You're brave for doing one on fuses, Phil!

Loving this series, Phil. Keep on meaning to sort out the fuses in my systems. I’m a believer that cleaner power is, the better the sound.

I tried synergistic orange with my preamplifier recently and the improvement is very obvious, without any burning-in. That tiny little thing is an enigma.

I've decided that i'm going to have to take the plunge and change all the fuses in my system. Can't wait.

Hi phill my name is ian casson I’ve been in our love of hi fi and the end result of play back of music to the best we can to enjoy it I remember you when you worked at Brady’s with john or is back there I now have a state of the art set up in a stand alone room I have put a lot into the mains side of it and in a top set up a top fuse makes a big dif to the sound and your review as made me try some I have ordered 2 of the 2.5 internal fuses one for my valve 300 b amp and one for my valve pre amp will give my opinion when they arrive ps they are the top ones 190 each 👌

I'm giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming this was a April 1st video released early.

Totally agree, one of life's mysteries but they do make a difference!

So even though your mains goes through a cable, an iec socket, inline wires to the transformer, is then magnetically passed to the electrically isolated windings in the other side of the transformer, chopped by a set of diodes and into a bank of caps, and then onwards as DC through multiple regulators and further stages of decoupling and into an amplifying circuit with probably -80db of psrr and you think a 2cm of fuse wires can somehow magically transform what you hear... Righto.

Thanks, yes fuses make a difference, if your system is good enough. Best Ulrich

I use synergistic purple in my source’s and pre.Orange in the rest of the system as well as other SR products,Feq x4,HFT’s,interconnects.

Hi Phil Like you I was very sceptical of fuses and the claimed change they would make but I now have two of the SR Purple. One is in my mains power conditioner and the other is in the pre-amp and yes there is a noticeable difference in the sound. I can’t explain it and have read all the guff out there but for some reason they work.

Being that the fuse is there to protect against cable failure (which us audio guys will probably never suffer with)I have gone for the no fuse option and have a dedicated circuit for my hifi and a trip to look after it and it would blow far quicker than most bog standard fuses so thus I have eliminated there down grading of the hifi.

worth changing the internal fuse as well. a good product that works is conductive polymer, has the same resistance as copper, you put multiple coatings on connectors interconnect speakers main plugs fuses. you can buy it from the chord company you should try that.

I actually bought several SR Red fuses when I upgraded my mains cables as I believed the hype. I can't say it made a night n day difference tbh. I think better choice would have been to buy more LPs.

As someone from the Netherlands, I can confirm that there aren't any fuses in the powerplugs, but there are fuses inside devices that contain a built in power supply. Audiophile fuses only do something if you believe in them - just like cable lifters and green marker on CDs, it's all about belief.

Well friends it seems hit and miss with alot of folks so what I will say is this that from my own experience. I did notice some considerable difference in sound even when changing from an Bussman 3 amp fuse to an SEM 5 amp fuse on my Denon amp. Both fuses would allow enough power for the amp so there is no issue there. The scenario is this, a recent inlet upgrade on my Denon PMA600 NE integrated amplifier from the fixed power cord to an Schurter two prong inlet allowing the power cord to be removed. The upgrade was successful and so allowed me to explore power cords. After settling on a couple cords from MCRU I noticed a drop of in bass at this point on one power cord. I began to dread the upgrade and wondered if it was a mistake, thinking the soldering might have caused a loss in low end frequency via solder choice or because of the break in power feed via the inlet. There was a lift in audio detail which was immediately noticeable but the bass had lost weight and if anyone knows the PMA600NE then you will know that it's a muscular sound with good weight in the lower frequency. Anyway I began to look for some replacement fuses online for another job nothing to extravagant at this point. I have found even MCRU gold plated Bussmans do give a smoother sound over all and they are not expensive but while shopping I remembered the original plug on the fixed denon power cord which i removed so I unplugged the amp and removed the cheap 3 amp fuse that i put into the £50 MCRU power cord now being used with the upgraded inlet on the pma600ne. I replaced the fuse with the original SEM 5 amp fuse that came with the amp and lo and behold the bass was back! So now the upgraded inlet running the MCRU Power Cord with the original SEM 5amp fuse courtesy of Denon brought back the bass and low end weight that the cheap standard Bussman 3 amp simply just did not deliver regardless of the inlet and cord upgrade and that ladies and gentlemen is no lie. If I did an A/B test between even these two cheap fuses, the cheap 3 amp Bussman and the original SEM 5 amp from Denon, you would tell the difference immediately. To say I am chuft to have my bass back is an understatement and it was simply down to the fuse.

