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Streamers and their Fuses

I purchased the Aurender W20SE back in August and ran it on the stock 5 cent generic 2 amp 5mmx20mm slow burn fuse in it’s FURUTECH FI-03 Rhodium plated IEC Inlet. It sounds amazing in stock form the last 3 months… But 3 weeks ago I decided to upgrade the fuse in the W20SE to the Magic Audio Masterpiece M-1. The difference is not subtle. It feels like the potential of the streamer is unlocked, the detail, clarity and richness of tonal transparency is entirely transformed. My goal in HiFi is always holographic imaging of accurate instrument separation, this was improved as well. It is such a startling discovery I cannot listen to my Jay’s Audio MK3-CDT3 CD transport anymore, whereas before the fuse upgrade the CD transport was clearly the higher quality sound reproduction.

 

Anyone else experienced shocking results from upgrading their streamer’s fuse? I’d love to hear your feedback. All I can say is after burning this Audio Magic m-1 masterpiece in for a week it’s the only fuse I’ll put in my HiFi gear from now on. The purple fuse from Synergistic Research was my previous go to, but the audio magic m-1 is far superior in every possible way imho. 😉

brandonhifi
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,800 posts
 

@brandonhifi 

Just looked at your system, loved the attention to detail! A system like yours can greatly benefit from an external clock. IME, you can simultaneously elevate the performance of both MK3-CDT3 and W20SE. You may think the internal OCXO clocks are more than adequate but you have not realize the true potential of aforementioned components until you heard them with an external clock. There is a reason both of these components are equipped with external clock inputs! 

brandonhifi's avatar
brandonhifi OP
71 posts
 

@lalitk 

Agreed. What external clock do you recommend please?

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,979 posts
 

How can you have the best hifi and not also have the best fuse?  Makes no sense. You lose points if the fuse ain’t special.  That’s just how these things work 

4afsanakhan
140 posts
 

Hi Brandonhifi, 

Of course I am just kidding. All respect for those that pursue the last bit of performance. I myself cannot deny that I am somewhat similarly afflicted. For example, I didn’t take the idea of network switches in a streaming system seriously, then perceived a small but noticeable improvement when channeling the ethernet stream through a Cisco switch, which is now part of the system. With respect to fuses; too many enthusiasts swear by hifi fuses for any audiophile to not take seriously  the upgrade of fuses as a possible improvement in sonic performance. I do have a Pioneer BDP-09fd that has a hifi fuse as well as other tweaks (The previous owner installed these upgrades). It sounds marvelous.

ddrave44
148 posts
 

BrandonHiFi- Good to hear that you were able to upgrade your system at relatively low additional cost. I was a big skeptic on fuses (and power cords) until I heard the differences that they make too!

The improvement from stock fuse to SR Purple in my Rossini DAC was substantial (after I turned it around and gave it a few hours to break in). Allowed for a fuller and smoother presentation. 

I've been using SR fuses across my system with very pleasing results. Only the amp is using Audio Magic Ultimate Premiers which were also a great upgrade.

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