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
Thanks Ted!
From my naive reading, it looks like the Wire-Worlders have taken pains to address shielding and radiation issues ( Wireworld HDMI Cables ), and the Starlight Platinum 7 has yuge bandwidth. Plus several renowned forum contributors from their own experience recommend it very bigly. It kinda seems like this cable might sorta have the potential to promote a more spacious soundstage, should that be an effect very sensitive to jitter.
The combination of this cable’s DNA Helix Design, together with the organic properties of the beeswax in the Audio Magic fuse might generate yet unheard supernatural soundforms.
Short of “magic”, there seem to be only two possible mechanisms for wildly overpriced fuses to make any difference in the output of a DS: lower resistance, and reduced mechanical vibration. No-one in this thread has proposed any other explanations that I’ve noticed.
What I’ve been wondering is this: has taken the trouble to completely eliminate both of these possible issues by just replacing the fuse with a piece of 8-ga. copper wire, which would have less resistance than the line cord supplying it, and would simply not support any type of mechanical resonance?
This should be the ultimate in fuses, short of simply wiring around it.
Anyone care to try the ultimate fuse experiment and do comparative listening with a solid-copper fuse, or without the fuse in circuit? Seems like an obvious experiment to determine whether fuse replacement has any real potential for improving the sound.
Fuses could also be filters keeping more potential pollution from escaping from the device back down the power line (or from radiating from the power line) and disturbing the rest of the system. In that case a solid piece of wire could be the worst case instead of the best case.
Long before the audiophile fuse craze there were quite a few who advocated replacing fuses with good quality wire as this improved the sound. Some manufactures similarly eschewed fuses in their designs for this same reason, such as John Dunlavy.
I have asked people here to compare their favorite fuse with a quality wire bypass but have been only met with shocked disdain. Amusing, as no one to my knowledge has tested an audiophile fuse to determine whether it actually works as a fuse.
Ted’s proffered explanation that the fuse may serve as a filter of some sort strikes me as the most plausible, although I continue to view directionality of AC fuses with skepticism; AC is bi-directional, equal, and powering an AC circuit. But perhaps a mild bit of rectification is beneficial.
I’m not an electrician and would be reluctant to concoct a wire spanning the fuse in my DS. How would you go about doing that without soldering it into the gap? Again, NOT an electrician here.
I am not big on fuses… but believe if others hear a difference - there may be some merit… I will tell you though… If someone told me they put in a really ‘cheap’ fuse in - and it degraded the sound… I would more readily accept that as truth vs… I put this really expensive fuse in - and it really improved the sound…
I am not sure why I think like that - but I bet there are many others that do as well… Degrade=Yes… Improve=No… haha… and I’m not ‘dis-believing’… just pointing out a fault in my thinking pattern!!
I guess it would be difficult to prove either way. It just seemed to me that lots of the negative posts I read have more to do with how much the fuse costs as opposed to how it sounds. Just my two cents.
And a lot of positive posts are equally obsessed with special materials, the vague descriptions of purveyors, how much the fuse costs, directionality, break-in, etc. - all which are apparently required to be fully in order for a fuse to be beneficial.
Just my two cents.
In other words - and to be more blunt this time - leave it alone. Ad hominem arguments never contribute positively to any discussion. All sides are grounded in beliefs, experiences, presumptions, bias, and more. Focus on the subject, not the people. Do not assume what their experiences are.
Instead, tell us about your experiences, good or bad, your hypothesis as to why fuses work or don’t, etc.
According to Robert Deutsch, writing in the February 2015 Stereophile (Vol. 38, No. 2), “PS Audio recommends using high-quality aftermarket fuses” (my emphasis):
PS Audio recommends using high-quality aftermarket fuses; I use, and have written about, HiFi Tuning Supreme fuses. I installed one each in the DS and PW. (Each component has two fuse bays, but PSA told me that only the fuse in the F1 bay need be replaced.) Replacing the fuse requires removing the top of the case—no task for the fainthearted. I managed it for the DS, but the PW refused to open; it took Ronald Hung, Toronto Home of Audiophile's highly competent and very patient technician, more than half an hour to do the job. It was worth it: with the HiFi Tuning Supremes, the DS-PW combo ascended another rung of clarity. At $100 for two fuses, the improvement was a bargain....
As I read the above quote, and in particular the bit about “PSA told me that only the fuse in the F1 bay need be replaced,” it appears that someone from PS Audio suggested to Mr. Deutsch that he swap out the stock fuses for “high-quality aftermarket fuses” in order to extract the maximum performance from the DS-PW combo.
I would think it would be in PSA’s best interest to include and upgraded fuse option when purchasing the DS. I’ve said it before, but replacing the fuse was the single biggest upgrade in the sound of my system short of new speakers or amp. It’s a no brainer, IMO.
Over 300 Hrs of burn in time with the SHD Beeswax Fuse in the DS Sr… Truly amazing upgrade as to how it’s improved the overall presentation DirectStream which was amazing to begin with. This upgrade is a keeper that I was very hesitant to try. Glad I did!!!
So question is is it worthwhile to replace the fuses in my Class A integrated amp?