Good presentation. I don't doubt your story one bit.

Hi Phil, great site. Talking of weird modifications, do you remember the one about treating CDs with Amourall (hope I’ve spelt it correctly), spray? For those not familiar with this product it was an American product for car dashboards. Anyhow, a spray onto the playing side of the CD and a light buff made the CD sound smoother and more analog. I tried it and it definitely worked. However, subsequent concerns over the longer term effect of the spray on the disc made me remove the product.

Nice one. I just checked the date.

Hi Phil if you are or not deliberately being obtuse , as in this time of year . May I say as a retired electrical contractor I know full well the impact other electrical circuits can have on hifi equipment . So for all you enthusiasts out there , number 1 install a dedicated supply from your distribution board for your hifi . And if possible make the cable a steel wired armed type , also label the sockets that are feed from the supply hi fi only . Will this improve your hifi , I would say yes . Fuses may indeed play their part , but unless you approach the the main issue you are negating the advantages that could be obtained . Finally as a interesting point ironically depending upon your location , you may experience supply problems that are out of your control . So good luck with that one . Best wishes and kind regards as always 😀👍👍👍

I’ve gone through much of the range, starting at the Black fuse (big difference to bog standard fuses) , then to the Blue (personally I found little difference to the Black) then the Orange…another notable improvement and finally the Purple (‘better’ again) Use in my 2 main distribution blocks and all other major sources . Biggest difference was in the power amps and most marginal improvement in my Benchmark DAC. Also tried changing the input slo blow fuses on the amps…another small but significant improvement. I do tend to feel the biggest ‘hit’ from them when I use them for the first time… not sure if I habituate to the improvement or the degree of improvement drops after a few days. I (or someone else) should buy a couple and try using one and after a month, replace it for the unused one and see if the sound “improves” again or remains equal to the used fuse… ???

I use Russ Andrews fuses, and can confirm 100% they make a difference. The improvements you hear are less distortion, and more air and detail in the sound, I have used them both on amplifiers and source equipment.

after i switched on a new lamp in my listening room which spiked the mains blowing the fuses to the speakers in my monoblocks,when i replaced them i did notice a general sound quality upgrade ,the lamp went in the bin...

After connecting my Philips Hue smart lights to my audiophile iso-tek sirius power conditioner and seeing for myself that the lights were now 25% brighter, I'm willing to believe anything! So how do I get to try one mate ?

Biggest upgrade, works on all systems, regardless of cost. Skunk.

This video is like jackanory for audiophiles in a good way 👍

Aaargh! Bought a few AAFs because of this video. I want my money back since I just realized it is April 1.😁

Pure guff!

I’m sure any loose fitting fuse or poorly connected wiring would have some effect on any electronic device. Have to admit in the 80s I would lightly solder my fuses on my high end HiFi. I now just use high quality leads and cables. Another issue are those cubed extension sockets which are usually of low quality and can be quite flimsy. Most high end amps filter out mains interference through their inbuilt power supplies. So quality leads and extended wall sockets work best for me 👍

I run a diy powerblock with unfused IEC outs to front end (the powerblock itself being fused @3A like the components would be) and a separate fused cable to wall for amp. Hence doing away with 1 unnecessary fuse. Allegedly....

You were a day early for April Fools day Phil.

Hi Phil, because it's you, if I still lived at home I would definitely try this. But I live in Canada now so I don't know of any equivalent. Except for trying another man's lead, which does tend to work by the way. cheers Phill.

Not quite April 1st is it?

