Going back 25 years the one that used to make us laugh was the gold plated mains plug with oxygen free mains cable - we used to imagine an audiophile arguing with the electricity board about wanting their wiring back to the substation to be in oxygen free cable with gold plated connectors throughout! 


The listening test point is interesting. If someone has spent £70 on a fuse there is, in my experience from running listening tests, a very good chance they'll decide it does sound better. It's a very brave person who'll admit they've been taken in.


I see the Blue version of this fuse is £130....and it's directional (this stuff really makes me cross):

Q: Are fuses directional?

A: Yes, fuses are directional.  Electricity should flow from the left to the right when you view the fuse.  If you do not know the direction of flow you should listen to the fuse inserted in both directions.  One direction will sound more detailed.  This is the correct way.
https://www.synergisticresearch.com/fuses/blue/

Ok, so they'd have to go a very very long way to convince me of their audiophile claims, but it's a very interesting legal and safety point Alasdair - I've even just had a quick look at "The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994" (I believe this is still current?) which implies that a mains fuse placed on the market must be to BS1362, but I'm not sure it actually states this? Synergistic Research (and MCRU) don't claim one way or the other whether these are to BS1362 anyway. So it's a really interesting legal point as to whether these fuses should be on the market or not - so much so that I'd be wary of posting an opinion on it!


I spent years of my life designing genuinely high quality (studio) sound equipment, for a company that really cared about finding out whether anyone really could hear the difference between any two devices or circuits, and then wanted to know why. Even when you have a perfectly designed listening room with speakers perfectly matched to it (which are actually your biggest problems at home) your mains fuse is still very much the least of your worries! But it's psychology, it's about the only bit left (along with the interconnect cables and the mains plug) that the consumer can change, so they want to believe they can still affect the sound by those bits that are still in their control.


Personally I'd rather spend the money on some good CD's...or LPs...or concert tickets...or put it towards a new guitar...


Cheers,


Andy

Going back 25 years the one that used to make us laugh was the gold plated mains plug with oxygen free mains cable - we used to imagine an audiophile arguing with the electricity board about wanting their wiring back to the substation to be in oxygen free cable with gold plated connectors throughout! 


The listening test point is interesting. If someone has spent £70 on a fuse there is, in my experience from running listening tests, a very good chance they'll decide it does sound better. It's a very brave person who'll admit they've been taken in.


I see the Blue version of this fuse is £130....and it's directional (this stuff really makes me cross):

Q: Are fuses directional?

A: Yes, fuses are directional.  Electricity should flow from the left to the right when you view the fuse.  If you do not know the direction of flow you should listen to the fuse inserted in both directions.  One direction will sound more detailed.  This is the correct way.
https://www.synergisticresearch.com/fuses/blue/

Ok, so they'd have to go a very very long way to convince me of their audiophile claims, but it's a very interesting legal and safety point Alasdair - I've even just had a quick look at "The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994" (I believe this is still current?) which implies that a mains fuse placed on the market must be to BS1362, but I'm not sure it actually states this? Synergistic Research (and MCRU) don't claim one way or the other whether these are to BS1362 anyway. So it's a really interesting legal point as to whether these fuses should be on the market or not - so much so that I'd be wary of posting an opinion on it!


I spent years of my life designing genuinely high quality (studio) sound equipment, for a company that really cared about finding out whether anyone really could hear the difference between any two devices or circuits, and then wanted to know why. Even when you have a perfectly designed listening room with speakers perfectly matched to it (which are actually your biggest problems at home) your mains fuse is still very much the least of your worries! But it's psychology, it's about the only bit left (along with the interconnect cables and the mains plug) that the consumer can change, so they want to believe they can still affect the sound by those bits that are still in their control.


Personally I'd rather spend the money on some good CD's...or LPs...or concert tickets...or put it towards a new guitar...


Cheers,


Andy