Synergistic Red Fuse ...

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?"

You seem to have not acknowledged that we are having this discussion because a lot of people we respect on Agon have noted they had positive results with the fuse. 

Some of us were just trying to figure out why and how.  It seemed to be somewhat of a polite back and forth, until, as usual..........

Mapman sez:  

" 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"

How in the world would you know if a claim is "exaggerated" when you've never heard the product in your own system, or anyone else's system for that matter??

I have replaced all of my power cords (four of them) with SR's Level 3 Atmosphere PCs using the Graphene technology. I can say with no doubt, now that these cords are broken in, that these cords are simply amazing. And, the PCs I was using before were no slouches either. And to boot ... SR has just come out with very cost effective RED and BLACK PCs using the Graphene technology that start at $299.

Mapman, if you think the fuses are amazing, these cords are totally the bomb! But then, how would you even know that the fuses are amazing when you wouldn't even take the offer of a free RED fuse to try at no cost in your own system. Even the shipping wouldn't have cost you anything. I say BAH! Damn, I deplore stinkin' thinkin.'

Whew! Now that I have that off of my chest, I'd like to comment on why manufacturers won't recommend after market products. It a matter of liability. We live in a very litigious society. If something goes wrong, and if there is even a chance that it could remotely be blamed on the manufacture recommending an after market product, guess who gets sued??

A good example would be all of the Audio Research owners who kept inquiring of the factory about swapping out their KT-120s for the then new KT-150's. Everyone kept getting the thumbs down by the factory, even though there were those of us who took the plunge anyway and reporting the great results we were getting.  I know for a fact that ARC tested the KT-150's in their factory test amps for over 5000 hours without even one failure before they gave the okay. This is what any company would do that has intelligent employees working for them.  And now look where the ARC REF amps are today ... all being shipped with KT-150's. 

So, bottom line ... just because a builder won't recommend an after market fuse doesn't mean "don't use the fuse." It means ... "don't ask me, I don't want to get sued." 

And by the way guys ... I decided to swap out a fully broken in Black fuse that I had in the CD player for the RED fuse I had in the PH-8 last night. Holy Smokes! Now this was a clear test of exactly what these Black fuses can do.  This is the  most relaxed musical presentation I've ever gotten from my vinyl setup. There is something special in the way these Black fuses cause the system to have a particular sense of "quiet" about it. Its not exactly like "lowering the noise floor." Its more like the natural, non-aggressiveness of live music. Interestingly enough, with the new SR PC's the system is so revealing that I could clearly hear right off the bat that I had put the Black fuse in backward. The sound was diffused. Very similar to the system being out of phase. Turning the fuse around caused everything to instantly snap into focus.  Simply an amazing product.

Happy listening ...