Audiophile Fuses

[Billinge]

For what it's worth, I updated the fuses and mains leads in my OLED tv, 4k player, pvr and good quality soundbar to SR Orange and the difference is visually very obvious. Sound improvement is also obvious between tv and soundbar connected via nordost blue heaven hdmi. As stated both tv and soundbar have SR Orange fuses. When I changed the fuse in the tv I found it came with a black HiFi Tuning fuse

Perhaps visual effects are more obvious than audible effects?

Also I'm wondering if the effects of fuses are more noticeable in equipment of different price points, high end kit is more analytical but how much capacity is there to improve whereas mid-fi has perhaps more capacity for performance improvement?

After all a cheap fuse is the equivalent of a rusty nail or worse in the ac circuit

 

[highstream]

I don’t have a $40K or $100K piece to check your hypothesis, but I’ve yet to find any component that didn’t benefit from a better fuse, currently Orange, or just sound different (not always for the better). However, while my older (F8000 series) Samsung HDTV has benefited a lot from the Regenerator’s fuse, an AQ HDMI cable, a better power cord and an inline cable TV filter, getting at its own fuse would require pulling the entire back panel.

 

[Billinge]

Thanks for the feedback, appreciated. I agree, each incremental change I made, Nordost Heimdall, Blue Heaven cables, MCRU kit leads, and SR Orange fuses made an improvement but I was amazed at the fuse. I had been running the power lead upgrade since 2018 but didn't really believe the fuse would make a difference (to be honest I had the 'cheap' AMR fuses just to be safe) but since I planned to chop my hard wired tv lead off and replace it I thought I would I would test the fuses as well (3 for 2 offer on the Orange and an included Blue in the kit I bought)

In hindsight seems obvious, the fuse is part of the circuit and corresponding EM field and is prone to noise. I guess AV may generate more and is also more susceptible to noise?

 

[highstream]

I think conceptually what's hard for many people to grasp is that the fuse is not only protection, as we've all been taught, but part of the electrical line between power source and components' power supplies. The line doesn't stop with the power cord's pins.

 

[Willgolf]

For what it's worth, I updated the fuses and mains leads in my OLED tv, 4k player, pvr and good quality soundbar to SR Orange and the difference is visually very obvious. Sound improvement is also obvious between tv and soundbar connected via nordost blue heaven hdmi. As stated both tv and soundbar have SR Orange fuses. When I changed the fuse in the tv I found it came with a black HiFi Tuning fuse

Perhaps visual effects are more obvious than audible effects?

Also I'm wondering if the effects of fuses are more noticeable in equipment of different price points, high end kit is more analytical but how much capacity is there to improve whereas mid-fi has perhaps more capacity for performance improvement?

After all a cheap fuse is the equivalent of a rusty nail or worse in the ac circuit

Where is the fuse in the OLED TV? I have a JVC projector also. I wonder if there is a fuse in the projector. I have not even thought about what fuses can do for a TV.

 

[Billinge]

Where is the fuse in the OLED TV? I have a JVC projector also. I wonder if there is a fuse in the projector. I have not even thought about what fuses can do for a TV.

I'm in the UK so the mains plug has a fuse, I have the service manual, it says there are 8 fuses on the power board but in the picture they don't look like everyday fuses. I'm only changing the plug fuse. I got the service manual as download of 3 pdf files < $20 after a quick google

 

[highstream]

The parts list for I found for my Samsung F8000 shows thermal fuses, none of the type being discussed here.

 

[Hilroy48]

I placed an order for several SR orange fuses for all of my gear, they arrive tomorrow. I am looking forward to trying them.

 

[Sablon Audio]

Purple is the new Orange.

www.synergisticresearch.com/fuses/purple-fuse/

 

[Hilroy48]

Oh good, more colours to choose from. And i see they raised the price. LOLOL.

 

[Willgolf]

Oh good, more colours to choose from. And i see they raised the price. LOLOL.

I replaced all of my SR orange with QSA yellow with imo good results. Now the question is do I replace the QSA yellow with a violet QSA or Purple SR.

 

[Billinge]

I replaced all of my SR orange with QSA yellow with imo good results. Now the question is do I replace the QSA yellow with a violet QSA or Purple SR.

Why did you swap a $155 fuse for a $28 one? What made you think it would be better especially if you have several SR Orange. It's not as though you can sell the SR Orange , who wants a second hand fuse?

 

[highstream]

To add another choice: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/1021/Acme_Audio_Labs_Silver_Cryo_Fuses_Review.htm

The only qualm I have about the review is burn in, 250 hours needed un my experience. However, the author privately said that he thought the Acme’s got up towards there with all the testing. Still, his suggestion to give each Acme 50 hours as a test comparison might not be sufficient.

 

[Willgolf]

Why did you swap a $155 fuse for a $28 one? What made you think it would be better especially if you have several SR Orange. It's not as though you can sell the SR Orange , who wants a second hand fuse?

The QSA Yellow fuse is over $200 not $28. The QSA yellow fuses were definitely better than the SR orange fuses. Better clarity and detail. As an audiophile, I am always looking for ways to improve my system. I went from a SR Black to Blue to orange and now QSA yellow. It's a sunk cost. I don't really care if I can't sell the old fuses. Life is too short for me to worry about that. I just want to enjoy the music.

 

[Hilroy48]

All i know is i am done with tweaks and new gear. I love the sound i have and will dedicate the rest of my life to listening to music.

 

[Billinge]

The QSA Yellow fuse is over $200 not $28. The QSA yellow fuses were definitely better than the SR orange fuses. Better clarity and detail. As an audiophile, I am always looking for ways to improve my system. I went from a SR Black to Blue to orange and now QSA yellow. It's a sunk cost. I don't really care if I can't sell the old fuses. Life is too short for me to worry about that. I just want to enjoy the music.

Ah right, I hadn't heard of them and just did a quick google and saw this https://www.tweekgeek.com/quantum-science-audio/
I have SR orange, hard to imagine something significantly better, my mistake

 

[highstream]

The QSA Yellow fuse is over $200 not $28. The QSA yellow fuses were definitely better than the SR orange fuses. Better clarity and detail. As an audiophile, I am always looking for ways to improve my system. I went from a SR Black to Blue to orange and now QSA yellow. It's a sunk cost. I don't really care if I can't sell the old fuses. Life is too short for me to worry about that. I just want to enjoy the music.

What about tonality? For some of us, clarity and detail are not first on the list. In audio gear, unfortunately, those characteristics often come without even a modicum of warmth (aka "neutral"). The SR Blues were an example of that.

 

[Willgolf]

What about tonality? For some of us, clarity and detail are not first on the list. In audio gear, unfortunately, those characteristics often come without even a modicum of warmth (aka "neutral"). The SR Blues were an example of that.

highstream --- That is why you try it and if you don't like it you switch back. There is now a brand new SR purple that some an individual who has tested it says it is better than QSA yellow and way better than SR orange. At some point I am going to switch back to orange just to test one more time. For me, I love to very distinctly to be able to hear clearly each instrument. Maybe that means I am not a neutral person. I just don't know. I do know that even my spouse noticed a difference when I inserted the QSA yellow. I am even thinking about going to the QSA red in my Lampi.

 

[highstream]

You didn't answer the question. Hearing every instrument has nothing inherently to do with warm vs neutral vs. cool.

 

[Willgolf]

You didn't answer the question. Hearing every instrument has nothing inherently to do with warm vs neutral vs. cool.

Ok, please define warm vs neutral vs cool first, so I can better understand what you are looking for