Fuse upgrade?!!

[jimbones]

Not sure what category to post this but has anyone played with upgrading fuses? Theres a manufacturer that advertises in Sterophile a money back gaurantee that it will make a significant sonic improvement. Does anyone have any experience with this?

[rollo]

  A mixed bag Jim. Some likey others no likey. They have different results with different systems. Some of our club members swear by them, others not.
   If you can return them by all means try.


charles

[jimbones]

Give it to Mikey, he likey 

[sleepyguy24]

+1 to what Rollo said.

Regarding fuses one audiophile DIYer told me to do this process to see if you get an audible benefit with your existing fuses before you try buying the more expensive fuses like Isoclean really clean your metal fuse ends as well as the fuse holders.

1. Use a metal polish like Noxon and really clean the metal ends and wipe off all the excess. Put in that elbow grease. The fuse holders are tough.

2. Then when you are finished cleaning use a contact cleaner to spray the ends just to make sure all the polish residue is removed.

I did this for a bunch of my preamps and amp fuses and I was shocked how dirty the metal contacts are.

Good luck.

[BobM]

I've found that a light coating of Mapleshade's silver paste on fuse ends also helps a bit.

[satfrat]

I've found that a light coating of Mapleshade's silver paste on fuse ends also helps a bit.

Likewise, that's what I also use on my Hi-Hi Supreme fuses but I have found something that'll take any fuse to the next level for under $10 and I was given this for free as a promotional for purchasing the new Hi-Fi Supreme.
WA-Quantum GmbH's 5mm Fuse "Chip"

Pasting this little $7.50 "chip" on the fuse for my MHDT Havana Dac knocked my socks off. I don't have a clue how this little plastic adhesive-backed "chip" does what it does but what I do know is I like it! I ended up getting some of  WA-Quantum GmbH's larger capacitor chips for the dac and was impressed enough with what I was hearing that I ended up buying their larger more expensive chips for loudspeakers ($129/pair).

But this thread is about fuses and I can recommend w/o reservation the WA-Quantum GmbH 5mm or 6mm chip for under $10. It'll impress you with any fuse, but the better the fuse, the more impressed you'll be. 



Cheers,
Robin

[jimbones]

is that a plastic/vinyl stick on?   

[satfrat]

is that a plastic/vinyl stick on?   

Yup. 

Laugh now,,,, but get back to me if you ever pony up the "whole" $7.50 to try it.  Also, so long as you don't peel  it off the wax paper, you can actually demo the chip on the wax paper using some scotch tape and send it back for your "whole" $7.50 investment returned if it doesn't rock your boat.

The only real issue here from my aspect is once you're blown away by the cheap fuse chip, you're gonna want to try the other sizes out. I say "from my aspect" as I have a loudspeaker chip on all 6 loudspeakers and  on my subwoofer, plus I doubled up on my mains, placing them directly behind the drivers. 

My advise, just laugh me off and leave it at that. That way, we both can laugh. 

Cheers,
Robin

[jimbones]

is that a plastic/vinyl stick on?   

Yup. 

Laugh now,,,, but get back to me if you ever pony up the "whole" $7.50 to try it.  Also, so long as you don't peel  it off the wax paper, you can actually demo the chip on the wax paper using some scotch tape and send it back for your "whole" $7.50 investment returned if it doesn't rock your boat.

The only real issue here from my aspect is once you're blown away by the cheap fuse chip, you're gonna want to try the other sizes out. I say "from my aspect" as I have a loudspeaker chip on all 6 loudspeakers and  on my subwoofer, plus I doubled up on my mains, placing them directly behind the drivers. 

My advise, just laugh me off and leave it at that. That way, we both can laugh. 

Cheers,
Robin

I'm not laughing AT YOU! This audio stuff is crazy! I have seen stuff work before without rhyme or reason. Is there any metal foil on it? (Shielding effect?)

[satfrat]

I have no idea what's going on. Very little has been actually said about this tweek.

[jimbones]

So far it's (1) Clean your contacts, (2) Try the stckers and (3) Tryem and return them, YMMV. I wonder what makes the "expensive" fuses better (and cost more) Materials like silver maybe?

[BobM]

Yeah, probably better electrical contacts and better internal materials (not aluminum). I think the expensive ones also do some vibration control.

[rollo]

   It is all about vibration . The chips are set at a certain frequency to cancel out the vibes affecting the audio frequency range. 
   Deulund is known for its vibration control in capacitors. Makes sense to me.
    Worth $7.50 to try out. Ya never know. If Robin has had a positive experience by all means try them. No audiofool there.



charles

[jimbones]

Agree worth the money. it costs more for a beer in a bar  I'll drink to that! I guess I should try the $50 fuses that I can return in 30 days as well.

[satfrat]

   It is all about vibration . The chips are set at a certain frequency to cancel out the vibes affecting the audio frequency range. 
   Deulund is known for its vibration control in capacitors. Makes sense to me.
    Worth $7.50 to try out. Ya never know. If Robin has had a positive experience by all means try them. No audiofool there.



charles

Thanks for the info Charles. I wasn't even buying the "chip" story myself as it just didn't make sense to me, but I know what I hear and me likey.  Your explanation makes this WA Quantum chip story plausible & sensible. 

Cheers,
Robin