Fuses In the DirectStream Question

[bootzilla]

It is hard to believe … I was very skeptical, myself. How could changing out a fuse make a meaningful audible improvement? I switched directly from the DS Sr.'s stock fuse to the Audio Magic Beeswax SHD, and I have not tried any other aftermarket fuses, so please take my comments with a grain of salt. Other posters on this thread have tried several fuses in the DS, so they can compare various aftermarket fuses. In my case, I can only compare stock vs. AM, which could be something of a false comparison, i.e., the changes I hear could be as much or more about the REMOVAL of the stock fuse than the ADDITION of the AM fuse. In any event, I have yet to read a post stating that a DS Sr. fuse change did not make a difference.

In my system, the AM fuse caused an immediate impact on the sound. Right away, there was more detail across the tonal spectrum, but this additional detail came at the expense of a new stridency or edginess that was not worth the additional detail. Well, over the fuse burn-in period, the stridency/edginess subsided and the result was a more detailed yet tonally neutral sound, as well as a somewhat deeper and wider sound stage. My DS Sr. sounded great to begin with, so I want to be careful not to attribute too much to the fuse swap. I view the situation this way: The stock DS Sr. has the potential for even greater detail and an even deeper/wider sound stage, but the stock fuse is holding things back to a degree. In my system, removing the stock fuse and installing the AM fuse helped to better release the DS Sr.'s awesome potential.

Granted, $175 USD for a fuse is an obscene amount of money. But the incremental cost relative to the price of the DS Sr. is tiny. And in a way, installing the AM fuse can actually SAVE money, albeit indirectly. By way of example, prior to the fuse swap, I had been kicking around the idea of purchasing a DAC that retails for around fifty percent more than the DS Sr. Now I am content to sit tight with the DS Sr. for the foreseeable future.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but the fuse swap is reversible, and there is at least one online retailer that offers a thirty-day return policy. Hence, there is not much to lose by trying the swap. Just be sure to give the fuse 125-200 hours of DAC-powered-up time before reaching any conclusions. Oh, and opening up the “piano-top” DS Sr. is not that easy. Once you do, though, the fuse swap is a piece of cake.

Note: I have no financial interest in Audio Magic or the online retailer from which I bought the fuse.

[nobo]

I’m wondering if the fuse upgrade results in a more profound improvement in a system with less advanced power treatment in the form of power cords and power regulators/filters, or if it is a separate matter. I have MIT power products, the DS and DMP powered via a ZISO-DUO through two MIT Z-cords II, the ZISO-DUO itself powered through a Z-cord, plugged into a PSA power port. That’s already quite an investment in powery things. Do you think a fuse upgrade would result in an independent or different improvement? Do the fuse and external power source refinements perform similar, overlapping functions in sonic improvement?

Also at issue is where best to invest: fuse or HDMI interconnect between DS and DMP. I love the sound with the stock HDMI cable, but I would like a wider, deeper soundstage. Sounds like an Audioquest Diamond or Wireworld Platinum Starlight 7 might be the choice for me. Can the change in fuse have a similar effect on the soundstage for less $$$? (Of course I’d wait for Huron before making any changes.)

Advice?

[mark-d]

I love the sound with the stock HDMI cable, but I would like a wider, deeper soundstage.

I use the Wireworld Platinum Starlight 7 between my DS and PWT,it is a superb cable for sure.

On the other hand,give this a try…it is simply amazing in what it does for the listening experience…I use it and I highly recommend one,and its not much more than the cost of a fuse or two.

Vintage Preamps & Tube Preamps for sale | eBay

[galeb]

@bootzilla “Now I am content to sit tight with the DS Sr. for the foreseeable future.” But wait a minute. What would happen if you put these fuses in this more expensive DAC of which you speak?

[jmeniche]

Nobo said

Also at issue is where best to invest: fuse or HDMI interconnect between DS and DMP. I love the sound with the stock HDMI cable, but I would like a wider, deeper soundstage. Sounds like an Audioquest Diamond or Wireworld Platinum Starlight 7 might be the choice for me. Can the change in fuse have a similar effect on the soundstage for less $$$? (Of course I’d wait for Huron before making any changes.)

+1 on the WW PS7.

[nobo]

mark-d said

On the other hand,give this a try…it is simply amazing in what it does for the listening experience…I use it and I highly recommend one,and its not much more than the cost of a fuse or two.

Vintage Preamps & Tube Preamps for sale | eBay

Schumann Resonator: fascinating! But

1. Does it work as well when you're listening to Schubert?
2. Do you put the DS on top of it, do you sit on it, or just put your brain on it?
3. Can it be used for induction cooking?
4. "Double Chartres sacred geometry coil...can cover wider area than original Chartres": Is it twice a sacred as Chartres, or just the same level of sacritude but twice the volume of the cathedral?
5. "Schumann scalar waves also can be used for EMI/RFI protection and meditation." Would that be Christian, Mindfulness, or Transcendental meditation?

