150$ fuse drive me crazy

I had experience with other high end fuse like Hifi tuning fuse before which cost me around 40$.

They worked with some slight sonic improvement of mid range and refined details.

Before ordering Synergistic Research Blue fuse, I thought 150$ was too much for tiny fuse.

But on the 30 day's return condition, I placed an order this Monday and it arrived this afternoon.


I intend to return it unless it make substantial improvement over 40$ Hifi tuning fuse.

But just after inserting the Blue fuse to Line Magnetic 508, the sound change drastically.

It is like magic with more rounded mid, refined treble and fast rhythm out of my system.



Now I am wondering how 150$ fuse makes so much improvement over my 100K system (new purchase price, 50K speakers, 12k Digital Equalizer, 9K DAC and more than 20k $ of cables).


18 years ago, dealer let me home audition 1.5K$ Synergistic Research power cable.

I put it to DCS Elgar DAC and I could not take it out.

The expensive power cable made already excellent DCS Elgar sound more transparent with heightened details.

1.5K$ 18years is worth more than 3K$ now.

So the power cable was damn expensive but I did not have any other choice than to buy it.


After 18 years, 150$ Synergistic Research fuse drove me crazy.

This time the cost is not that much burden unless I buy more fuses.

 

If it's just been a very short time and you're noticing such a change, I would think it's a combination of several other factors contributing to it. And I'm not a cable/tweak apologist or denier but fuses have always seemed a very tenuous tweak to me. If you feel the same way about this thing in 6 weeks (and maybe see if you can arrange to have someone swap in the old one without you knowing, that might help to confirm what you're hearing), then maybe there is something to it?

 

Is it the 1st of April?

 

My system is very sensitive to any change. But that does not go into right direction all the time.

This time just after inserting the fuses, I noticed drastic change out of it in right direction.

 

Any tweaks can be system dependent.

So it could be April's fool joke on some other people's system.

 

What is the recommended burn in time for this fuse?

 

No burn in time.

It works right away.

Of course, sound can change little bit after that.

They offer 30 day's return with only shipping cost deduction.

If you have sensitive system, you can try this amazing fuse on either amplifier or CD player(DAC).

It is directional.

If you change the direction of fuse relative to box, it's effect is different.

In my system, in one direction it sound warmer and more analog.

In other direction, it sounds more lively and dynamic.

You can choose what you want after trying both direction.

 

Would it not make more sense to try it in the mains plug or the circuit breakers?

 

You may but I am not sure they make that high current fuse or not.

Most people use them at each component although the cost can multiply.

It may act as some kind of filter for electric noise.

Then it makes sense to use it for each component.

Refrigerators or even digital players makes lot of electric noise.

 

Americans don't have fuses inside the plug. The circuit breaker is the only circuit protection (with possibly a GFCI wall outlet used near water) but many devices have an internal or socketed fuse to minimize damages to the internal components in case of fault or power surge.

It would make more sense to install a fuse-shaped bar machined out of copper, or simply bypass the fuse inside, if it were to make such an inconceivable difference to the sound.

 

Never knew that fuses were not fitted in American plugs.Something new every day etc....

 

Bad fuse can have adverse effect but it is not wise to bypass it.

Then there is no protection against inside short.

I think this expensive fuse act as filter of electric noise like EMI.

 

It is also not wise to spend $150 on useless things.

A fuse internally has a small piece of wire across the terminals. The thin wire provides a small resistance and nominal voltage drop, which on low-amperage fuses can be over an ohm. The wire will heat a little during operation, which can be up to 75% of the fuse rating current for a 100% duty cycle device, but the heat will not damage the wire, and the fuse will dissipate as much heat as the power going in after reaching an equilibrium temperature. A fuse at operating current and temperature usually has a higher resistance than when measured at rest.

With overcurrent, the little wire begins to heat up faster than it can dissipate power, eventually damaging the fuse wire from melting and vapor material loss. The protection is not instant - in fact UL tests allow 4 minutes of operation at 200% the current rating before the fuse blows.

There is no "audiophile" way of making a fuse. There are specifications that make the fuse a "fast-blow" or "slow-blow" fuse, by modifying its heat-sinking capability or internal wire profile, or which change its rated amperage with more robust wire. These specifications dictate the resistance and design. There is no other "EMI filtering"; a 1cm length of straight wire in vacuum has a negligible inductance and almost non-existent capacitance, and ideally would have the minimal resistance needed and minimal effect on the circuit.

The wall panel circuit breaker protects the circuit's wire from overheat fire danger. Modern circuit breaker panels also include GFCI protection, which can protect users against shock, detected when the current in the return wire is not the same as what was sent out. The internal device fuse, instead, protects its component from extensive internal damage and magic smoke when the device uses a lower amperage than the circuit breaker. You can be electrocuted with a fused connection, and internal damage can happen in spite of a fuse, so it is only a precaution that many devices omit if they have another weak link that might blow first or if they don't care about repair-ability.

Ask the manufacturer for their UL rating certification. Why can they not provide one? Is it because they are actually just putting a sticker on some other manufacturer's standard fuse?

 

Audio is not exact science. I guess that this fuse is an active filter. If you hear the difference, you take it. Otherwise you may not need it.

 

You are a true audiophile!

But here again we have a thread which pits one's actual perception of improved sound through a most unlikely tweak, against those who haven't heard it armed with "common sense" and scientific measurements (or lack of them) which would suggest the improvement you're hearing is "all in your head". Good luck.

 

100k system and you skimp on an amp?

 

Why no equipment profile? Some of us are curious to learn what your $100K system consists of.

 

The little voice in my head about this subject keeps telling me........I will not take the bait, I will not take the bait, I will not take the bait...............

 

Clearly.

 

Wow, beautiful room! I'm sure the view the other direction is awesome too.

 

But...But...But...It says "Quantum" on it, so it must be science-y 'n'everything...

 

Big caps will keep the music flowing for a number of seconds after pulling the plug out of the wall, so I doubt that the short length of a "tiny filament" of a fuse is going to do a frickin' thing to interfere with my enjoyment of the music. My Levinson would play for a amazingly long time after shutting off the power.

 

Probably the same way their relabeled Chinese wall-warts work :



Archimago's Musings: MEASUREMENTS: Power Cable Redux. The Synergistic Research Tesla T2 SE, T3 SE and PowerCell 4.

 

Yea, but that is a very pretty sticker. I can see it adding a cool 100 to 125 bucks to the selling price. They did add a few cents worth of shielding to the cable. That cant hurt things.