about the same as your winning the big lottery. The only logical conclusion one can really make in the Case of the Aftermarket Fuse is that there must be SOMETHING GOING ON, not that there is NOTHING GOING ON. Next topic, "How small can something be and still make a significant improvement to the sound?"