Expensive fuse

[Rob Flinn]

https://www.futureshop.co.uk/quantum-science-audio-silver-extreme-level-uk-mains-fuse

 

[Ó Draighnáin]

Pffft.

Skip the silver, I'm going with the gold fuse.

https://www.futureshop.co.uk/quantum-science-audio-gold-extreme-level-uk-mains-fuse

 

[PermO]

I'm waiting for the images to come, I want to see with my own eyes if it's really quantum before I order.

 

[Walrus]

If I put one in my dishwasher plug, will my plates come out quantumly cleaner?

 

[pucho812]

Sign me up for two

 

[radardoug]

I did a review, but I guarantee they wont publish it!

 

[Brian Roth]

If I put one in my dishwasher plug, will my plates come out quantumly cleaner?

Only if you also use the correct brand of detergent!

 

[totoxraymond]

Only use the 13 amps, otherwise, they might blow up and you'll have to buy a new one. Anyway, the device protected might be cheaper than the fuse.

 

[pucho812]

I did a review, but I guarantee they wont publish it!

Oh please kind sir, do share it with the rest of us.

 

[radardoug]

Nah, as I suspected, it did not get published!

 

[pucho812]

Nah, as I suspected, it did not get published!

Too bad. I would have loved to have read your blunt honest opinion but alas I’ll have to imagine what it said

 

[JohnRoberts]

Nah, as I suspected, it did not get published!

if you want to sneak in a bad review you have to start with something nice first, maybe offer, some helpful advice. Then drop the hammer with a BTW also it doesn't work...

JR

 

[PermO]

But they do work, there's nothing wrong with the fuse...

 

[AnalogPackrat]

But they do work, there's nothing wrong with the fuse...

Has anyone here ponied up the Barnum price and tested one?

 

[JohnRoberts]

I was talking about writing a disparaging review about something that didn't work right.

Back when I repaired the odometer for my car, the replacement gear arrived missing half the gear teeth. I wrote the review pointing out the merit in checking the replacement parts before disassembling your dashboard. They ran my review, but I was clearly a buyer.

JR

 

[Rusan]

Has anyone here ponied up the Barnum price and tested one?

Well, I haven't tested it yet, but.... After seeing this thread a couple of days ago, I remembered I had one of those audiophool fuses somewhere back in the darkest, deepest recesses of my electronics room. Someone gave it to me around 20 years ago, raving about how much better their stereo gear sounded with them, and that I just had to try one and be blown away by the improvement. I never even took it from the package, and had completely forgotten about it. I just now dug it out and examined it for the first time.

A quick internet search revealed that although the manufacturer (Hi-Fi Tuning) is defunct, they're still available as NOS for $99.95 USD each, making them a bona fide bargain versus the cheapest Quantum Science Audio version at £3500 plus VAT. Mine had actually been aftermarket double-cryoed, which makes it even more expensive. IIRC, they were about $40 USD back when it was given to me. According to the online store that sells them:

"The HiFi Tuning Supreme Fuses utilize a 99% pure silver and 1% pure gold alloy, tip-to-tip... from caps to burn wire. They also employ a specially developed ceramic casing, with an additional anti-resonance tube, as well as quantum and cryogenic treatments.

HiFi Tuning is based out of Germany, and the HiFi Tuning fuses have won many awards and received great reviews from the audiophile community aaround the world.

Amongst all the great fuse choices available from many brands the HiFi Tuning Supreme fuses I consider to be a universally solid pick for any audiophile that is looking for a musical presentation, without risk of suffering from listening fatigue over longer listening sessions. The HiFi Tuning Supremes strike a nice balance between not being too bright, nor overly syrupy.

For best performance, the HiFi Supreme fuses should be installed one way, listened to, and then reversed the other way to determine best sonic orientation."

Specially developed ceramic casing? Additional anti-resonance tube? Quantum and cryogenic treatments? A nice balance between not being too bright, nor overly syrupy? (IT'S A FUSE! REALLY?) And, my favorite: For best performance, the HiFi Supreme fuses should be installed one way, listened to, and then reversed the other way to determine best sonic orientation.

Ahhh, the ever-popular directional 2cm piece of silver wire, and not just directional, but directional to low frequency AC, nonethless! I literally couldn't read it without laughing a little bit. Interestingly, the casing is printed with schematic symbols of a diode and capacitor in parallel. Good luck with that...

