Audiophile Fuses

[highstream]

Never heard of A Albert.

It's Alfred Kainz - https://highend-electronics.com/collections/accessories/fuses

 

[kennyb123]

Never heard of A Albert.

It’s Alfred and he’s a great seller, who lists Audio Magic for sale:

Accessories

highend-electronics.com

Alfred and his wife are good about responding to inquiries. Try calling..

 

[engadin]

Alfred has sent a tracking number for 6 AM fuses, so all is well, I think.

 

[Tabl10s]

It's Alfred Kainz - https://highend-electronics.com/collections/accessories/fuses

Just sent an email.

 

[Mossback]

It's Alfred Kainz - https://highend-electronics.com/collections/accessories/fuses

Highly recommend Alfred Kainz truly nice to deal with.

 

[Ian B]

Then I finally summoned the guts to put a Master fuse into my EMM Labs DA2i, which isn't really easy. Big difference with this one.

I had also recently switched the Master in my HP amp with a Pink, which lost some clarity, but gave me more body.


The Good: I feel like I'm hearing every detail possible in the recording, everything is more natural, rich and 3D, dynamics and bass power are enhanced. Background separation from subtle details is complete. Getting pretty close to analog quality in some ways, especially with DSD.

The Bad: At around 220 hrs, I'm still definitely getting that shoutitness and brightness others have described. Many vocals are quite sibilant and it does sound like a big treble equalizer boost. That treble tilt does at once make everything seem louder, but also takes away from the body a bit, even though the bass is quite full and powerful, it just loses a bit in relative terms with so much treble.

I had an issue in the past when I tried putting this into the Nordost QSource PSU that feeds my Taiko Switch, but in there it was actually even brighter and more sibilant. A Purple resides there now.

What is a bit mysterious is that others have reported very good results with the Master Fuse in the DA2i and DA2v2, even some using similar power cables as me.

I'm wondering if the resonant-mode PSU just doesn't draw as much current and takes even longer for this to burn in? I can always take it out, and switch it with the Pink that is in my amp. Very odd that the Master is less bright in my amp than DAC, but I guess there it is one of two fuses.

 

[Mossback]

Perhaps reverse direction of the fuse? Apparently those may be directional?
My gear has Orange and Purple so I have no experience with the Master series.

 

[highstream]

Then I finally summoned the guts to put a Master fuse into my EMM Labs DA2i, which isn't really easy. Big difference with this one.

I had also recently switched the Master in my HP amp with a Pink, which lost some clarity, but gave me more body.


The Good: I feel like I'm hearing every detail possible in the recording, everything is more natural, rich and 3D, dynamics and bass power are enhanced. Background separation from subtle details is complete. Getting pretty close to analog quality in some ways, especially with DSD.

The Bad: At around 220 hrs, I'm still definitely getting that shoutitness and brightness others have described. Many vocals are quite sibilant and it does sound like a big treble equalizer boost. That treble tilt does at once make everything seem louder, but also takes away from the body a bit, even though the bass is quite full and powerful, it just loses a bit in relative terms with so much treble.

I had an issue in the past when I tried putting this into the Nordost QSource PSU that feeds my Taiko Switch, but in there it was actually even brighter and more sibilant. A Purple resides there now.

What is a bit mysterious is that others have reported very good results with the Master Fuse in the DA2i and DA2v2, even some using similar power cables as me.

I'm wondering if the resonant-mode PSU just doesn't draw as much current and takes even longer for this to burn in? I can always take it out, and switch it with the Pink that is in my amp. Very odd that the Master is less bright in my amp than DAC, but I guess there it is one of two fuses.

Come back at 300-325 hours and report.

 

[Jpspock]

No problem with my master in my dcs Rossini.

 

[Ian B]

Ok, so I gave it all the way to 500 hours, and while quieter, it still seemed shouty. I grudgingly opened up the DAC and flipped the fuse around. As expected, the sound was dull, lower output, and some sibilance remained.

Now there are a couple weird things, and one I have to keep an eye on:

The first was that the black dot in the center of the fuse actually seemed to be bulging out, like a little bubble. Hmm. I've made an inquiry about that. ???? Hopefully I don't need to replace it.

But the good news, I reseated the fuse in the original direction but made sure I was getting more even contact between the two ends of the fuse holder, and that it was pressed down firmly. The fuse holder is the kind that is mounted to the circuit board horizontally and you need to push the fuse down into it.

Viola! The sound is "correct", no more uneven peakiness. The caveat is that with this fuse there is certainly a lot of dynamic energy in the midrange and treble that can get intense depending on one's chain. So it is certainly more present and forward than before. But the frequency spectrum is balanced and nothing sounds weird or unnaturally shouty or sibilant. So far.

My guess is that when using a horizontal fuse holder, if you aren't careful, one end can get slightly less contact than the other. This unevenness could also explain the bulge in the fuse, and odd changes in the sound depending on whether the DAC had been playing music or left idle.

I am hoping that with proper seating and unimpeded current flow the fuse settles a little more, but it sounds pretty good now.

I guess you always learn something new...

 

[treitz3]

I guess you always learn something new...

Always.

Tom