Synergistic Red Fuse ...

mapman - your experience was similar to mine when trying the AH Black Platinum Fuse vs the fuse I have in my ARC Ref 3 Preamp.  

Only a very subtle difference... and... the fuse I have in my ARC Ref 3 Preamp sounds like it may even be better in some respects (clarity, detail resolution, dynamics for the most part, and maybe a bit brighter).   While the AH fuse may have a bit richer sound.  

For the most part, the difference that I seem to detect (not sure because it's so subtle) seems like the difference in the sound of silver interconnects vs silver coated copper interconnects, or OFC copper interconnects.  

I do not call the fuse in my ARC Ref 3 Preamp the "stock fuse," because I don't know if it is the "stock fuse."  The element in it does not look like most fuses (a straight wire, or coiled wire), it has a more complex element, which looks somewhat like a resistor in a glass tube.  So, it may not be the "stock fuse" - it does sound superb, whatever it is.  

Whatever... I had expected a much more discernable difference in the sound for a $100+ tweek.  

Al, thanks for an understandable comparison of how fuses interact differently according to their applications.  I will stay close to the stock ratings in my mains fuses and will continue to push the ratings in my Maggies as I move from SR reds to blacks, a considerable investment for the four fuses in just the Maggies, but also yielding the most dramatic results in sound stage and clarity.  

There are many reasons why someone might not get the (excellent) results most other people report or might only get minimal results. This sort of thing actually happens with almost every audiophile device and even with cables. There is never a guarantee of 100% reproducibility in this hobby. I suspect with fuses especially, you know, what with the directionality issue and long burn in times, it’s mighty tempting to blame negative or null results on one or both of those particular things. But there are other reasons, too. George Tice, in his letter to Stereophile regarding a particularly angry response from a dissatisfied customer of his Tice Clock, proposed four reasons why audiophiles sometimes don’t get the results they expect from certain audiophile products (like the Tice Clock). And I quote,

"There are four reasons why someone could not get the full potential from a TPT Clock. They are: 1) You did not follow the directions. 2) There are one or more choke points in your system (a choke point is a component which is significantly below the quality of the rest of the system). 3) Your audio system is not up to the standards by which anything can be accurately judged. (I noticed in your letter you never mentioned what components you use.) 4) Your hearing ability is not as refined as that of other music lovers and audiophiles."

Read more at http://www.stereophile.com/content/tice-r-4-tpt-coherence-electrotec-ep-c-clocks-letters-about-tice-...

Geoff Kait
Machina Dynamica

Geoff. For someone always declaring straw man arguments of others you sure are a champ.  What does a tice clock have to do with fuses?   Answer:. Nothing.  

Well, after 100 hours of having added the black fuses to my CD player and black UEF power cords to it and the preamp, I must say that the difference is absolutely staggering. YOU HAVE TO LEAVE EVERYTHING ALONE AND NOT FIDDLE WITH CABLES OR DO AB COMPARISONS WITH YOUR OLD CABLES AND FUSES WHILE BREAKING IN. LET EVERYTHING ACCLIMATE. IF YOU DONT DO THIS - YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE PRODUCTS CAN DO DOR YOUR SOUND. YOU WILL NEVER GET THESE THINGS OUT OF "FIRST GEAR".

I istened to some cachao volume 1, a CD I have had for nearly 20 years. Tonight it was like listening to it for the first time. As if the disc had been remastered in SACD. I gotta say, it’s true, you only hear a glimpse of what’s to come until it settles for at least 100 hours. This is a whole new level of fidelity. Clarity is stunning- grain free, making the instruments sound eerily real. Timbre central! The CD went from a b+ to an A+. I really thought my system imaged well and had a great soundstage. Boy was I wrong. I can literally highlight any instrument I want to in the mix and study it. I hate to say it, but my systems "hi Rez" sound was a shaved off, approximate mush of the original waveform. It’s hard to believe that this is a red book cd. The difference in PRAT is huuuuge.  It was mechanical and stiff sounding by comparison. There is a natural ebb and flow, allowing small timing and spatial cues to come through with aplomb-which is probably due to the noise floor dropping.  Inflections are now clearly defined.  It's just an incredible difference.   

Honestly, I know these differences can’t be measured. But I KNOW what I hear, and this system is easily light years ahead of where it was before the SR fuses and cables. These are prerequisite IMHO to hear your systems reality. In fact, these products are so good, they may recalibrate ones baseline for what hi fidelity is. Not having these is like driving a Ferrari with cheap auto parts store house brand tires on it. Yes it will roll down the road and and be able to hit 200 miles an hour, but it won’t do it with anywhere near as gracefully and confidently as with a set of high end tires. I look forward to even more out of these as they continue to break in. But at only 100 hours- they are making me question reality.