CF FUSES
Straight talking about mains power fuses for audio and A/V.
It is now understood that electrons do not ‘flow’ like water, but rather they ‘propagate’ in a wave of energy that moves along the electrons in the atoms that make up the conductor wire, at the speed of light. Fuses and fuse holders are a part of that conductor, it’s imperative to ensure good electrical propagation through these component parts. The fuse wire and connections between it and the cables on both sides form the power link in your mains power supply to each piece of equipment in your audio or A/V system. Fuses and their holders are potentially a ‘weak-link’, disrupting the energy propagation.
connected-fidelity mains power fuses have been developed to minimise energy (power) propagation issues. No fancy rare earth materials or expensive plating finishes are required in our opinion, these certainly increase the price and look lovely, but the fuse will ultimately be fitted into a relatively low-quality commercial grade fuse holder as most are made from a bronze alloy with a Tin or Nickel electro-plated finish, except in higher quality audiophile plugs and equipment, and even the best of these are not perfect connectors, cleaning before fitting the fuse is recommended.
We have concentrated on what is important - reducing the impact both the fuse and holder together have on energy propagation though these connected components.
The fuse: Through extensive listening tests, we discovered that there are several ways of improving the fuse ‘performance’ for audio and A/V use.
1.
A deep cryogenic treatment (extended soaking of the fuse at a temperature close to absolute zero) cold anneals conductive metal materials and better bonds the silver alloy fuse wire to the copper fuse end caps at a molecular level, also improving the conductivity of both silver alloy fuse wire and copper connecting ends.
2.
Super cleaning the conductive fuse caps, to remove top layer plating impurities and polishing.
3.
Adding a resonance damping sleeve over the fuse case for increased mechanical isolation.
4.
Applying an exceedingly high voltage (300,000V with minute amperage) through the fuse. This does more than simply ‘run in’ the component. We are into the realm of quantum mechanics here, and whilst other fuse brands do this as their sole improvement technique there is no scientific evidence to back it up, it just seems to work.
5.
Finally, a local application of a conductor cleaning agent to the fuse caps and mating parts of the fuse holder immediately before fitting. We supply a cleaning cloth with every connected-fidelity fuse pack, to remove dirt, grease, and oxidisation from both the fuse and the fuse holder conductive surfaces.
Excellent value
There has been little precise science involved, we worked with our ears to achieve excellent results that do not ‘break the bank’. We supply UK Plug fuses in 3’s because you should use them in every audio or A/V component and a ‘multi-pack’ is best value for you. 20 x 5mm slow blow fuses are sold singly.
Noticeable performance gain
Indeed, our audiophile quality fuses are very low-cost compared to many of the other audio quality brands available and we find they offer improved performance, particularly powering source components like phono-stages, CD players and streamers; along with pre-amplifiers, power amplifiers and AV equipment. The unsolicited feedback we have received from satisfied customers bears this out.
We offer both 5A and 13A UK plug fuses in packs of 3, and a range of values in 5 x 20mm (slow blow) fuses for use in the back of audio and AV equipment (generally incorporated under the IEC input socket) singly. These can also be used internally where appropriate, the values available being: 0.5A, 1.0A, 2.0A, 3.15A, 5.0A, 10.0A and 16.0A.
We suggest you change both the UK plug and IEC 20mm fuses for best audible or AV improvement.
CF Fuse Specifications
CF13A and CF5A Audiophile fuses for UK plugs.
Full British Standards approval
5A and 13A UK plug fuses Boxed in 3’s
Silver alloy fuse wire held in ‘anti-shock’ filler
Thick ceramic body
5 x 20mm fuse range, sold singly
Anti-resonance sleeve over body
Copper/nickel end-caps high cleaned/polished
Deep Cryogenic treatment
Ultra-high voltage treatment
All fuses come complete with cleaning cloth
For Audio
Fuller sound quality
More dynamics
Better sound staging
For Picture
Clearer picture definition
Deeper colours, blacker blacks
Customer Feedback
I never thought of upgrading mains fuses until about seven or eight years ago, prior to that I used a silver plated Bussmann 13 amp fuse. I have to say, though, that my experience with audiophile fuses over the past few years has not been an entirely pleasant one. I’ve usually found that they either disturbed the frequency balance (usually giving too much prominence to the treble) or engendered an over-etched artificial sound.
Having lived with your RF Fuses for about six weeks, I must say that I am delighted with the way in which they strike a very natural balance and not only enhance what was there before in terms of sound but more than that, I'm delighted with the way that they increase the sheer musicality of the sound bringing me a lot closer to the performers. None of this was evident in such a pronounced way with any of the (much higher priced) audiophile fuses that I’d purchased before.'
Extracts from Customer email, details held on file.
Press Reviews
Given that I’m not a particle physicist, I shan’t be attempting any scientific explanation for what I heard – but I did hear something different, all the same. These connected-fidelity fuses provided a moderate but useful upgrade to my system’s sound and might do the same in yours. Given the modest price, I’d say they are reasonable value considering the improvements they can bring. Some people pay a lot more for less!
Stereonet
(review link)