Have any dismissers here tried one these "superfuses" ?? I'm a sceptic and somewhat cynical but I'd never dismiss any theory until I myself can disprove it. You need a good dealer however, who will let you try it, as I'd never buy any such item, unless there was a money back guarantee. IF such things work as well as suggested, despite the price, when compared to an audiophile component upgrade, they would be a an absolute bargain.

Here's a 'Belter'; Pin back ONE of the four corners of all curtains in the listening room with a safety pin.. Listen to some music for a short time, then remove the safety pins and see if you can listen to the same music with the same pleasure - without the corner of the curtain pinned back !!

Forget Synergistic, QSA fuses are much better (although a bit more pricey). I've just upgraded the fuses in Shunyata mains cables and the fuses in my amp and streamer with QSA and the fuses make a substantial improvement…… The top end is more open and relaxed - cymbals are more shimmery and with greater decay Stereo separation is improved, width of sound stage is broader and projection is much improved Silences are quieter and an overall reduction in the noise floor Bottom end is deeper and more defined Mid range is clearer and more defined - vibrato and plucking of strings is now clearly focussed, vocals similarly well defined and overall definition is much improved. Online reviews have commented that it’s worth holding off that next significant equipment upgrade until you have put these fuses in place, I can now see why.

Do the SR fuses meet British Standards?

Not sure if this qualifies but i have all my audio/video cables plugged into a Belkin power / surge conditioner which is supposed to "clean " the power before it reaches the component. I think my system does sound better, but it could be the "placebo' effect.

Perhaps an idea for some future videos: You might tell you audience something about supertweeters and passive preamplifiers. Both subjects hardly touched upon by audiophile youtubers. Perhaps a few examples of fine devices.

I don't get this with fuses. You can run a two Klowatt electric fire of a 13 amp plug. Having said that, I'm willing to accept fuses can make a difference is somebody could tell me how. Seems impossible to me..

The sound effect is termed "Dipshittering"

So if you lived in a country that doesn't have fuses in the plug. Would changing the wall socket and plug for the UK type and fitting the purple fuse sound better than the original plug and socket? If not it would be cheaper for UK people to just change the type of wall socket and plug they use.

Selling ice cubes to eskimos springs to mind 🧐🧐🧐

Have any of them taken this to its logical conclusion and bypassed the fuse yet. Stereo equipment will become Items which void house insurance.

Synergistic Research fuses are the real deal. You may not understand it, but that doesn't mean it doesn't work. The Orange fuses were an eye-opener. The Purples are even better. Amazing stuff.

Lots of things that makes a difference in hifi don't follow logic and can't really be measured either, but if you're feeling cheap and still want to hear how a fuse can make a difference. Just change the direction of the fuse and listen! There's of course a 50% chance it's already in the right direction (one always sounds better than the other) but you have to try to know.

for the rest of the world , we do have fuses in the equipment itself no? Some manufactureres ship replacement fuses too.. So shouldn't changing these should be attempted as well? Also should help for UK gear I think, if replacing the plug fuses also helped

Thank you, how about audiophile fuses in the signal path like I have in my Magnepan Tympani 4a. Would that make a difference?

Does this apply to the fuses that are in UK plugs only or does it also work for fuses like in US that are in the unit itself?

Don't believe any of these sound quality upgrades unless they are they are proven by blind tests by significant numbers of people, which rarely if ever happens. Mind & ear biases towards 'improvements' you can see in front of you, science proves they're insignificant.

Hello Phil, Thanks for your informative video. I’m writing from the United States, where fuses are normally located inside of the components. Paul, of PS Audio, talks about having a very similar, skeptical then positive, experience with fuses. I think you would enjoy his video, from 4 years ago, on KZfaq. Type in “PS Audio Audiophile Fuses”.

