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Question about suitable fuse metals

I've been wanting to experiment with audiophile fuses for a while but the cost and the concern of blowing one of these costly fuses has kept me from purchasing.  However, I read that solid slugs actually sound better than fuses and cost WAY less, so I purchased a 6" rod of 99.99 copper and, because I wasn't really thinking, also purchased another 6" rod of titanium.  I guess I was thinking of rhodium, palladium, or platinum, not titanium.   I had these cut down to 20mm and, so far have tried them in my amp, a Red Dragon S500, and my DAC, the Bel Canto 2.8, which I run direct without a preamp.   The titanium slug sounds pretty darn good in the DAC, noticeably better than the copper. I tried one in the amp as well and that combo did not work well at all.  The amp is doing better with the copper slug.  I looked up the electrical conductivity of titanium and found it is a rather poor conductor.  Is there any risk to the DAC using the titanium slug, given the poor electrial conductivity?  Thanks for any relevant input.

lcherepkai
imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,123 posts
 

I’m just wondering if using such a poor conductor as titanium could be a problem in itself. That’s the question please.

Use a non-contact digital infrared laser thermometer gun to check the temperature of the titanium slug while playing music for at least an hour. Put the case cover back on and continue playing music for an hour, then check the temperature again to make sure the reading is not higher than the previous reading.

By the way, test your system with this video to see how your system performs, it will also tell you how good your hearing is.😉

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-iCZElJ8m0

lcherepkai OP
277 posts
 

imhififan:  I don't own a non-contact digital infrared laser thermometer gun but I have a construction buddy and will check with him.  That's good advice..  Thank you.

 

erik_squires
15,750 posts
 

What fuse holder are you using that lets you substitute a 6" solid slug?

At this point the only thing it sounds like you are doing is tweaking the voltage across the DAC. You’d be safer / better off with a variable voltage supply, but seriously we are deep in the flat earth / Mad Mike Hughes territory of experimentation.

Get yourself a safer hobby, like making headphone cables.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Hughes_(daredevil)

 

lcherepkai OP
277 posts
 

I bought 6" x 3/16" copper and titanium rods and had the local cnc shop cut them to 20mm lengths. And since I've only blown a couple fuses in 30+ yrs and have everything plugged into a Equi-core 1800, I'm really not all concerned. 

fpomposo
47 posts
 

I'd say wait for a sale and bite the bullet for some Synergistic Research fuses... I thought they would be a bunch of BS but holy smokes they are awesome... I started with one Orange in my amp just to see if it was worth it, not to long until I did the other two in my amp, then one in my DAC but a purple this time, and another purple in my Aurender streamer..

Not sure what snake oil crap is in them but they really really add smoothness, warmth, analog sounding... I think VH audio has sales like 2 for 1 sometimes

 

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