Fuses fuses fuses

Sidebar: How small can something be and still make a noticeable improvement? I gather most objections to the proposition that fuses can’t make a difference and that fuses can’t be directional have to do with the idea that fuses are just too small to make any significant difference. The fuse size is too small, the wire is too small. Which leads to my question. How many things can you think of that are very small and yet improve the sound? We can start off with tiny little bowls the diameter of which are around 7/8" or 1" and the PWB Silver Holographic Foil that is a mere 1/8" by 0.75" and Marigo VTS dots that are as small as 1/16" diameter.

Can a fuse sound better than no fuse, as if it was bypassed, and if so, how? Does it somehow filter or organise the electron into a certain orientation?

No.

A fuse has a voltage drop and in the case of fast blow fuses, one that can be pretty variable as current varies through the device. This usually has an adverse effect on the sound if nothing is done in the circuit to deal with the phenomena.

Eliminating it is usually not an option as the equipment can become a shock and fire hazard and may do things like blow up amps and speakers if something goes wrong.

I wrote this just a bit of time ago, on another forum.

This is tied to the fuse issue and who may hear it and who may not. Complexity of systems and how they are assembled, etc can all play into this. Pay particular attention to the last two bits. It is a notable part of the disconnect point in these discussions:

A note from someone who has done many versions of many systems:

Perfect dynamic and level matching of passive and active can be a pain. All active or all passive tends to be the best ’match’ in seamless cohesion, where the bass does not sound disconnected to the given upper main box or transducer.

Powered subs in a set of mains always seems like a good idea, until you hear the dynamic contrasting disconnect. Dynamic contrasting or dynamic linearity (oxymoronic, but hey...) of passive and active are different from one another. Once heard or realized...then it’s over, forever, as you will forever after hear it in...pretty well - all of them.

Home theater, who cares, seamless is a unobtainable dream for most in those scenarios, and it seems the design is for bass emphasis anyway... but in two channel home audio, it can be laid bare, after a time.

We can lie to ourselves as that is literally the design of the ear, in one of it’s capacities...which is to do a form of ’fill in’ work. It has to do with how we decipher spoken word, in real time. Not really a lie to the brain but a form of sped up word deciphering via ’pre-load’ of a word upon hearing the initial aspects of it... and we can overlay that capacity on our musical note analysis.

This is the break point between people who analyze audio signals with their ears (essentially --- learn new languages) and people who mask and pre-load....who call it all snake oil and lies.

almarg
Geoff, regarding your question just above, in one of my posts here yesterday I had quoted the following statement I made in an earlier fuse-related discussion:

... all or nearly all of the directional differences in resistance were vastly smaller than 5%, with the exception of the "standard glass fuse."

However, note that what the paper says is "the difference is in the range of 5%," not "generally around 5%." Differences that are "vastly smaller than 5%" are WITHin the range of 5%. So their statement is arguably accurate, although highly misleading.

Regards,
-- Al

Are you pulling my leg, Al? In the range of 5% means exactly the same thing as generally around 5%. Therefore, their statement is not accurate at all. In fact, as I already pointed out, ALL measured differences were about an order of magnitude less than 5%. NONE were anywhere near 5% so YOUR INTERPRETATION MAKES NO SENSE. If things were as you say then they could have said "in the range of of 10%%, fortifying their argument. Apparently I was correct, you never read the HiFi Tuning data sheets carefully. Oh, well....

What’s bizarre, funny and ironic all at the same time is that you would pick an argument on this point since, you know, it kind of supports your position, not mine. Hel-loo! 😀

If the glove doesn’t fit you must acquit.

have a nice day