Crazy stuff. I can't believe anyone would buy this. BUT, if anyone wants to, I'll sell it for half price. The first $50 offer gets it, lol.

 

[pucho812]

Well, I haven't tested it yet, but.... After seeing this thread a couple of days ago, I remembered I had one of those audiophool fuses somewhere back in the darkest, deepest recesses of my electronics room. Someone gave it to me around 20 years ago, raving about how much better their stereo gear sounded with them, and that I just had to try one and be blown away by the improvement. I never even took it from the package, and had completely forgotten about it. I just now dug it out and examined it for the first time.

A quick internet search revealed that although the manufacturer (Hi-Fi Tuning) is defunct, they're still available as NOS for $99.95 USD each, making them a bona fide bargain versus the cheapest Quantum Science Audio version at £3500 plus VAT. Mine had actually been aftermarket double-cryoed, which makes it even more expensive. IIRC, they were about $40 USD back when it was given to me. According to the online store that sells them:

"The HiFi Tuning Supreme Fuses utilize a 99% pure silver and 1% pure gold alloy, tip-to-tip... from caps to burn wire. They also employ a specially developed ceramic casing, with an additional anti-resonance tube, as well as quantum and cryogenic treatments.

HiFi Tuning is based out of Germany, and the HiFi Tuning fuses have won many awards and received great reviews from the audiophile community aaround the world.

Amongst all the great fuse choices available from many brands the HiFi Tuning Supreme fuses I consider to be a universally solid pick for any audiophile that is looking for a musical presentation, without risk of suffering from listening fatigue over longer listening sessions. The HiFi Tuning Supremes strike a nice balance between not being too bright, nor overly syrupy.

For best performance, the HiFi Supreme fuses should be installed one way, listened to, and then reversed the other way to determine best sonic orientation."

Specially developed ceramic casing? Additional anti-resonance tube? Quantum and cryogenic treatments? A nice balance between not being too bright, nor overly syrupy? (IT'S A FUSE! REALLY?) And, my favorite: For best performance, the HiFi Supreme fuses should be installed one way, listened to, and then reversed the other way to determine best sonic orientation.

Ahhh, the ever-popular directional 2cm piece of silver wire, and not just directional, but directional to low frequency AC, nonethless! I literally couldn't read it without laughing a little bit. Interestingly, the casing is printed with schematic symbols of a diode and capacitor in parallel. Good luck with that...

Crazy stuff. I can't believe anyone would buy this. BUT, if anyone wants to, I'll sell it for half price. The first $50 offer gets it, lol.

I’ll trade you some magic beans for it

 

[Rusan]

I’ll trade you some magic beans for it

Well, I appreciate the very tempting offer, but what I really, really want is some C37 lacquer!

"The human ear as a mechanical system is not free from resonance caused by the material it consists of. As this material is basically the same for everybody (carbon 37), resonant peaks occur at the same frequencies, although their amplitude may vary slightly, due to the damping effect of the surrounding bone. The ear is only one means through which stimuli are transferred to the central nervous system. But mechanical resonances distort information picked up by the ear.

To compensate, the brain uses something like a bridge circuit to filter the information it receives. At the same time the acoustical impedance of the ear is high at the ear's resonance peaks. This means that to successfully transfer information to the ear, impedance must match. Otherwise, distortion caused by mismatches would be more significant than the small signals containing coloration and spatial information. In mechanical systems like turntables, loudspeakers, or violins, performance will improve considerably when the spectrum of mechanical resonance is shifted toward that of the human ear. C37 lacquer was developed for this purpose.

In a high fidelity system, resonance-causing distortion may be dampened, but never eliminated. However, the spectrum of those resonances can be tuned to match those of the ear, thus enhancing small signal information. Distortion equal to that of the ear will be eliminated by the brain. For this reason, our intent was to create a special lacquer that shifts the mechanical resonance of the system towards those of the ear. C37 lacquer works much like the lacquer on a violin.

