[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Would like to hear your opinion a bit more. Please explain more in detail your opinion. I don't get really where you are coming from with your opinion. Please enlighten? Have you came across this and fixed it another way? Is there something we are missing really? Please let us know where the failure with this problem and how to fix it? It was fixed with two fairly matched fuses with the resistance?

What's missing is this:
 
1) The mains fuses have absolutely nothing to do with the gain of the amplifier and therefore the output level of that amplifier for a given input signal.
 
2) Without affecting the gain of the amplifier, there will be no difference in loudness between the two channels.
 
The notion that different resistances of the mains fuses will cause one channel to be louder than the other is absurdly naive and could only come from someone who has absolutely no idea what they're talking about and are just making things up out of thin air.
 
se
 
 
 

 

[BIG POPPA]

I have asked to find out what piece of equipment it was. Hear your opinion. Just a thought... If one channel had more resistance than the other one channel, it may have less power going to it? You reverse the fuses and the opposite happens? Sounds crazy but it does? Do you still discount the resolution of matching the fuses with the resistance to solve the problem? That is how it has been resolved.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

Just a thought... If one channel had more resistance than the other one channel, it may have less power going to it? You reverse the fuses and the opposite happens? Sounds crazy but it does?

Sounds crazy because it is. If you're talking about mains fuses.
 
Quote:

Do you still discount the resolution of matching the fuses with the resistance to solve the problem?

 
If you're talking about mains fuses, then yes, I do.
 
se

 

[BIG POPPA]

I know this is nuts, a lot of time has been spent figuring this problem out. The goal was to let this possible problem be known.

 

[Steve Eddy]

Quote:

I know this is nuts, a lot of time has been spent figuring this problem out. The goal was to let this possible problem be known.

If the "problem" was some difference in resistance of the mains fuses, then it's a "problem" in the same way that having your photograph taken is a "problem," and how placing photographs of yourself in your freezer is a "solution."
 
Each individual human had a fundamental adverse problem imposed on their senses when they had their first photograph taken. A photographic image captures the unique identity of the subject of the photograph but imposes a significant temporal (time) asymmetrical pattern. The action of this photograph radically changed the inner symmetry of the senses of the photographed human being. Fortunately, this debilitating adverse condition is reversible.
To restore a significant temporal (time) symmetry to any person's senses, it is necessary to acquire one photograph which was exposed when the person was young and another photograph exposed when the person was older. Each photograph is placed, individually, into it's own clear plastic bag. The two plastic bags, each containing a spaced time photograph of the same individual, should be placed inside the freezer compartment of the domestic refrigerator. This will create a most unusual beneficial phenomenon.
 
http://www.belt.demon.co.uk/whatamess.html
 
se

 

[BIG POPPA]

The "freezer" thing again...LOL This was not a problem for me. I have all the Audio grade fuses. Know the the characteristic's on my rig. My opinions have not changed. My rig does not change for years, Still have the WA3 with Blackgates custom built as my main rig. Just pump lots and lots of new music. When I use stuff like Fuses, it is an inexpensive tweak to make my rig sound different. Do like the sound of some of them. Some are better than others. But to try them, they are cheap compared to tubes or cables for example. Just my 2 cents.

 

[TheAttorney]

Big Poppa, what was the actual measured difference in resistance between the 2 fuses?
 
I'm curious if this a case of poor quality control by the audiophile fuse maker, or just normal variation one gets with any fuse.
 
se is right that (moderate) changes in resistance coming into an amp's power supply shouldn't affect the amp's gain - unless that amp has a very peculiar power supply circuit.
But it is possible that a better anything in the system can give a perceived increase in volume, due to lower noise floor, dynamics, etc.
So it's possible that there could be a channel imbalance with 2 different fuses, but unlikely that this would be due to simple differences in volume.
 

 

[Steve Eddy]

Great. Tweak all you like. But when you claim that differences in the resistances of mains fuses changes affects the output levels of an amplifier, you're making a technical claim, and in this case, one which simply holds no water and serves nothing more than to mislead others.
 
se
 
 

 

[BIG POPPA]

Synergistic Research is coming out with fuses, just was told by a retailer I get my fuses from. I can not wait to try them.

