fuses - the $39 ones or the 85 cent ones

>>Experiences are mine and should be considered suspect<<

Very suspect indeed.

Dave_b

I think you buttoned it up nicely... Same experience I found in the end, it was at first something different, but could not point toward what exactly until you switch back to the old fuses a few hours later and realize the loss of sharper focus on everything.. And same thing with me and the direction of these things, however not sure its good advice to say that the arrow should point toward the component, this could simply just be coincidence in your components IEC being wired with the output of the power coming in from the IEC being connected to the outer end of the fuse holder, but in many components the fuse holder itself could be wired the other direction which makes on difference..

You could test it by removing the fuses and hooking up a multimeter to check for which end gets continuity from the IEC so you can figure out the actual component direction, however for most I am sure its just easier to pop them in and note if you can hear anything one way or the other, a bit of a pain in the A$$ for sure :-)

This is great.
First, I don't care which is better, the cheapo or the Hi-Digit fuse. 39$ is quite a pop.
I would, however, like to see where people can just tell the difference when they don't know what is installed. That's all. Just tell the difference. We can argue about weird science and which setup is better, later.
I don't know....do fuses go to the Hot side or Neutral side?

All the fuse-folks are saying 'of course I can tell...what a Maroon.' But CAN you?

For all those who feel compelled to take a meter to there systems innerds, PLEASE unplug first and let it sit for a while for the caps to discharge. I don't want to read about this in the paper.

Dave_b.....more power to 'ya. Enjoy.

"Having the fuses in backwards causes the highs to become shrill, forward and hard sounding, bass lacks focus and instruments seem a bit out of sync in relationship to each other. The stock fuses are less dynamic, less transparent, do not image as well and seem to add a bit more distortion." That sounds pretty significant. Do try Magfan's test and see if you can tell. I tried this "blind" approach with the two Hi-fi Tuning fuses in my transport and DAC, and I could not hear it. Now, this argument can, and has gone on forever, but all I can say is try the fuses and have someone make the changes so you don't know which is in. If there was a noticeable difference in bass, dynamics, transparency, etc you should be able to notice it with this approach, and if there is, great, you got a big improvement for very little $$$. If you can't, then stick to the $1 fuses.

If you stand in front of and away from the mirror a hundred times, you will start to see yourself differently.

If you have to squint to hear a difference, then perhaps there is no difference.

Try "Difference & Repetition" by Gilles Deleuze. It might help.