I posted much of this information on another audio website (audioreview.com) and got a few surprisingly nasty responses. I don't get such resonses here, and don't expect to, but here goes:

I had installed two "Hi-Fi Tuning" fuses in each of my Dahlqusit DQ-10's quite a while back, and was quite impressed with the improvements they made in the speakers. At $40 per fuse, they were certainly pricey for fuses, but at a total of $160 for a noteworthy sonic upgrade of my speakers, it was well worth the money.

I just plopped down $200 for five more of these fuses, only this time to replace the five fuses in my Adcom GFA-5800 amplifier. The fuses were primarily designed to be used in electronic equipment, and not speakers, so I thought I'd give them a try to see if they actually made any difference.

Well, not only do they make a difference, but the difference, while not huge, is certainly noteworthy. My system now sounds a good deal more open, with more "air" around instruments, and has far better delineation of instruments and voices than ever before. On some discs, where there was a single, homogenous sound of voices, orchestra, and soloists, I am now able to discern just about each and every different voice and instrument where I couldn't do that before. Overall, the sytem has all new "life" and dynamics, almost as if I switched out the amp for a "new & improved" model.

While some discs sound significantly better, others are only marginally improved, but that which is important is that everything sounds better, and that, for whatever reason, these little babies really do work!

I have been criticized for believing that there is a difference, only because I paid $200 and fell that there has to be a difference since I spent that much money. My response to that is, "Nonsense." I am not the only one who hears a difference when using these fuses. My wife noticed a very significant difference, particularly in the separation of individual sounds from the aforementioned "homogenous" sound of certain recordings. Stereophile also has reviewed the fuses very favorably, admitting they were doubtful at first, and list them now as a "Recommended Component."

They are on sale for $35 at just about any online retailer who sells them, and I'd like to strongly recommend to anyone reading this to give them a try in your amplifier/preamp/speakers, etc. and then just sit back and marvel at how much of a difference just a fuse can make.

Since "no fuse" is the "best fuse" ...i do believe that a better fuse that can handle with less fatigue all the electric current variations can make some improvement in an audio system. REmember that in some amps are current peaks of 50A or more...
I'd change most of my glass fuses to ceramic-body fuses and realized some improvements also. I'm firm believer that in some audio systems - not the entry level ones, of course - everything you do to upgrade it, matters. IMo, even concerning jitter, the better/stable your ac current the better is the final result - music. Every electronic circuit, like the D/A clock has a voltage source to power it. If for some reason that voltage changes it slightly - i.e. because of a lousy fuse - in value once every millisecond, the clock accuracy will change once every 1/1000 of a second increasing jitter. Some guys are quick to point that these differences are too small to matter....But, it is a law of physics that the more power you use, the more you disturb the power supply lines and everything in between...

are these the same fuses Ed?




i've heard stark differences in speaker wire, ic's, amps and cd players. i'm not going to dismiss fuses as some kind snake oil. definitely an inexpensive tweak worth trying.

I'm usually the first one to call something like that crapola.

I also realize that 1/2 degree of timing in an engine may not matter to the daily commuter, but could mean the difference between winning and losing at the drag strip.

Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for my wallet, my hearing is marginal enough that subtle improvements don't affect me that much. In my younger days, I might have appreciated something like that more.

Those are the ones!

Fortunately, while $35 to $40 for a fuse may seem extravagant, it's pocket change when considering the investment as a system upgrade. I can't imagine anything else I could have spent as little as $200 on that made as much difference as these five fuses did.

I guess I could have tried to contact Nelson Pass, who designed the Adcom GFA-5800, for an upgrade, but I seriously doubt such an upgrade would have cost me only $200. Then, I could buy a new amp altogether, and that would cost even more. Overall, $200 is a bargain considering how much more money one would have to spend for the same level of improvement.

emaidel: I must admit I am skeptical. If you are able to do a blind test and your listener can identify which is better, that would back up your subjective result. Typically, better sound results from faster reproduction of the input signal and this can be measured on the scope with a square wave. Have you seen the before and after traces? How about the fuses themselves. Does the ceramic fuse have less resistance than a glass fuse? I presume ceramic fuses are more efficient passing current.

I have no clue why these fuses work, nor do I have the wherewithal to do any form of testing to see just what they're doing to the signal/power within my system. All I know is they work, and that's all that matters to me. Check them out for yourself - it's not a huge investment, and the most you'll be out is $35.

It’s not only because it is better in terms of conductibility vs resistivity - NOT resistance - because the use of better fuse elements- better copper and or silver - but also because ceramic is a less resonance material than glass to hold steady the thin fuse filament.
Plus, after investing substantial $'s in high quality AC power cords, IEC connectors internal AC wiring, better caps in power supply, etc…why minimize their positive effect by having AC power flow thru a component that was never built with sonic performance as a design goal… ?!

Here's something interesting about passive components, like a fuse is:

http://books.google.pt/books?id=OtlKBAcFBQ...result&resnum=7

Forgive my lack of electricity knowledge but I know there must be some metric that determines which fuse is more effective. While I respect emaidel's subjectivity, I've read far too many rabid online reviews on stuff I know to be bad. When buying an unknown, objectivity and a belief that test results have a strong correlation to sound quality are what count in my book. I'll have a look at the link, thanks.

I agree with your optimization approach. It makes no sense to leave bottlenecks anywhere. It also makes no sense to optimize just the fuses and leave everything else alone.

Of course!
BTW, i think you have some answers to some of your question in the link i'd posted.

What's the life expectancy of these fuses?

I have no idea, but those that I installed in my DQ-10's over a year ago are still functioning perfectly. Only time will tell regarding the five in my amp.

Next in line is the replacement of the fuse in my preamp, as well as that in my subwoofer. We'll see what differences, if any, those make.