 

[BIG POPPA]

Just picked up the Synergistic Reasearch Quantam Fuse SR20 from Revolution Power. Ken called me yesterday to let me know he got the box. Will listen to it tonight and compare it to my favorite the Furutech. Will give impressions in a few days.

 

[BIG POPPA]

Got a PM to for an opinion on the new Synergistic Research Quantum Fuses. After listening to them I found that they kinda sound like the Furutechs with bass. They do have the SR house sound. The are a little laid back with nice highs, cool mids, and great bass. 2 thumbs up. Really like them a lot. Highly recommend them.

 

[TheAttorney]

BIG POPPA, have you tried the fuse the other way round?
 
In my very limited foray into fuses, I've recently bought a Hi Fi Tuning Supreme for my CDP. The Supreme is allegedly the best of the Gold and Silver versions combined.
Anyway, I chose this one because it was easy to get in the UK and had the correct, very low, watt rating specified for my CDP .
 
Most audiophile fuses are allegedly directional and some people reckon that the arrow (diode symbol in this case) should go from source of power (wall socket end) to component end.
And some say you can't rely on the arrow and need to try both directions.
 
So I tried both directions for fun, and found that the "correct" direction gave a slightly more forward sound. In the short test, I couldn't conclude which was better, but as I prefer a more laid back presentation, I've left the fuse in the "wrong" direction.
 
Edit: I see now that directionality has already already been discussed in the early parts of this thread, so this is not news to some of you.

 

[setamp]

In my setup, the fuse direction in my preamp is critical.  I have been rolling a number of tube combinations in my preamp and amp and just couldn't get my soundstage to open up.  On a whim, I reversed the direction of the hi-fi tuning fuse in my preamp and the difference was amazing.  It accomplished what tube rolling could not.  I have no idea as to why this would work but it did and it wasn't subtle.
 

 

[TheAttorney]

A couple of months ago, I received my BHSE (high end amp for electrostatic headphones), resulting in a big jump in transparency in my system.  It has an over-kill power supply, so I did wonder whether a fuse change would make much difference. The BHSE actually has 2 mains fuses (one for live and one for neutral), so that meant double the usual cost

.  Which in the UK would be around £70-£80 for HFT Supremes or Furutechs, or £50 for Isocleans. Not a trivial amount.
 
But I came across a new (to me) fuse: AMR - A UK company famous(ish) for their heavy weight high end CDPs and amps, who decided to make their own fuses - because they like making their own stuff. Their marketing is refreshingly down to earth - not a hint of "quantum" or other mysterious properties. They don't have many testimonials on their site, but at least one contributor thinks the AMR fuse sounds better than all the others (well there's a surprise).
 
But what got my attention is that the 5x20mm fuses cost just £12 each, or around 1/3rd of the price of their top rivals. So I bough a couple, total price of £26 ($40) including postage.
 
So, what did the AMRs do to the sound? Much of what, IMO, any good power-related improvement does, which is to bring the performers/instruments/soundstage out from the mix, such that it feels a bit more like a live performance. Plus a reduction in mid/high frequency hash, such that the sound was simultaneously more detailed and yet less fatiguing. I love it when that happens.
 
These changes are objectively small (well they must be, mustn't they?), but gave a surprisingly big increase to my musical enjoyment, out of all proportion to their cost, or my expectations. And when I swapped the stock fuses back in, the performers/instruments/soundstage slightly retreated back into the mix, resulting in a flatter, blander sound.
 
I can't say how the AMRs compare to the other makes, and it's too much hassle to find out, but I'll guess that the AMRs are probably the best VFM, at least in the UK. Warning: the AMR's were fractionally bigger than the stock fuses, in both length and diameter. Why on earth? It took some coaxing to get the fuse tray pushed back into the BHSE.  

 

[SleepyOne]

I recently installed a Synergistic Research fuse on my EC 2A3 amp and seems to get nice result, with better bass and overall things seems more correct. Obviously not night and day difference but for the cost vs gain isn't too bad, so I am happy. Whereas previously I have tried an old version (original) Hifi Tuning mains fuse but the gain was min. which I wasn't too impressed.