Hi Folks,
For a while now I wanted to try a bunch of audiophile fuses but never quite got to it. Maybe I was hoping to keep it as a somewhat cheap fix for rainy days.
The gods in Asgard were not with me these days and my PWD2 went dead. That in itself almost made me c*** my pants, but that's a story for another time. Once I figured out it was a blown fuse the Pandora's box was opened. So here we go.
The PWD2 uses 2 x 1A SLO-BLO fuses, one for digital, one for analog. The PWD2 comes with "audiophile" fuses, which is a nice move and a statement from a trusted high end manufacturer. I am using the Audiophilleo 2 as USB/SPDIF interface as I am hearing it much cleaner and more transparent than the stock PWD2 USB. My AC power should be very clean, as I am using a good power regen and I am ultimately happy with my system being VERY transparent.
Not only can I confirm hearing a very noticeable difference when changing the fuses in both my Taboo MK3 and PWD2, but it's not subtle either. The level of change is roughly equivalent with the impact of a power cable change.
Either way this being my first venture into fuse rolling I put the following to the test:
- "stock" cheap steel(?) wire fuses
- PS Audio critical link fuses (AHP)
- Synergistic Research Quantum Fuses SR20 (hate their product names with a passion)
Impressions:
-The stock steel fuses in comparison sound muddy, congested and lacking focus. They actually sound so bad I feel they take the DAC down a notch.
-The SR20: I feel I need to break this down over my 2 components:
PWD2 (2x):
2x SR20s: huuuge holographic soundstage, but I ultimately feel 2x these are not very natural sounding in the PWD2. They affect the soundstaging presentation. Instruments appear to sound from further away in the background. Superb micro detail and extension. Great instrument separation. Tight bass, Airy treble. Cleanest background. Appears to lack a bit of focus compared to other high-end fuses. Where it not for the exagerrated soundstage, and I love great soundstaging, I could have settled with these.
Taboo MK3 (1x):
1xSR20: Still superb holographic soundstage, but no longer feels exagerrated. The rest of attributes are similar as above. My favourite so far with the Taboo. It makes it more toe tapping.
-The PS Audio fuses: Great energy and slam, great instrument separation, excellent attack, natural soundstage, more body than the SR20s, great extension at both ends, great details. Could it be PS Audio tuned the DAC to sound best with these fuses? They sound very good in the Taboo MK3 but not as good as the SR20s.
Right now I am running the PWD2 with one PS Audio fuse on the digital circuit and one SR20 on the analog one, which works very well. I have the HiFi Tuning Supremes and AMR fuses on the way as I have go all the way now.
but still pretty good value compared to the usual suspects.
