[Tarzan]

Evening all, this is my second post on the Virtue Circle so go easy with me! Loving my M451, and it has come to my attention that the M451 is fitted with an internal fuse, having had an intergrated amplifier before l had the 451 and fitted to Hifi Tuning fuses into it and to my suprise got a subtle but worthwhile gain in sound quality, so has anyone done this and was it worthwhile, thanks for looking.

[musicophile]

Hi, and welcome to the Circle!  I'm using the ICEBlock mono-pair rather than the Sensation, but I had to chime in because the results for me were superb. Each Block has one small fuse, both of which I replaced with the Hi-Fi Tuning Supreme silver-gold alloy fuses.  Definitely a worthwhile upgrade, I think!  I've also heard good things about the Furutech copper fuses.  One thing to experiment with if you try this is the orientation of the fuse in the holder, i.e. which way it's "pointing."  Mine are sounding so great the way they first went in, I haven't bothered yet myself, but others have reported distictly better performance on highs in particular with one direction versus the other (in other equipment, that is).  Grab one from a dealer that will allow a return, and have fun!  I expect you won't be sending it back. 

[PHamm]

I must say that I share the OP's curiosity about upgrading fuses on the Sensation amp. I have had very good results doing this in DACs, but I have not tried to do this with my Sensation amp so far because (i) I could not see anything about fuses this in the manual and (ii) I moved to a battery power supply last year. Pardon my ignorance, but would upgrading the fuse have any impact on the amp if it is running from a battery supply?

[Tarzan]

Right... just need to know the rating/ value of the internal fuse on the Sensation

[borism]

I just want to point to another AC discussion regarding Tuning Fuses.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=105425.0

There seems to be at least some caution advised.

[Tarzan]

Well finally got around to trying the internal fuse upgrade, my dealer ( who l totally trust) sent me a Furutech Rhodium plated jobbie and this was installed in around 5 minutes and the results were.................right off the bat subtle improvement in all areas, weight, scale, smoothness and musicality, reading up on the fuse in question on the internet revealed these particular fuses need 100 hours of break in , so all in all for me a worthwhile upgrade for not much wonga.

[OzarkTom]

Well finally got around to trying the internal fuse upgrade, my dealer ( who l totally trust) sent me a Furutech Rhodium plated jobbie and this was installed in around 5 minutes and the results were.................right off the bat subtle improvement in all areas, weight, scale, smoothness and musicality, reading up on the fuse in question on the internet revealed these particular fuses need 100 hours of break in , so all in all for me a worthwhile upgrade for not much wonga.

Just be careful, there are some on AC that thinks Audiophile Fuses are just a bunch of bunk.

Another fuse I highly recommended is the AMR fuses for $20 each.

[JohnR]

It's not so much the "bunk" aspect, but the concern that some fuses do not actually meet fuse specifications.

[OzarkTom]

It's not so much the "bunk" aspect, but the concern that some fuses do not actually meet fuse specifications.

And which ones are those that do not meet the specs?

[JohnR]

The ones in the thread in the Music Reference circle.

[HiFlight]

Color me skeptical, but I don't understand how an inch-long passive device that measures zero ohms can make an audible difference in the SQ of an amplifier.   

[medium jim]

Color me skeptical, but I don't understand how an inch-long passive device that measures zero ohms can make an audible difference in the SQ of an amplifier.

Simple, they can't....save your money for things that really can make a difference.

Jim

[OzarkTom]

Color me skeptical, but I don't understand how an inch-long passive device that measures zero ohms can make an audible difference in the SQ of an amplifier.

This is not a major improvement, just slightly more air and detail. But for $20 on the AMR audiophile fuse, I think it is well worth it.

[Tarzan]

This is not a major improvement, just slightly more air and detail. But for $20 on the AMR audiophile fuse, I think it is well worth it.

Agreed it was a subtle improvement, but for the outlay it was a worthwhile improvement and also do not know how or why it would work , but in my system, room it did

[virtue]

It's my understanding that pico-fuses pass current more easily until their break point.  I'm sure that the exotic fuse industry would take issue with that

Our new platform has pico fuses to reduce buyer's remorse around this kind of upgrade.

Seth

[OzarkTom]

It's my understanding that pico-fuses pass current more easily until their break point.  I'm sure that the exotic fuse industry would take issue with that

Our new platform has pico fuses to reduce buyer's remorse around this kind of upgrade.

Seth

I learned something new today.

Those pico fuses sure looks like they would work and sound better than the other type fuses. They are definitely alot cheaper.

[virtue]

Those stepped pots in TWO.2 bit me in the butt (no sonic improvement)!  Hope pico-fuses will be a net gain!

[Xcalibur]

I love stepped pots personally, even knowing they do nothing for the sound.  Something about the tactile experience makes it worth the extra cost.  In a perfect world both could be offered, for those willing to splurge and those not wanting to spend money on something that doesn't impact sonics.

[bardamu]

Hello,
Thirty years ago i did start using the so called audiophile binding post and cables. Internally the cables from the circuit to the binding post ''internal side'' were not exactly high grade. The binding post were almost as expensive as the short length of cable i was using at that time.
So i decided to go all the the way. Solder the loudspeaker cable directly to the circuit and use a decent strain relief at the back side of the amplifier. This was one of the biggest improvements in my audiophile life, it is cheaper, has less connections be it solder or crimping. The same can be done with the inputs.
Will have to make a replacement for the bottom and back side with the right holes at the right places. Will make it with a big hole underneath the circuit so all the connection can be solder with the board mounted and make an extra plate to cover that big rectangular or square hole. Have to find cables that will allow me to use the seize of the holes that were required for the little white colour connections that are all over the board now. If the all the solder joints can be reached by lifting the extra bottom plate there is no much need to use all these not so high grade connections.
In my set up the desired length of all the interconnects and the loudspeaker cables will remain the same like in most set ups i think.
I think no fuse can surpass this modification. I will end up with something that cannot be sold? Maybe but i tyhink there will be no need for me to sell it.
In the attachment my home made stainless steel ( the plates i did make at work lol )

choke input power supply ( couldn't compare it with an original one because i did buy it without one)
Sincere greetings, Edward

[Tarzan]

A little update regarding fuse upgrade in the Sensation, l removed the after market fuse ( Furutech Rhodium) in my M451 and placed into my M901 and there again was a nice jump in sound quality ( l cannot fathom it out either but the results speak for themselves), so all in all a well worthwhile tweak.