For anyone using Parasound Halo equipment, such as the JC-1 amps, they sent me this table of the fuses used in their equipment.
Well, color me amazed. I installed an SR Blue fuse in the DSD Saturday.
Not too difficult to install. After removing the four screws, I used a long thin allen wrench to push on the top, tapped it lightly to get the top started moving slightly, and used a nylon spudger to pop it up and out with no damage to the finish.
One caution - don’t put any pressure on the tiny fixed nuts that are visible in the holes left by the screws - one of the nuts on mine popped loose. I put it back in place it with a bit of superglue after removing it from inside the case.
I had not expected to hear much, if any, difference, but I immediately noticed somewhat more punch in the bass, and as I listened for a while, realized that there was a bit wider stage, and a “quieter” presentation, in the same sense that Redcloud provided, although not to nearly the same degree.
After a day, I swapped the direction of the fuse, and if there was any change from the direction of the fuse on incoming AC, it is too subtle a change for me. Perhaps the fuse would exhibit some directionality in DC use, such as the power rails in my JC-1’s. Unfortunately, playing with the direction of all four DC fuses would be a serious PIA.
Overall, if these fuses were $40-50, I’d highly recommend one for the DSD, but at $150 it’s a pretty minor tweak.
Now I’ve got an expensive decision: there are five fuses in each of my JC-1’s (one on the power line, and four more on the DC rails), for a total of 10 for the pair, and replacing all ten of them adds up to a nice piece of change for a probably smallish improvement.
Overall, a success, but not a yuge one.
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Eldrick…Thanks for the honest opinion.A breath of fresh air compared to some other reviews I have read comparing the blue to the return of Jesus Christ. And by the way,lest we forget…Teds upgrades are the real deal at zero cost for any DS senior/jr owner. To that I say Amen…
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Yes, thanks for the direct, honest review.
Yeah - over at whatsbest they practically worship the SR fuses. There’s a 52-page thread on the topic.
Some here worship various fuses as well.
I have to actively remind myself that for many this is a hobby chasing minute differences, diminishing returns be damned.
I forgot to mention that while I had the lid off, I also used some dynamat-type damping material on the five power supply board electrolytic caps. I cut small circles the size of the flat ends, and pressed them into place on the caps.
By damping mechanical resonance in the caps, this could have contributed to the “quieter” aspect that seemed to result from the fuse tweak.
I know, never do two things at once, but it was enough of a PIA to remove the lid that I didn’t want to have to do it repeatedly, while trying desperately to evaluate any differences.
It is all too easy to have the internal nuts that hold the lid on fall off when opening the case. I’ve had two of them come off in three openings, and re-attaching them with glue doesn’t work very well. It’s a really bad design with built-in failures because of the tiny screws.
Not being an electrical engineer or anything near that, I can’t really argue for the scientific bases of any sonic difference from fuse changes.
That said, I changed the fuses in two Ayre amps (one to HiFi Tuning the other to SR Black), and my ears believed they heard a difference. Psychological/confirmation bias? Entirely possible.
To me the HiFi tuning made a much bigger difference than the SR Black. However these were different amps.
For $50 or so, I’m more than happy to min/max and just hope for the best, and if it’s just me fooling myself into thinking it’s better, then for that amount so be it.
I do not know it matters if it is psychological or confirmation bias. If it sounds better and the amount spent is worth the improvement, it is better.
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Agreed, @Elk
It’s part of the fun of doing this as a hobby… tinkering, optimizing, experimenting. I can understand the skepticism and reluctance for those who aren’t hobbyists and tinkerers and who demand science and data and engineering principles. Tho few of us could lay claim to understanding all the components and theory and potential for interactions, I think most of us should just try have some fun with it and end up with systems we love listening to.
If spending $50 on a fuse gives me something to do for an hour and a sense I’m getting the most out of my equipment, it’s just a cost of a hobby to me.
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I don’t have DSD but the SGCD, however I went from the Black to Blue to back to stock.
The blue/black made my system come forward which is sounterproductive to my preference. The Blue especially sounded like it boosted the 600 to 1/1.6khz region that can make vocals detailed but in the end “boxy” and unnatural. This I don’t like since all vocalists end up with a boxy signature.
The blue sounded better when I had entry level speaker so, with the Tritons and my DSD processing the blue was only detrimental.
Amen! Personally, I only care about my ears and my brain. If my brain - in conjunction with my ears - perceives an improvement in sound resulting from some change, then I evaluate the significance of that change vs. the money/time invested. It really has nothing to do with what anyone else thinks, or whether or not this improvement can be substantiated - if you are confident in your sensorial skills. With subjectivism being such an inseparable reality in this industry and hobby, “value” is merely a measure of circumstantial satisfaction. Nothing more… nothing less.
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Hi, guys.
Today when I opened my DSD to replace the digital fuse I saw no ground wire connected to the lid, as stated in “How To Change Fuses In A PWD or PWT”.
Did you all got the same thing in your units or only mine came missing this wire?
Thanks in advance.
It is definitely missing the wire. Oops. It’s not important sonically but it is supposed to be there. Sorry about that. Happy to fix if you wish.
Thanks Paul for your reply. It’ll not be necessary. I’ve produced a replacement for it. And as you said, it produced no sound quality improvement (till this very moment).
Could this maybe explain the mains hum Im getting since plumbing in my DS?
My systems powered from a balanced mains transformer, and when I plumbed in the DS I got a mains hum on the TX (and audible throuh the speakers) that wasn’t there before?
Assuming it was DC on the mains I hardwired in a DC Blocker circuit, but even with that the buzz continued.
Frustrating!
I looked over the PS Audio site on eliminating mains hum, and by process of elimination it only kicks in with the Directstream in circuit,.
i tidied up the wires behind my rack, seperating interconnects from power cords…swapped out cables but nope, tied down tomthe Directstream.
I’m in the UK so 230v and Im not sure about opening my DS up!
Do DIY mods, so its not ‘the fear’, but instead not having the widgets to pop the lid off and concerned anout the warranty here in Blighty opening it up.
Thanks.
Hi, Gazjam. I guess there’s no relation between this missing wire and the hum you’re hearing. The 50-60 Hz noise probably comes from your transformer through your AC cable, so it’s not DC and your blocker circuit won’t help at all. I’d look for internal vibrations in your transformer and fix them or simply replace the whole unit.
Its an AC5 PC I use with the dac, but he balanced mains is hardwired with 4mm x 2solid core, believe its unscreened?
Didnt have an issue before, maybe worth rewiring with good quality shielded cable?
Other ideas appreciated!
As we know, an AC transformer is a noisy device. Some better than others. I’m not sure, in your case, if the internal wiring replacement is worth trying.
Anyway, I think that you should open a new topic here in the forum.
Finally got around to swapping out the fuse for a Hifi Tuning Supreme. And yeah, that was an odd PIA process. Once you figure out the trick to it it’s really not too bad, but it’s really very non-intuitive on more than one level. I was left over with a few metallic clip-y bits that fell off of somewhere when I opened the case, but don’t think they’re too vital lol. No damage to the case or top tho, that wasn’t nearly as hard to avoid as several reported.
The light at the end of the tunnel is the fuse holder apparatus, which made pulling out old / putting in new a lot easier than most.