It seems nobody wants to really mesure the resistence of the fuse. It is certainly a low value and a normal multimeter is useless in that case (to much error because the measured resistence is similar or lower than the multimeter proof cables in "resistence mode"). But with a Kelvin bridge it is easy to measure resistence values as low as 0.005 ohms. It is a 4 wire measurement and the multimeter is used in mV range. As long as the measured resistence is connected to a constant current source, and the multimeter is used as a millivoltmeter, the resistence of the multimeter proof wires no longer matters. Using ohm's low, and knowing the current in the fuse in the measuring procedure (I) and the voltage across fuse (U), so R=U/I. Off course, in that measurement, the fuse is on the working table, not in the circuit of the amplifier or other apparatus. This way, we can compare the resistence of a normal fuse and an "audiophile boutique fuse". May be this can give very interesting results... and useful conclusions. Are the fuse contacts clean? When removing the old fuse and inserting the new fuse, the friction can have a cleaning action, reducing the contact global resistence of fuse + contacts resistence... This cannot be a 'mistery'...

Im CON-FUSED.

Phil why dont you make your own mains plug without a fuse or holder direct to the live pin and do some A B blind testing ?Please let us Know I'll start selling them

Fuses ! OMG WTF is next.

We don't have fuses in the plugs here in Europe, instead we change the fuses inside the components.

I’m not buying that story about a £40 fuse against a new £15k preamp

Once again ... Peter Belt lives ! (Jesus H Christ!) 😅🤣😂

You kind of answered the problem with UK plugs early on. Don’t use them. I and many audiophiles moved over to US plugs and distribution blocks years ago.

A fuse is a fuse. No?

Happy April fools day

This has gotten me, uh, confused 😁

Many years ago I remember a chap (certain Hi Fi mag) who went around suggesting that we aught to rip pages from a book to make them an odd number in the listening room cos it sounded better even to the point of removing a driver screw/bolt to make it an odd number or even slipping a beer mat under a chair leg to decouple it.....and on it went and people emptied their pockets.....Jeffery has a good point but by far you need to ensure a dedicated supply/spur cable separate from the mains with a sperate earth point now this will transform a quality system....hope this helps..oh and don't do this yourself unless you know what you are doing.

I upgraded my Focal solo 6 be(s) with the synergistic orange fuses and its as if I lifted a veil in front of the speakers -just amazing (and they run cooler also). Further I use the contact enhancer (Silclear from MapleShade). Remind her that all fuses are

Are they cryogenically treated 😂😂😂

I tip soldered in my generic UK fuses and MK plug terminations to ward off any long term effects from oxidization, tarnishing. Contact resistance should be minimized and will sharpen up the sound in a fundamental way in my experience, and it only requires a bit of soldering, you could do it for less than the price of a fuse.

The current doesn't actually flow through the wires!

🤭 April fool!

Sorry Phil, you lost me on this one. This is getting near to magic bean territory . Is there any engineering reason why these are so transformative? I am genuinely interested.

1:44 unless you are Audioquest :D

Yup, just a salesman.

Sorry about that I pressed the wrong button. All fuses are Uni directional and have different amperage ratings.

lol

The fuse is there to protect the cable..

I love hifi stuff but sometimes it gets beyond imagination, fuses?. Well I would start with cotton buds to clear wax from your ears, is your head straight & not laying down, your lights might have interface, have you got the right room temperature, OK you can go ahead & put you vinyl on now, wait a minute tho the wife's reading in the corner affecting acoustics, where do we stop, I think when you think more of these things than enjoying that new album. Sorry but things have gone beyond a joke.

It's fascinating we feel qualified to comment on something we've never experienced. It's like the Dalai Lama commenting on the uselessness of sex... most people who've had sex would disagree. This is no different. Most of the comments on "snake oil'' are ones where the people either do not have a revealing system - or perhaps untrained ears, unaccustomed to unamplified acoustic instruments (almost NOTHING people hear in the 21st century is unamplfied, which adds loads of distortions). If one has these both (revealing system, trained ears) , the sound quality improvement - (which, I believe is due to a lower "noise floor" ) - is clearly audible. I doubt people who only listen to processed music - which is nearly all pop/rock/r&b and every other contemporary music form (in addition to it all being digital) - will hear it. I wouldn't expect that they actually WOULD hear it. Their music is also manipulated do death in the studio and bears no resemblance to actual human voices or acoustic instruments (unamplified, which is going to be therefore limited to listening to these tweaks while listening to classical/ jazz music , or perhaps well recorded international music (African drummers, Kodo drums/India's sitar, flute or shehnai), which is really the only way to truthfully discern the truth of the "snake oil" tweaks.