C37 Lacquer exclusively consists of natural compounds, all optimized to adjust the sound of a mechanical system to that of the human ear. This lacquer is almost clear with an amber cast. Although it dries to the touch in one day, it requires about 10 weeks to harden completely and attain its maximum effect. During the drying period, performance of the treated components will vary considerably, with the system sounding good one day and horrible the next. But this only shows how important it is to tune all the mechanical resonance.

At the end of the drying period, performance of the treated component is incomparable with its untreated counterpart. When dry, C37 Lacquer will be extraordinarily stable, with a hard and brilliant surface, but still flexible enough to resist breakage; waterproof and heat-resistant. In a way, it creates a finish similar to that found by trial and error by Guanieri or Stradivari.

All components should be lacquered at least twice. The second coat should be applied about a day after the first coat dries to the touch.

Speakers - ALL speakers in a system must be treated so the sound character remains the same throughout the entire bandwidth. A paper cone will soak up the first coat of C37. A smooth surface is obtained by the second or third coat. Full-range speakers such as Lowthers profit the most by this treatment. Speakers with kevlar, aluminum, polypropylene, or bextrene cones require less lacquer because it does not penetrate the surface.

Treat midrange and high-frequency drivers twice with slightly thinned C37 Lacquer. It doesn't matter if they are made out of supronyl, titanium, chitin, fabric or film. Diaphragms of horn drivers or film diaphragms as in Magnepans must be treated in the same way. 10 ml are enough for a pair of Lowthers or a small two or three-way system. Larger paper cones require more lacquer.

Some customers were so satisfied with the results of lacquering their speakers that they lacquered their enclosures as well and were satisfied with the improvement.

Turntables - Carefully lacquer the pickup at least twice. The same applies to the arm, mat and all cables.

Microphones - A recording engineer at Telarc thinned the lacquer and treated the housings of his Neumann tube microphones with excellent results.

Electrical Components and Circuit Boards - When current flows through a resistor, electrons are pushed through the resistive material, crash together within its molecular structure and lose their velocity, thus generating heat. Heat is nothing more than a result of movement. This internal movement causes the resistor to vibrate, in turn causing displacement of the molecular structure within the resistor. The resulting distortion in the current flowing through the resistor mirrors its spectrum of mechanical resonance. The same is true for all electrical components such as capacitors, inductors, semiconductors, or cable.

Tubes may not be lacquered, due to excessive heat.

CD's - For an example of what C37 Lacquer can do, apply one coat to the label side of a CD. Do not use it on the other side! Otherwise, the laser will not be able to read the disk.

CD Players/Transports - All circuit boards must receive two coats on the component side. This "glues" all components to the board and creates a coherent sound system. That means all resistors, capacitors, etc. must be coated with C37. It is also useful to lacquer the under side of the board. Mechanical parts in the transport also profit from a coat of C37. But do not lacquer open pots, switches or connectors. Always cover the lens to prevent it from being sprayed.

Matthias Böde from the German hi-fi magazine STEREO wrote in a test of two CD players from the same manufacturer, one treated with C37, the other stock: "While the unlacquered (CD player) sounded more like hi-fi, the lacquered one just made more music. Voices got more atmosphere, the flow of music was better."

Amplifiers - Treat them in the same way as CD players.

This C37 stuff is no longer made, but IIRC it cost about $250 USD for a 10mL bottle 20 years ago. Since it's unavailable, and anyone who had some has no doubt lacquered everything they own and used it up, I'd maybe consider trading my double-cryoed Hi-Fi Tuning fuse for a Shakti Stone instead.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Well, I appreciate the very tempting offer, but what I really, really want is some C37 lacquer!

"The human ear as a mechanical system is not free from resonance caused by the material it consists of. As this material is basically the same for everybody (carbon 37), resonant peaks occur at the same frequencies, although their amplitude may vary slightly, due to the damping effect of the surrounding bone. The ear is only one means through which stimuli are transferred to the central nervous system. But mechanical resonances distort information picked up by the ear.

To compensate, the brain uses something like a bridge circuit to filter the information it receives. At the same time the acoustical impedance of the ear is high at the ear's resonance peaks. This means that to successfully transfer information to the ear, impedance must match. Otherwise, distortion caused by mismatches would be more significant than the small signals containing coloration and spatial information. In mechanical systems like turntables, loudspeakers, or violins, performance will improve considerably when the spectrum of mechanical resonance is shifted toward that of the human ear. C37 lacquer was developed for this purpose.