Actually, does sound interesting, and I'll have to learn about Schumann Resonance. See attached PDF.

[bootzilla]

Euphonite said

@bootzilla “Now I am content to sit tight with the DS Sr. for the foreseeable future.” But wait a minute. What would happen if you put these fuses in this more expensive DAC of which you speak?

@Euphonite: Literally nothing would happen, as the Ayre QX-5 Twenty DAC does not use fuses!

See posts #s 1504-05 of this thread, in which Ayre’s Charles Hansen confirms that “all Ayre products designed since the original X-5 series (non-Twenty) use special circuit breakers that sound better than fuses.”

[Elk]

Nobo said Schumann Resonator: fascinating! But . . .

I more than share your skepticism, and yours is the most cleverly stated I have read in a good while. This device pokes its head up occasionally having garnered loyal support by some. I find particularly amusing the belief that the Chartres cathedral labyrinth possesses special powers when an electrical current passes through a tracing which models it.

Like Machina Dynamica’s Brilliant Pebbles, and the delicious tweaks of May and Peter Belt, if one believes having such things in your listening room makes your system sound better, it does indeed sound better.

(By the way, Peter and May are/were absolutely delightful to engage with. Peter just died in February of this year.)

[mark-d]

To pass judgement on any tweak, without first hand experience,is shortsighted indeed. But I do understand any skepticism with any such device…Just like any after market fuse naysayer,you can never judge a book/tweak by its cover. Try it…you may like it.

[amgradmd]

Bootzilla said

It is hard to believe … I was very skeptical, myself. How could changing out a fuse make a meaningful audible improvement? I switched directly from the DS Sr.'s stock fuse to the Audio Magic Beeswax SHD, and I have not tried any other aftermarket fuses, so please take my comments with a grain of salt. Other posters on this thread have tried several fuses in the DS, so they can compare various aftermarket fuses. In my case, I can only compare stock vs. AM, which could be something of a false comparison, i.e., the changes I hear could be as much or more about the REMOVAL of the stock fuse than the ADDITION of the AM fuse. In any event, I have yet to read a post stating that a DS Sr. fuse change did not make a difference.

In my system, the AM fuse caused an immediate impact on the sound. Right away, there was more detail across the tonal spectrum, but this additional detail came at the expense of a new stridency or edginess that was not worth the additional detail. Well, over the fuse burn-in period, the stridency/edginess subsided and the result was a more detailed yet tonally neutral sound, as well as a somewhat deeper and wider sound stage. My DS Sr. sounded great to begin with, so I want to be careful not to attribute too much to the fuse swap. I view the situation this way: The stock DS Sr. has the potential for even greater detail and an even deeper/wider sound stage, but the stock fuse is holding things back to a degree. In my system, removing the stock fuse and installing the AM fuse helped to better release the DS Sr.'s awesome potential.

Boot - It’s like you took the words straight out of my mouth! Your description mimics my exact experience with the AM fuse. It really lets the DS Sr shine, IMO. Like taking the governor off the carburetor, if you will. Although relatively expensive in the fuse world, it is the most cost efficient tweak I’ve experienced. I’m so glad you have had a favorable impression!

And with regard to Nobo’s question regarding other power products, I think this is a distinct and separate entity from other power purifiers/optimiziers/isolators/etc. So regardless of all else you have done to optimize your system, I think you’ll benefit. I say this because I replaced my fuse, and noticed a huge difference, after having already powered my system with a P10 which is fed my PSA AC12 power cable. And my DS Sr is fed by a Nordost Red Dawn PC, as is my amp and preamp.

This is somewhat different, for example, than what I’ve experienced in terms of other tweaks where there seems to be a diminishing return. My Nordost Kones under my Mac Mini definitely improved the sound, but more Kones under the DS Sr less so, and even less under my amp. Similarly, my LANRover was a significant improvement in my USB chain but adding better quality cables didn’t help nearly as much or did using an LPS.

[nobo]

mark-d said But I do understand any skepticism with any such device...Try it...you may like it.

Elk said I more than share your skepticism...

Skepticism? On the contrary, I've already ordered a Schumann Resonator for each room of my house to keep me in synch with the music of the spheres. Is it true that there is one in the International Space Station?

Seriously, I do wonder if there is a physical explanation for some salubrious effect of a low frequency electromagnetic field upon neighboring electronics. That possibility doesn’t seem out of the question to me (acknowledging substantial ignorance in such matters).

I fear that I have begun to lust for a WW PS7 HDMI interconnect (how can pure silver not confer a greater shiney clarity to the sound?) and for an Audio Magic Beeswax SHD (after reading all the buzz).