$600 for a fuse. 😂😂😂😂😂😂💦

Timing is everything. I think you forgot to take into account the time differences between the US and the UK. A day to do soon mate.

There is a huge amount of snake oil in HiFi and fuses are one example. Cables can make a difference but it is slight and not worth spending hundreds. Just buy Van Damme cables and make your own interconnects and speaker cables. They are good enough for Abbey Road studios so should be good enough for the most demanding HiFi. If your that fussed about fuses, just wire a strand of oxy free around the contacts but ensure you use the same thickness as that in your mains fuse. As for slow blo variety your on your own there but I am pretty sure you won't hear anything different.

Fuses are fuses - Some are poorly made, most are made correctly with solid electrical connection between the internal wire and the casing. I concur that the case can oxidise, but overall, given the voltages involved, you need your head testing if you dare go down this audiophool route.

Lol really, have to get a 10 grand power cable to match otherwise pointless

I’d sooner have 65 Costa Coffee’s ☕️

Typical ultra sensitive Naim power supplies…ridiculous…never mind the £££margins

Nonsense.

Please. Do me a favour. Fuses are there for a reason. They make no difference to sound because it’s a literally a physical impossibility on the supply side unless old ones wear. They literally burn out over a long period of time so change old for new every now and then and you just might hear the same difference fitting new standard fuses as putting in your magic new ones. Please don’t use the old hairy chestnut of “ give it a try”. I’ve heard AB demos. The only difference was in the minds of those who fell for the claims. Measurement followed which also proved beyond all reasonable doubt there was no measurable difference either. Fuses are NOT filters so your dirty mains theory is just wrong I’m afraid. The last 1m of cable makes no difference either unless cable is seriously under rated. It’s non logical to anyone who knows anything about electrical transmission. It gets so utterly wearisome being lectured by people without any knowledge in the field as someone who is a professional audio engineer who also happens to own and use a pair of ears and listens to live music as well as plays it. If you wish to believe the snake oil sakesmen and you hear a difference, fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion and all’s cool. You’re a nice guy with a pleasant manner but this wont have done your reputation any favours at all which is quite sad. Perhaps better to put the money otherwise wasted into more LPs or towards a better cartridge instead? Synergistic are talking ball cox to put it crudely. Funny how zero evidence is ever put forward to back up these claims. This sort of misinformation and deliberate false marketing makes my blood boil. It’s dishonest. There, I’ve said it. They even used the “quantum” word to try and impress impressionable people😂😂😂😂

Definitely one for the snake oil department.They make absolutely no difference whatsoever to sound quality

Did Peter Belt start the Synergistic company? 😂🤣

Oh bollocks. I subscribed a few weeks ago because you seemed to be talking sense, and now this snake-oil nonsense? What a let-down!

My advice is spend the money on better cabling and interconnects

pure snake oil of the highest order!

This bloke is desperate to defend to defend audiofile fuses, Again no figures to back up his claims.

Ummm, so only UK-style plugs have fuses. This means that anywhere that doesn't use a fuse does not have this twaek option. So either it's correcting a UK-only problem and taking it up to the rest of the world's standard, OR the rest of the world is missing out on a potential improvement? Logically this is hard to swallow.

Really a shame to see you suggesting some of this stuff works. I’d just ask that it be proven in a controlled setting.

No doubt someone with the relevant technical knowledge and experience will soon be on here telling you that it's all snake oil and that you're talking rubbish : ) The other thing folks don't get is that cables (as well as fuses) are directional, and the difference is clear - especially on headphones. The sound seems 'unbalanced' like it's slightly fuller on one channel if the fuse or cable is the wrong way round.

Sorry what credibility u had is lost

A snake oil salesman selling snake oil and saying there’s no such thing lol. I’m gunna run out and buy a 4p fuse for £40 tomorrow hope it makes music recorded in seperate sound booths then mixed and mastered sound LIVE 🤮