In a high fidelity system, resonance-causing distortion may be dampened, but never eliminated. However, the spectrum of those resonances can be tuned to match those of the ear, thus enhancing small signal information. Distortion equal to that of the ear will be eliminated by the brain. For this reason, our intent was to create a special lacquer that shifts the mechanical resonance of the system towards those of the ear. C37 lacquer works much like the lacquer on a violin.

C37 Lacquer exclusively consists of natural compounds, all optimized to adjust the sound of a mechanical system to that of the human ear. This lacquer is almost clear with an amber cast. Although it dries to the touch in one day, it requires about 10 weeks to harden completely and attain its maximum effect. During the drying period, performance of the treated components will vary considerably, with the system sounding good one day and horrible the next. But this only shows how important it is to tune all the mechanical resonance.

At the end of the drying period, performance of the treated component is incomparable with its untreated counterpart. When dry, C37 Lacquer will be extraordinarily stable, with a hard and brilliant surface, but still flexible enough to resist breakage; waterproof and heat-resistant. In a way, it creates a finish similar to that found by trial and error by Guanieri or Stradivari.

All components should be lacquered at least twice. The second coat should be applied about a day after the first coat dries to the touch.

Speakers - ALL speakers in a system must be treated so the sound character remains the same throughout the entire bandwidth. A paper cone will soak up the first coat of C37. A smooth surface is obtained by the second or third coat. Full-range speakers such as Lowthers profit the most by this treatment. Speakers with kevlar, aluminum, polypropylene, or bextrene cones require less lacquer because it does not penetrate the surface.

Treat midrange and high-frequency drivers twice with slightly thinned C37 Lacquer. It doesn't matter if they are made out of supronyl, titanium, chitin, fabric or film. Diaphragms of horn drivers or film diaphragms as in Magnepans must be treated in the same way. 10 ml are enough for a pair of Lowthers or a small two or three-way system. Larger paper cones require more lacquer.

Some customers were so satisfied with the results of lacquering their speakers that they lacquered their enclosures as well and were satisfied with the improvement.

Turntables - Carefully lacquer the pickup at least twice. The same applies to the arm, mat and all cables.

Microphones - A recording engineer at Telarc thinned the lacquer and treated the housings of his Neumann tube microphones with excellent results.

Electrical Components and Circuit Boards - When current flows through a resistor, electrons are pushed through the resistive material, crash together within its molecular structure and lose their velocity, thus generating heat. Heat is nothing more than a result of movement. This internal movement causes the resistor to vibrate, in turn causing displacement of the molecular structure within the resistor. The resulting distortion in the current flowing through the resistor mirrors its spectrum of mechanical resonance. The same is true for all electrical components such as capacitors, inductors, semiconductors, or cable.

Tubes may not be lacquered, due to excessive heat.

CD's - For an example of what C37 Lacquer can do, apply one coat to the label side of a CD. Do not use it on the other side! Otherwise, the laser will not be able to read the disk.

CD Players/Transports - All circuit boards must receive two coats on the component side. This "glues" all components to the board and creates a coherent sound system. That means all resistors, capacitors, etc. must be coated with C37. It is also useful to lacquer the under side of the board. Mechanical parts in the transport also profit from a coat of C37. But do not lacquer open pots, switches or connectors. Always cover the lens to prevent it from being sprayed.

Matthias Böde from the German hi-fi magazine STEREO wrote in a test of two CD players from the same manufacturer, one treated with C37, the other stock: "While the unlacquered (CD player) sounded more like hi-fi, the lacquered one just made more music. Voices got more atmosphere, the flow of music was better."

Amplifiers - Treat them in the same way as CD players.

This C37 stuff is no longer made, but IIRC it cost about $250 USD for a 10mL bottle 20 years ago. Since it's unavailable, and anyone who had some has no doubt lacquered everything they own and used it up, I'd maybe consider trading my double-cryoed Hi-Fi Tuning fuse for a Shakti Stone instead.

maybe if you sniff the lacquer ?

JR

 

[Rusan]

maybe if you sniff the lacquer ?

Apparently, the person who wrote the ad copy had already volunteered to be the test subject for that... It definitely smacks of "chemically-augmented creativity."