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
If fuses blow, then there is a flaw in the component or in the design.
Upgraded fuses will blow when called upon.I speak from experience.
I also speak from experience that solid wire in place of a fuse never did any harm to any amp, tube or solid state or speaker that I used it in, but... I don't suggest anyone do this.And you don't have to anymore to get better sound.

I bypassed stock fuses with wire in the follwing-Mission 770, CLS11Z,Nads,Classe DR 8's, Michelson and Austin TVA 10,RGR amp and pre amp,Magnepans,Blue Circle monos,various Brit integrateds and el 34 tube based amps,in fact almost every amp or speaker I've owned from the early 80's on to the day I switched to upgraded fuses.

I know I was walking on thin ice, my friends would always flinch when I'd fire up the system keeping a close eye on the nearest exit.

Nothing ever happened.Perhaps I was lucky,or just that the gear was in good shape.
Had any of the gear been shoddy I would not have been so lucky.

But I don't have to tempt fate anymore.

The upgraded fuses that I have experience with sound better than the stock fuses, come close to using no fuse, but give me all the SAME (I've blown then in wrong placement)protection a cheap one buck wonder does.

I find it very interesting that some manufacturers place so much faith in the simple cheap stock fuse.

There are other ways to provide thermal protection without using these cheap fuses.
Some high quality amps go this alternate route, but you pay for it.Using cheap stock fuses saves money.

I would be a bit suspect of any pricey power amp that still uses the cheap stock fuses.
If they cut corners here looking to save a buck, wherelse are they compromising quality for profit margins?

I remember one manufacturer of pro PA speakers that used a good old light bulb inside his cabinet to soak up any power overloads before they destroyed the driver.

Cheap off the shelf fuses weren't in his design notebook, although I am sure others use them in the same application.

I agree that where you apply the upgraded fuse to get the most for your investment is at the IEC inlet, or main power fuse.

If Maggie owners can be trusted when they say that replacing the stock fuse,or bypassing it altogether and hardwiring, makes their speakers sound better,and Peter Aczel, the great audio myth buster,denounced the sound degradation of fuses,some 40 years ago,then there must be more than snake oil involved.

In fact 40 years ago,I can't recall too much of anything being called snake oil except for those fancy high priced alternatives to good old tried and tested 18 guage zip cord.

Yes siree, 18 guage zip cord,does the job, doesn't blow up my amp and makes me feel proud about not spending any more than a few cents a foot for it.

Some things never change.

But I am glad I have.
I was thinking some more about the need to replace old fuse holders when you use upgraded fuses.

If you follow that logic, then you should replace the RCA's on your amp,pre etc when you switch interconnects, replace the binding posts when you change speaker wires and replace all tube sockets when you swap out or replace tubes.

In the grand scheme of things and going the extra mile I would agree to this also, and I have replaced all the stock connections in my rig from the panel to the connectors on the gear.

It does make a difference.

So if I ever come across upgraded fuse holders that are compatible with my amps I will do it.
Mapman wrote,

"GEoff, I was expecting a refute or at least denial of my "charlatan" comment, not insults directed towards a chair."

My bad. I thought you called me a harlequin.
Mitch2, The bottom line: if someone is overly suspicious or not competent changing fuses and or insuring proper fuse direction he should probably not get into the whole fuse thing. On the other hand, if someone can't hear the effect of aftermarket fuses or fuse directionality, that's a different issue, and it might "point" to a larger problem. It's sometimes difficult to generalize about these things. For example one reason someone might not hear differences between a stock fuse and a HiFi Fuse is that they were both inserted in the wrong direction.
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