Fuses should not degrade, they should blow when required. Some here have gone so far (overboard) as to state that if your gear can be affected by a change in fuses, cords, etc. then there's something wrong with your gear: it's crap.
Saying that, then a fuse that degrades is crap as well. Why would anyone put a crappy fuse in such a vital area, knowing it's going to fail long before (if ever) required? It would also affect performance long before it ever blows.
Some counter arguments simply don't make sense. Not even on first blush. These boutique fuses seem to address the failings of cheap fuses by a more robust construction with attention paid to the rigors a fuse goes through when doing it's job, simple as it's been made to believe.
The only argument I see is how much of your hard earned cash are you ready to part with for the improvement. I've wasted more money on CD's that I ended up not liking than what would be needed to buy some SR Black fuses. I know the improvements made in my system with some old HiFi Tuning Silver fuses but I'm still on the fence as to amount of improvement I'd get with SR Blacks for the price they charge. That's my only concern since I know fuses matter.
If metallurgy is important in cable terminations, let alone wiring, then why not fuses? I just got so big an improvement with my speaker cables going from copper spades to rhodium over beryllium bananas on the amp end that it leaves my head wagging in disbelief. Again, why not fuses? Some of these counter arguments are becoming zombie like in their ability to be knocked down, only to come back again and again.
There should be a spin off on TV called The Aurally Dead.
All the best,
Nonoise
