[Community of A/V Enthusiasts]

My experience with HiFi Tuning Fuses.

Just when I thought I'd seen and heard it all, I started to see a lot of press on HiFi Tuning Fuses. Call in serendipity as they've been around for years but I needed to try something and there they were. Long story short, I have a Classic 6.1 integrated that never quite settled down and along came the Burson that I won from here. Hands down, the Burson beat it on all counts. In fact, I believe the Burson to be among the best I've heard. Period. It has that wet and fleshy sound of real humans playing real instruments that only a truly great tube or SS piece can recreate. But the Classic had convenience that the Burson could only dream of: 4 inputs, an above average headphone input, and remote. If only I could get the best of both, then I could put off getting the newest version of the Burson integrated for awhile.

Long story short (yeah, right) I contacted Alfred Kainz at highend-electronics.com and together we figured out what I needed. It turned out that since the amp came from China, the board they were on depicted 220V instead of what we use here and he sent out the proper fuses. The two needed came to around $80 and before anyone thinks I've lost my mind, hear me out. These are not you run of the mill cheapo fuses. They have solid silver end caps, a ceramic tube instead of glass, and a high quality copper wire properly welded at both ends and its cryo'd. I was told to put them in directionally (follow the arrow) and to give them about 60 hours to break in. Break in? Fuses? Well, yes. It turns out that they are like any component and need time, just like any component.

Long story short, I had to listen right upon insertion and the stridency that never went away, went away. That, and most of the bass and body. All the musical info was there but lacking in substance. So I kept the tuner on at a low setting and upon waking and coming home from work (every 8 and 12 hours) I gave it a listen. Bit by bit, inch by inch, measure by measure, it all got better. It actually took a full 4 days for the bass to reassert itself to where is was before but by then, I had a totally different integrated. The Burson is still the King but there is a new Knight in town. The sound is so much better in all areas and on all accounts. Not quite the wet and fleshy portrayal of the Burson but a damped and skinny one and that is not meant as a slight. The leanness allows more info than the Burson but at the expense of sounding truly organic. The Burson takes you there whereas the Classic shows you. What additional info one hears with the Classic is not lost with the Burson, its just the manner in which its presented.

Long story short (last time, I promise), as the Classic improves ( and it has for the last two weeks and continues to) I am in no hurry to sell it. I tried for over two months but got no takers which led to this experiment and I'm glad it didn't sell. It makes me wonder just how much great sounding gear is out there, languishing on some shelf or in some closet, or placed in some ad for a quick sale when all that may be needed is a great set of fuses. With all the effort and expense in quality parts, power conditioners, AC cords, mods and the like, can it be that the weakest link are some crappy low end fuses? I think so. So before you chuck that next piece of gear, do yourself a favor and try this or some other brand. I've read where some have replace them in their LCD TVs after trying them in their gear and have seen a big improvement in the picture.

If anyone else has tried them, I'd like to hear about your experiences.

All the best,

Tim

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Comment by Steve Scaggs on October 14, 2010 at 4:11pm: I too have heard big difference's in PC's. My first was with the Zu Cable, Birth. I used it on my universal player some years ago and the sound was different. Not better. It soften everything. Detail was still there, but you had to turn it up to find it. But what sold me was when I replaced the stock cord on my amp with a cord by Signal Cable. I never new how much grunge was there until it was gone. Bass became tuneful and full and micro dynamics improved. I have the same one on my phono amp and blu ray player. Nice cords, and they won't cost you a kidney.

Comment by Jim Milton on October 14, 2010 at 9:32am: Ha! That will force people to read the entire thread. Not a bad thing. ;)

Comment by Tim Patchett on October 14, 2010 at 8:53am: As for Jim's power cord question, yes, I've heard a difference. It was on the order of a cable swap, but different, if that makes any sense. I noticed a shrinking or diminishing of the soundstage along with the dynamics. It wasn't subtle. And the kicker is, the bigger, heavier cord was not as good as the one I use. It wasn't as bad as the standard ones that come with the gear you buy there was that difference.

On another note, I accidentally deleted Jim's comment about the power cords thinking I was going to use it as a quote (I had just woken up and clicked on it). Its there any way to put it back in? (Sorry Jim!)

Comment by T. Rodney Tatum on October 14, 2010 at 12:17am: Comment by Jim Milton 13 hours ago Anyone here experience a sonic difference with power cords? Now that would pique my interests. Perhaps another time and another blog....

Not really, but the quality of construction sure goes a long way toward peace of mind. I use the Emotiva X-Series cords and a few RGPC cords.

Comment by Tim Patchett on October 13, 2010 at 9:38pm: No, I didn't. It was only after purchasing the HiFi fuses that I came across the PS Audio fuses. I believe that
vhaudio has several types at his site as well.

Comment by Michael Nemoy on October 13, 2010 at 9:28pm: Did you try PS AUDIO?

Comment by Tim Patchett on October 13, 2010 at 9:18pm: I was a bit skeptical myself until I read post after post on A'gon about these fuses. They've been around for awhile now. Improvements ranged from subtle but noticeable to dramatic, depending on the type of gear. Owners of Maggies claimed great results for their tweeters (the crossover uses fuses) and everyone else, save for only one I could find, said they were not taking them out once they heard the difference. There are competing brands out there and the cheapest ones were from PS Audio and they seem to be made to the same standards.

Comment by Michael Nemoy on October 13, 2010 at 12:34pm: This is kind of things I need to experience myself to believe.
Apparently, the cost is small, so sooner or later..

Comment by Tim Patchett on October 13, 2010 at 10:11am: I couldn't agree more but then I think of all of those 'cable cookers' out there and the more exotic ones which claim directionality when using. Or the adage that one should use their cables in the same direction once they have broken in. I'm still scratching my head on this one but it's the best $80 bucks I've ever spent. I guess its just a better made conduit and nothing more.

Comment by Jim Milton on October 13, 2010 at 10:06am: Interesting, but I don't think the electrons care one whit which way the arrow points on the outside of a fuse...or a cable for that matter. Still, if you hear a difference, then...viva la difference!