2. tech-talk
  3. 131262-68132

Why don't amplifier Companies use high end fuses?

My equipment - Raven Integrated Reflection MK2 tube amp 58wpc. / Lumin A-1 DAC Streamer / Synology NAS / Isotex Aquarius Power Conditioner / Furutech Rhodium Plug / Sonus Faber Amati Homage Tradition speakers.  

I have read thousands of comments on upgraded fuses improving the performance of sound.  I am very open minded but not sold either way.  So, the question I have is....if fuses were so important, than why don't Amplifier companies all install them as OEM equipment?  To me, if they are as good as people say, that would provide companies who use them a competitive advantage?  

Every High End Audio store I go to in Phoenix have told me it does not make a difference and is a waste of money.  For the record, I have fuses purchased at an automotive store for under $10 and I think my sound is awesome.  The Company that built my amp tested the Synergistic Fuses and he emphatically said there was no difference.  

If I were to try a fuse for fun, given my equipment, what would your recommendation be to try?  
willgolf
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,226 posts
 
The same people who posit that removing a fuse and replacing it also say that rotating the fuse in it’s holder can achieve the same result.

Did anyone double blind that doosey of a claim?

Think about it. From head on, a fuse is officially round. The fuse holder arms are shaped one way only. How could rotating it extract a more significant hold on the fuse? If it could, it would be of such an insignificant amount as to amount to none at all. We’re talking many places to the right of .0 and I’m almost certain it would be a much greater difference than what is measured when fuse direction is changed.

And yet, we are told to believe that that is more believable than changing direction.

All the best,
Nonoise
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,836 posts
 
@nonoise  I could be mistaken but I believe the argument made by fuse skeptics has been that merely the process of removing one fuse and inserting another is, through the friction involved in that action, removing oxidation from the fuse holder giving the reinserted fuse a cleaner connection to the holder and thus a perceived improvement in sound.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,226 posts
 
@hifiman5 
Yes, I was aware of that but that argument (which has it's own fallacies) usually comes with it's partner: rotating the fuse.

As to the claim that some microscopic piece of junk will impact a change of sound in a place where they also claim it's impossible to have a change of sound gives me pause. It's a prefect example of "whataboutism".

If that is so, then why don't I hear the same level of improvement when taking out and reinserting speaker cables and interconnects? I do hear a very slight improvement when I clean them but it is in no way of the level of improvement heard when dealing with aftermarket fuses. 

I appreciate the clarification though. 👍

All the best,
Nonoise
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,927 posts
 
Hifiman yes that is often the case and I can attest to the fact that it can make things sound better having encountered it many times working on customer gear. In fact. When a customer brought an amp in for service complaining about bad sound, we always first tried to reset the fuse before sending the unit out for repair. In many cases doing that resolved the issue and proved that it can happen.

We also experimented with replacing fast blow fuses with slo blo and found that could make a difference too. Of course we never actually left a slo blo in when a fast blo was required.


These were all standard issue fuses commonly used in hifi gear of the day.   Nothing fancy required. 


nonoise's avatar
nonoise
11,226 posts
 
Do you think it was due to the cheap tin alloy of the end caps in the standard fuses you encountered? Also, what grade of fuse holder?

The ones in my Marantz Reference series gear are high quality silver plated and so are the aftermarket fuses I use and I've never encountered such a thing. I guess you get what you pay for.

All the best,
Nonoise
More to discover