It's definitely wise to periodically unplug cables, polish and clean all of the contact surfaces, insert and release a few times, then run them in for a bit. It costs nothing but a bit of time. This is part of the reason that swapping in new "fancy" cables can sound better; you won't know for sure unless you swap the previous ones back in after some extended listening.
Very true. Metal surfaces (unless they've been sputtered clean in ultra-high vacuum and kept in UHV) are covered with layers of oxides, sulfides, and other solid compounds. On top of these compounds there are films of adsorbed gases and hydrocarbons. Without these surface layers, the mating surfaces could bond more strongly. When you remove and replug (or just twist) connections(even without cleaning) you are "temporarily, busting through a lot of this crud" and forming metallic bonds until some of crud reforms. But better to clean as well of course.
I clean up all connections every 6 months. Including the fuses. It's important to toggle the main breaker for your systems to. Lots of junk in those breakers.
I would like to describe my experience. My opinion is that its works. I only dealt with one audiofile fuse (£20 aprox). but I also made custom ones for experimentation purposes. in fact, these were ordinary jumpers in the form of a fuse. you can disassemble any glass fuse yourself and solder any wire there to check. I tried inserting jumpers of various expensive power and speaker cords wires (pieces). I can't say why, but they made very huge changes in the sound presentation, just like any other good audio wire. but the branded audiophile fuse still sounded best (and this is not self-hypnosis, unfortunately). on the digital source in my case this did not give much result, but it greatly elevated my amplifier. it was very noticeable.
Be careful about jumping out a fuse. Myself I have also soldered wire in place of a fuse. But I did find out that a good audiophile fuses worked much nicer. I'm still using the SR purple fuses in all my gear. Maybe one day I will try the SR Master fuse in my dac.
I'm talking about the fuses in dacs, CDT and amps. I'm sure that they would work for fuses in a speaker system also.
If I had the skills (and I don't) I would make sure that I had enough disposable cash (I don't) to purchase a new system (amplifier, preamp, DAC and so on) before I played around or built my own fuses. My system is rather rare so there's no hope in Hades that I'd do it!
I wouldn't even have a idea how to build a fuse either. But there are many different kinds of audiophile fuses to try out. Installing one of them in older gear is a way to enhance them.
Confirmation bias and subjective listening tests often mislead people. Let's address this logically. If the fuse had a marked influence on the sound, the cabling would also have an even greater influence on the sound, including the internal wiring inside of the amp and speaker. The wiring inside of a component is frequently of a lighter gauge than the speaker cable owing to the necessity of keeping wiring impedance minimized on long spans. Frequency-dependent impedance variations in the speaker load can measurably and audibly affect the frequency response from a speaker because of the frequency-dependent loss in the wiring span. Heavier gauge wire addresses but never eliminates this issue completely, even if it is reduced below the threshold of hearing. No such audible influence has ever been demonstrated from fuses with A/B/X listening tests. It is difficult even to distinguish an audible difference between amps that are operating within their specified limits using objective listening tests through appropriate automation to disguise the identity of the active device from the listener. Sighted listening tests are essentially worthless.
So what's your point really? Are you saying these folks aren't hearing what they say they're hearing? If that's what you're saying, you're wasting your time. The folks who are making these claims couldn't care less what the logical science types say. BTW, I agree 100% with your post. There's no way in hell any proper fuse affects what is fed to the speakers. But...
I believe there are people that can hear a difference, I am not one of those people. I'm also not a person that is going to use my understanding of science to tell other people what they can or can't hear. I can only know what I can hear. If history and science has taught us anything it's that everything that can be known is not known and as time moves forward we will know more than we do now. In 1633 Galileo was sentenced to house arrest for saying the earth revolved around the sun. The most academic, powerful and intelligent people of that time were positive he was wrong and were super pissed about it. I'm open to the idea my understanding of fuses could be proven false in another 400 years. When it doubt, try it and find out. They only "proof" that is worth a damn is what you can hear, or can't.
I can hear the difference. I am a strong advocate of aftermarket fuses. I can hear the difference and I'm also a strong advocate of different speaker cables and equipment support. Over some time I have heard the difference these things can make in my own system and the system of others. Some positive, some not so good. I am a bit lost as to why those that believe the humble fuse makes a difference can attract so many naysayers. There are many open and honest discussions around speaker cables, IC cables, supports etc but mention a fuse.....oh dear. I have never had a compulsion to dissect to the nth degree why these things make a difference although I respect those that do. I just try it at home, at dealers and if it's better and I can afford it, I buy it. Pretty simple. I started reading this thread hoping to share my experiences of fuses with like minded people so it would be great to hear from them as requested by the OP.
It’s simple actually. Because in double-blind tests no one can reliably identify the difference of such products. The only time they have a measurable/audible impact is when the allegedly superior product is poorly designed, such as an interconnect cable that lacks shielding, or a power cable with a cold solder joint at one of its terminations. That is actually quite common though, because many of these boutique manufacturers have no formal electrical training/background. That, and from what I’ve seen, they often employ poorly trained workers who can’t solder or crimp worth a $#!+. So often times that boutique interconnect or speaker cable you’re convinced is bringing an improvement is actually causing increased distortion due to an inferior termination. And perhaps the most ironic factor of such products, is that the bottlenecks in the vast majority of audiophile systems are the inherent limitations of the speakers (especially the drivers) and components. For example, an amp with a poorly shielded transformer radiating EMI to a level that would most certainly mask any potential improvement brought on by a fuse or power cord. That so many audiophiles are using $500 speaker cables with $2K/pair speakers is absolutely hilarious to me. It’s like, dude, you’d get more out of flushing wax from your ears or drinking one fewer beers while enjoying your tunes.
I guess this is the reason why I have never posted on this kind of forum. I hoped to get a positive interaction and ended up with the previous post. I really don't want to fall into the trap of tit for tat. I am clearly no expert on technical matters and therefore an easy target but I do have a push back. I and others I know have actually reliably identified the difference in such products in double-blind testing. Please don't make sweeping assumptions. Not sure how the crimping habits of allegedly poorly trained workers proves that fuses make no difference to the sound of a component. I am also teetotal. Anyone with experience of using aftermarket fuses and whether they thought it was worth the price?
You shouldn't be disappointed with an honest answer my friend...save the money for a genuine improvement
Expensive and a **** load of money gone if you blow one. Fuses are a consumable item. Now if someone produced an audiophile fuse for a few pounds I would try one. A better solution is to do away with fuses and use schuko plugs with one fused 3 pin to a multi way schuko socket, or a dedicated radial rather than ring (UK) with appropriate breaker. Do not replace a fuse with a bar or wire if plugged directly into a ring main.
Fuses are the one thing I won’t experiment with. The whole audiophile fuse thing started with Synergistic Research, enough said.
Please do not circumvent proper certified fuses or fuse wire with, coinage, nails, paper clips etc as you will invalidate your house insurance and could well burn it down. Any equipment will have an internal fuse so an uprated external fuse wouldn't be doing much.
Well, thats not true. Audio quality or just better sounding fuses have been around for a long time. Manufacturers have used them for a while too. A number of the components Ive have to owned have come with higher grade, better sounding fuses so they think it's better. And there are other ways besides a fuse to protect a component, my Denafrips doesn't have fuses. And "...enough said" over Synergistic Research? You obviously never heard anything made by them. anyhow, just saying thats not true. Synergistic Research didn't start the "fuse thing"
