Should we upgrade high end fuses?

And let us not forget there is indeed a 4th audiophile fuse to consider: the Xindak silver fuse, made with pure 4N silver. Here is the website: http://www.xindak.com/english/products/showditail.asp?id=240

I have no further information on this particular fuse.

What I would really like to know is: which is best between the 4 types of audiophile fuses discussed here?

A simple possible answer from a scientific and even testable hypothese would be that:
Given that different metals have different electrical characteristics.
Given that changing anything in a chain will likely effect the whole chain for better or for worse
Then changing a fuse to one with better demonstrable electrical characteristics should result in something sounding smoother, flowing easier, less congested simply because moving through silver, gold, ceramic is a better medium for electrical signal transfers than through brass, pot metal, glass etc.
I am sure someone could set up an A/B system both showing minor electrical changes, less or more resistence in the chain at either point of the fuse and minor differences in drop across it in either voltage, more likely or amperage.
Just some quick thoughts. Being able to come up with a possible test and some measurements is no guarantee that what any test shows, even if duplicated exactly, would be accepted as proof of anything other than this test produces these results.

Nevertheless this makes me think that there should be some physical basis for what some are hearing and it may be patially based on the electrical physisc of the fuse and part on the resolution quality of the system.
Just some thoughts others may think differently but thanks for the thread it has helped to make my mind up for me to at least try a couple and see where it leads

I do believe Dopogue and others when they say there is an audible difference. But from what I know about electronics, it shouldnt make a difference. 120 Volts AC comes thru the fuse/power switch/power transformer primary circuit, and through a magnetic field only (no other direct electrical connection) to the transformer secondary, which has fewer(more) turns of wire (usually fewer for solid state-sometimes more for tube gear).
The secondary is connected to diodes which convert it to varying DC. This is then filtered with capacitors to smooth out ripples and then there is a voltage regulator to make sure that the DC voltage stays the same. This DC voltage is then used to power all the transistors/tubes/IC's etc.

My point is, after all this processing the voltage is transformed from 120V ac (which is really 340 Volts when measured on an oscilloscope) down to, say, 12 Volts DC. There is plenty of power (usually about 1875 Watts) available from the plug end, but maybe the component only uses 35 watts. So theres plenty of 'push' if needed.

Fuse materials: Silver is the best conductor of all metals, Gold is less so, but unlike silver won't corrode (unless you put cyanide on it ;) ) Cheap fuses use (I think) Chrome-plated steel. Poorer conductors will cause more resistance, hence more voltage lost in the fuses internal resistance. BUT the difference in resistance between a gold-ended fuse and a chrome one is infintesimal. So you would get 120 Volts on the component side with a gold fuse, you may get 119.999 Volts with a chrome plated one.

So logically speaking, you would say it makes no difference. But if you have heard the difference with your own ears, then I cannot argue with that (and I am not). I am just pointing out that it don't SEEM like it would matter even though it does.

Also the above tech info can be applied to Power Cords as well. The energy loss in a cheap 20 cent Chinese power cord should be not much different than an expensive audiophile cord. But I know that there are just too many 'Goners here that swear that there IS a difference.

I believe them. It just don't "compute".

Joeylawn3611
I agree it just does not compute BUT just like you give 6 cooks a dozen eggs some butter a little flour the same utensils and viola you get six different cakes. They may not even taste close to each other but they all have the same ingredients and have used the same ovens, and utensils. How is that possible? It just is and so it is likely to be with fuses and anything else someone can cook up as it were. I know this doesn't answer the question but it was the best analogy I could think of.

Good point, Uru.