"Hi-Fi Tuning Fuses" - pricey little wonders

[emaidel]

As promised, this is my "report" on having installed the "Hi-Fi Tuning" fuses in my Dahlquist DQ-10's: one main 3 amp fuse, and the other a .8 amp fuse for the tweeters in each of the speaker systems.

I ordered these fuses based on JMichael's favorable comments on using them in his Onkyo 9555 integrated amp (as well as Stereophile's equally favorable comments), and the manufacturer stating that they should make quite a difference in my speakers.

At $40 apiece, these are pricey little buggers, but I can't think of anything else for a total of $160 for both speakers that could have made as much of a difference as these fuses do. I initially installed the main fuse, after playing a passage of a particular CD and carefully listening to all the detail, clarity, imaging, etc. of that disc. After installing the Hi-Fi tuning fuse, I played the same passage again and was quite impressed with the overall improvement in sound: more detail, clarity, spaciousness and depth of image. Then, I replaced the tweeter fuses and played the same passage again. Now there was even greater detail, though primarily at the top end, with a good deal more "sweetness" and silkiness than before, and a lot more "air" around each instrument or vocalist. I would suspect there's enough difference in the velvety smooth high frequencies that these 30 year-old speakers now have that, if one didn't look, one would suspect I replaced the piezo tweeter with something else. There's absolutely no trace of the edginess or "spit" the piezo's can create, but rarely do on the DQ-10's anyway, considering that they're crossed over at 12,000 HZ, which is a good deal higher than in the less expensive 2 and 3-way speakers they've been used in elsewhere and sound horrible.

So, consider this a frank and most enthusiastic endorsement of the Hi-Fi Tuning fuse. I suspect that there are many other applications in which this fuse would make a difference too, but on the Dahlquist DQ-10's they do wonders and anyone who has a pair of DQ-10's owes it to himself to snatch up these little wonders. It's hard to believe something as simple and ordinary as a fuse could make such a difference, but these babies do. Very highly recommended!

[emaidel]

I'm very surprised this thread hasn't generated a single response. I expected at least one response along the lines, "$40 for a fuse? Are you nuts?" but didn't even get one of those!

I'm back here on this thread to report that, much like costly interconnects and speaker cable, these Hi-Fi tuning fuses also seem to have a burn-in period as the sound of my system has improved noticeably over the weeks I've had them installed. Even yesterday, when I was playing some older discs, including Faure's "Requiem" on Telarc by Robert Shaw, my wife sat next to me and noticed the far greater sense of lushness and depth that the system now has having installed these fuses. I think I've mentioned before that my wife often just rolls her eyes, and says, "Oh, that sounds much better..." whenever I ask her to listen to something I've done to tweak my system, but usually, she does hear a difference whenever there really is one, and the sound improvements from merely replacing four speaker fuses was something that didn't escape her.

So, once again, I'm very enthusiastically supporting the use of thse fuses as a relatively cheap method of improving the overall sound of one's system. I contacted Marantz regarding the fuse replacement in the SA-8001, but was informed that the fuse "is not user accessible," so that'll be one component I'll leave alone. My Parasound Preamp has a power fuse I'll likely replace, as does my Adcom amp. The amp also has somewhere between four and six internal fuses that are all encased in ceramic as opposed to glass, which I intend to leave alone, as I have no idea what their values are, and replacing all of those fuses at $40 a pop is now a somewhat costly proposition.

I also wrote to Regnar to advise them of the improvement the fuses have made on the Dahlquist speakers to which Regnar responded with, "Wow! We'll have to look into these." Hopefully they will, and will recommend their use in Dahlquist speakers.

I know that most speakers aren't fused, and that many (specifically B&W) have electronic circuit breakers. The Hi-Fi Tuning fuses are of no use at all in those speakers, but in those that do have fuses, since they've made such a difference in mine, I can't imagine them not doing the same for others. Why? Frankly, I have no idea. All I know is that they work as claimed.

[Feanor]

I'm very surprised this thread hasn't generated a single response. I expected at least one response along the lines, "$40 for a fuse? Are you nuts?" but didn't even get one of those!

...

The first I heard of Hifi Tuning fuses was from Chris Johnson at Parts ConneXion who suggested I put them in my Sonic Frontiers preamp; I declined.

It's easier to believe that they would make a difference for speakers than they would as power supply fuses, but, hey.

[JohnMichael]

emaidel I read your post and was glad to hear of the improvement. When you have had a component for years and you can change the fuses and hear an improvement sounds like money well spent. I am always amazed at those who buy power conditioners and power cords and deny that fuses could be a benefit. I also appreciate the news about the SA 8001 not having an accesible fuse. I saw an interior picture with no fuse shown so I had not opened the case yet. I will not bother now.

Enjoy the tweaks,

[frenchmon]

And I, like you have an Adcom amp and was wondering if I should look into changing the fuses. But I think I wont bother now. Thanks.

frenchmon