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"my skepticism was instead replaced by a lighter wallet"

Posted by 1973shovel on April 29, 2017 at 09:28:44:
I hear you!

Your experience seems to mirror mine with regard to power cords. I had a difficult time believing that they could make a difference. I ordered a Zu Bok with a thirty day trial, convinced that the most I would be out was the return postage after proving to myself that people were simply hearing things.

As you have already guessed, the Bok is still in my system.

I recall being just as skeptical regarding better interconnects and speaker wire years ago, but had my ears opened by actually trying them. My position on fuses isn't a total "contempt prior to investigation", because I certainly am curious.

But, assuming for a moment that I could hear an improvement, two things give me pause with boutique fuses. The first is the accuracy of their specifications. Does their 0.125 A fuse really open at more than a 0.125A current draw? Am I willing to risk a $1000 phono stage to find out?

The second reason is that one power hiccup, one capacitor going bad in the power supply, and I've just lit $100 on fire when the fuse opens. I could still sell my $100 power cord if I chose to, but they don't "self-destruct" like the fuses are intended to.

The big consideration for me is the value for my dollar factor. As I posted in a reply to CD player upgrades a few posts down, the Belleson regulator is the biggest "bang for the buck" I've yet to experience. I also quoted from the TNT review of the Belleson regulators, "These regulators are expensive compared to other types, but not compared to cables and other accessories, and in my system they improved things more than any cable I've ever tried...", which was also my experience when I replaced the regulator in my Graham Slee phono stage with the Belleson.

So, given that I have to be judicious with my spending, laying out $35 to $55 for a Belleson makes more sense for me than dropping hundreds (or even thousands, according to the TNT review) on cables, fuses, etc. If money were no object, I'd go for the Belleson, upgraded power-cord, and a boutique fuse, but since I can't, I'll opt for my biggest "bang for the buck" and start with the Belleson.

Oh, and thank you for the wise suggestion to try a Hi-Fi tuning fuse or two from the Parts Connexion. That sounds like a reasonably priced (by insane audiophile standards, anyway) foray into fuse testing.