[bootzilla]

Nobo said

I fear that I have begun to lust for … an Audio Magic Beeswax SHD (after reading all the buzz).

After combing through all these posts, you have isolated on one honey of a fuse …

[Elk]

Nobo said Seriously, I do wonder if there is a physical explanation for some salubrious effect of a low frequency electromagnetic field upon neighboring electronics.

As with the Belt tweaks, the emphasis is not on improving the operation of the equipment but rather on changing the perception of the listener.

NASA explains the electromagnetic signature, known as Schumann Resonance: “Every second, lightning flashes some 50 times on Earth. Together these discharges coalesce and get stronger, creating electromagnetic waves circling around Earth, to create a beating pulse between the ground and the lower ionosphere, about 60 miles up in the atmosphere.”

Oddly, NASA makes no reference to mimicking the Schumann Resonance in your home with an Internet purchased gadget and how it improves your health, hearing, the taste of cookies, or has any other salubrious effect.

But if a gadget makes you happier and the yuck/buck ratio is worth it to you, it is a great purchase.

Moreover, I do not argue with another’s subjective experience: if it sounds better to you, it sounds better.

[Elk]

mark-d said To pass judgement on any tweak, without first hand experience,is shortsighted indeed.

Yes and no.

It is good to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out.

And no, magnets, vortex generators, and ionizers do not improve gas mileage. Simba the lion will not be gay in the upcoming live-action remake of The Lion King.

[joe-appierto]

“if one believes having such things in your listening room makes your system sound better, it does indeed sound better.”

A classic example of listener bias/expectation and it’s difficult if not impossible to separate one from the other.

There are times I get depressed with this whole hobby of ours but I appreciate Elk reminding us of it. Sometimes we, me included, get caught up in our iterations of what if.

[jedi1]

Joe!!!..Sir, depressed??? You have a mighty fine looking system, at least on paper…but, what would I know? Like you ( and may I say everyone else on hear - yep, pun intended!) what haven’t we bought based on “listener biased” decisions (heard something we liked or read/thought/hoped it would it would sound good in our system). Yes, I certainly have bought a few things that I did NOT like in my system and that others had raved about.

But, I never have taken anyone’s opinion as to what I SHOULD hear from any component in MY system as deciding for me, until I tried it for myself. When I was wrong, I was disappointed but not depressed, including trying aftermarket fuses I have tried or…what???..received installed (without identifying markers) by the manufacturer in my Directstream ???

For sure, science (to the sorely limited grasp of my intellectual reach) leads me to dismiss some things, but if you or anyone else on here says you hear something, musical or not, I find that fascinating and worthy of my attention. If that Wireworld Starlight 7 you have did not work in my system (really think it might), I would not be depressed, but stimulated to find one that would, and genuinely accepting that what you heard was real, not an artificial, suggested illusion.

…or perhaps all this crap is an illusion.

[Elk]

jedi1 said .....or perhaps all this crap is an illusion.

Pretty much.

All music recording is artifice.

Music does not need thousands of dollars of equipment to be enthralling.

And there is no objective better, rather we all have our vastly differing subjective preferences - reflected in the incredible array of available equipment.

It is all pretty silly.

[nobo]

Bootzilla said After combing through all these posts, you have isolated on one honey of a fuse ...

Elk said It is good to keep an open mind, but not so open your brains fall out. And no, magnets, vortex generators, and ionizers do not improve gas mileage. Simba the lion will not be gay in the upcoming live-action remake of The Lion King.

...yuck/buck ratio...

mark-d said To pass judgement on any tweak, without first hand experience,is shortsighted indeed.

You guys are as hilarious as you are wise.

In the spirit of the influence of tweaks on perceived audio quality, observe recent experiments that demonstrate changes in the taste of wine induced by different music.

Upgrading to a 0.5 M silver WW PS7 HDMI interconnect at least seems to have some physics going for it in terms of increased bandwidth. Of course I personally don’t know whether that increased bandwidth (or other properties) is actually employed in a significant way by the DS and DMP. Perhaps you guys or Ted Smith can enlighten me.

[nobo]

Now I understand that by swimming in beeswax the filament of the Audio Magic SHD is able to bestow a more “organic” character to the sound. I am seriously also considering that upgrade. Yuck/buck ratio sounds reasonable despite the obscene price.

So, should I change the (small, slow, 1A from Highend-electronics) fuse in just the DS, or also in the DMP?

[tedsmith]

Increasing bandwidth of a digital interconnect can be either positive or negative: if can lower jitter (because clock edges are sharper) but it can also cause more radiation (because all edges are sharper.) How these two balance in a given system isn’t easy to guess ahead of time. HDMI cables for I2S probably already have pretty good shielding so the increase in radiation probably isn’t a big deal… YMMV