Spec'ing the Ultimate "Hard Ball" Crack

[Surge]

Slow or fast blow are both fine.

Originally the Crack comes with a 1A fuse.

I have some "special" fuses from another project. 1A T (slow blow), what about the voltage? I assume 250V is fine?

 

[Tom-s]

Yes.

 

[Surge]

Thanks. I dropped in a Hifi-Tuning 1A slow. Btw, my kit came with a 1.25A F fuse...guess it doesnt matter.

I'm using this Hifi Tuning Supreme:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/fuse_hifituning_supreme_sml_sb.html

Haven't really done a proper back to back test; but it does seem a touch more transparent!

These fuses go on sale at Cable Co., and other places. I think I paid about $25.

 

[Surge]

The Hifi Tuning Classic fuses are on sale for $10:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/fuse_hifituning_gold_sml_sb.html

 

[Tom-s]

That is, for all the values we don't need .

 

[Surge]

Oops, you're right; I didn't check. They go on sale often thought, because no one really pays $50+ for a fuse 
If you read the reviews, there does seem to be some real logic for why they improve the sound.

 

[Tom-s]

In my current location the wall sockets aren't grounded at all and i don't hear much of a difference... so.. meh.

 

[Surge]

I am no expert, but from what I've read, the issue is that the material used in fuses is the weak link in any system. It can create sonic resonance and other undesirable artifacts.
So it's not about the ground, but the fuse, and finding the best material to provide protection without deteriorating the sound.

 

[Paul Birkeland]

I am no expert, but from what I've read, the issue is that the material used in fuses is the weak link in any system. It can create sonic resonance and other undesirable artifacts.

Resonances are easy to measure. Vacuum tubes and fuses are made with very similar materials.

Beware o'the snake oil.

 

[Doc B]

Crappy fuse material that conducts badly and thus affects the sound I can grok (not that I would pay $50 for a fuse). But I would appreciate an analysis of how the fuse's "sonic" (presumably this means acoustical/mechanical) resonance is energized, an analysis of the amount of energy we are talking about, and how that energy is transferred to the audio.

I'm thinking primarily of the mass of the fuse, and how much vibrational energy it could possibly transfer into the mass of the amp. I suspect you would need a meter with Diddly and Diddly Squat ranges, and it would fall somewhere in between. Presumably these acoustically superior fuses are composed of a sophisticated mass distribution to null out modes. I'd like to see that too.

Maybe they are just made of a lead bearing alloy, i.e. solder.

 

[Surge]

FYI-

Here is a review:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/hifi-tuning-fuses#78HSHBxuQbrdruFP.97

I am not sure I can tell a difference, but I didn't do a proper side by side comparison either.
However, my view is that the logic for why they are better seems to make sense, and for ~$10, I don't spend much time thinking about it anyway...

Doc, would be keen to hear your thoughts after reading some of the online reviews and trying it on one of your amps. You do support better AC power cords, I see. I place fuses in the same general improvement category.

 

[Doc B]

The difference is that I don't claim that the acoustical resonance of my power cord is the reason it sounds better. I freely admit I don't have a clue why it sounds better. Maybe because of the braiding reducing the influence of EMI, but maybe not, because I have not figured out a way to measure it that makes sense. Once again, I can understand wanting to use a skinny little piece of silver as the fuse material, because the general consensus is it's a good conductor - right up until when it blows. If the fuse makes something sound better, that great. If people thinks it's worth $50, that's great too, particularly for the guy who has them made for $2.50 each or whatever. But the whole resonance thing is just marketing copy without some data to back it up.

 

[Surge]

I am a big believer in the quality of the AC coming into components. Audio and video are, after all, just modified and manipulated AC from the grid.

Here's a test of various fuses, with data:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/prod_pdf/hft_facts.pdf

 

[Doc B]

Good wire, low resistance. Pretty straightforward.  Not so sure passing higher frequencies is a good thing. We don't need noise going back out the gear through mains and into other gear. No mention of resonance.