Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Wolf,

I don't doubt that you don't hear any sonic improvements with the SR fuses, I doubt there's any product that works for everyone. I appreciate you at least gave them a try. I don't understand how you can state that the fuses can't change the sonics of our systems because all they do is pass AC through them. Couldn't the same be said of power cords and other wiring? Paul McGowan of PS Audio has articles on their site that states since the fuse is the bottleneck of the entire AC pathway its small wire which carries the current that supplies our components can have a great impact upon that current. He mentions that early design prototypes of their products didn't have fuses and sounded much better than when they added fuses for the production models. They had to re-design the production model to get it to sound like it did without fuses. Their belief is the best sound is not having a fuse ( something they obviously can't do) with audiophile fuses improving upon the necessary evil of a fuse. I think most agree that components sound better without fuses, wouldn't that suggest that fuses will have an impact on sound? Whether it's better conductivity and/or increased EFI/RFI shielding I could see where the SR fuses could improve upon the weak link in the AC pathway and therefore improving sound quality. While I don't possess the knowledge to explain how SR fuses might work I can see how they could improve the sound and I think Paul McGowan is onto something. Just my two cents worth......with inflation I probably make no cents ( or is that that sense :)

charles1dad

...  I’m sure most reasonable people will acknowledge that "expectation bias " is applicable to both positive and "negative " positions. . You can certainly be convinced that something is not possible and this adamant mindset potentially inhibits the possibility of fair and open minded assessment ... to accuse those who do hear improvement as simply suffering from expectation bias (which is possible in some cases) the converse is just as valid for the deny campers  as well.

This is absolutely true, and often overlooked. Oddly, those who consider themselves objectivists often dismiss their vulnerability to expectation bias.

There are limits to expectation bias, however, so it shouldn't be cited as the cause for every result. For example, I have sometimes made a system change that I was sure would make no audible difference, only to be surprised that it did result in a difference.  The opposite has also happened to me. So it is a rather unpredictable form of bias.

Cleeds,
Yes I agree there are limits to expectation bias. My point is that those who attribute all positive outcomes with the Black fuses to this bias are being disingenuous and ultimately intellectually lazy. Even at the late stages (15 months at this point) of this long running thread new users of these fuses continue to emerge with their positive listening experiences. To dismiss them and the many who preceeded them as mere expectation bias victims borders on the absurd.
Charles

The black is way cool jump on these ASAP DUDES!!!!!!!

Expectation bias gets a bad rap. 😃 There are many reasons why audiophiles sometimes get bad results with certain devices or tweaks especially the more controversial ones. One of the more controversial tweaks the Tice Clock was one of those controversial tweaks that inspired all sorts of comments and user results, not unlike the those we see with aftermarket fuses and such. In response to letter to Stereophile magazine from a disgruntled customer who was apparently not totally satisfied with his Tice Clock George Tice responded with a letter of his own to Stereophile in which he described the four reasons folks sometimes don't get the results they expected.  To whit,

1. There is one or more problems in the system used to test the device/tweak.

2. The customer's hearing or listening skills is not all that's it's cracked up to be.

3. There was a failure to follow instructions or to execute them properly.

4. The system used for the test is not sufficiently resolving to reveal the effects of the device or tweak.