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Hi-Fi Fuses - SNAKE OIL? - or something in it?

There's a lot of chatter about the benefits of those high prices gold plated fuses with silver conductor etc. etc. all over the web and the consensus ranges from FANTASTIC!!! to much more subtle observations.

It makes sense to me, epseically in light of spending lots of $$$ on good power cables, that having a skinny piece of aluminum conductor in a glass tube (i.e. a cheap fuse), in the power loop would be detrimental to the performance of the components.

I decided to revamp my DIY power supply I'd built for the Cambridge Audio 640p phono stage and DACmagic in order to test this out - and since it's a DIY project there is no UL Certification to void.

First, I bypassed the fuse link completely to confirm there would be an improvement and give me the best benchmark to compare against - YEP - BIG DIFFERENCE - much more this, that and the other :-)

So then I started looking for hi-fi fuses - WOW!!! - talk about pricey.

Two fuses for the power supply was going to cost $120+ AND I thought I'd probably have to buy a better quality fuse block to make the most of those fuses.

Then a moment of enlightenment - most power supplies and conditioners are protected by pushbutton breakers and not fuses.

I found breakers of the required current rating and installed them into the power supply. I imediately noticed that there was no deteriation in fidelity when compared to the same unit with the fuse link bypassed - GREAT!.

On reflection, the fuses I had in place were rated at 3 amps - so they use a pretty thin fuse wire in them. If I had used a fuse of a higher rating, i.e. it uses a thicker conductor, then I believe that there would be less of a difference between the fused and bypassed implementations

SO - do the expensive fuses work?

Well the empirical evidence out there would suggest they do
- I do know the cheap fuses are not good!

I know bypassing them does improve the sound - a lot in my case
- BUT THAT'S NOT SAFE FOR ONGOING USE

I know breakers work as good as bypassing the fuse
- BUT MESSING WITH A POWER SUPPLY VOIDS UL CERTIFICATION - NOT GOOD!
- FYI a couple of licensed technicians I know WILL NOT change the design of a power supply at all.

I believe the amount of benefit is related to the fuse rating
- but don't go replacing 3 amp fuses with a 20 amp fuse - that's not safe either.

Whilst looking for fuses I discovered AMR Gold fuses priced at $20/fuse.

Now that's definately more affordable than most others at 3-4 times their price.

One supplier I know of in the US is Avatar Aacoustics

If you have had experience with quality fuses please share - especially if they are "modestly priced" i.e. $20-$30 per fuse. And please provide a source :-)

Also, can anypne confirm that Slow blow fuses are better than regular?

And Remember - IF YOU AIN'T LICENCED - GET A TECHNICIAN!

Many Thanks
williewonka
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,200 posts
 
Willie,

Congrats on a very well thought out and practical approach for exploring these waters!

My only question would be why is it that a more expensive fuse is needed to do better over what you started with? There may be some other very well constructed generall purpose fuses available that are NOT marketed to audiophiles that might also do a better job. They might be a better design or perhaps just be in better condition to start than what you have. If it were me, I would want to know how a good say $10 fuse works in comparison to the benchmark of no fuse you tried before dropping the big bucks on an "audiophile" fuse. Unless the money does not matter?

Just saying....
williewonka OP
3,075 posts
 
Mapman...
My only question would be why is it that a more expensive fuse is needed to do better over what you started with? There may be some other very well constructed generall purpose fuses available that are NOT marketed to audiophiles that might also do a better job

You are absolutely correct - my problem was , looking at a little glass tube with caps on the end, how does one know if it will do better? - how many brands at $10/fuse does one try?

I went with breakers as an experiment to see if it would perform well - they did - so I thought I'd post my findings ( more for the DIYers out there) and at the same time request others feedback on their experience with fuses.

If you know of a $10 fuse you've has success with, that performs well, please post the brand here - I know I, and all the other members would appreciate having this info.

I for one would much rather spend $10/ fuse over $20/fuse - providing it performs well.

Many thanks.
williewonka OP
3,075 posts
 
Krell_man and Roxy54 - I have also found that good outlets make for MUCH better performance!

I use Pass and Seymour MRI grade outlets at $26/outlet - used for ancillary equipment in MRI installations

I don't know how they compare with the Afterburner, but they grip like a vice and use very high quality non-ferrous materials.

Don't think they want the MRI ripping the things out of the wall due to impurities :-)

They work extremely well!

So many products - so little cash/time :-)
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,986 posts
 
Willewonka,
Yes, I have found that although the fuses make a small positive difference, the wall outlet made an amazing difference. I am so convinced, that today, even though I can barely afford it, I ordered a Cablepro Revelation power strip, because I know now that my $10 cheapie must be holding back my system like my generic outlet was. I just can't state it strongly enough...get a high quality wall outlet, and you will not regret it. If you do regret it, call me a jerk.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,200 posts
 
No doubt make sure the power is good first. Then worry about fuses later if one must, once the rest of the major items in the house is in order. Unless one notices a problem with the sound that might be traceable to a bad fuse perhaps. Personally, I loose no sleep over fuses once things are tuned in well and to my satisfaction, but hey a tweak is a tweak. Jusr make sure the primary fuse function (protecting the gear from power surges) is in place properly as well.

Also, for some real entertainment, check out the fuse chip thread that has been actively going on here for awhile. Those guys, being worked into a frenzy by the king of sci fi tweaks, GEoffkait, have come up with some real creative places to stick their fuse chips despite it seeming that noone there seems to know how the darn things work :^)
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