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You know that cell phones are just two-way radios, right?

And that when you’re talking on one that you’re really talking into a two-way radio broadcasting a very, very high-frequency signal right next to your head.

Yes, I know scientifically that it’s a very low-power signal being transmitted but it still is producing near-microwave frequency radiation that might be absorbed into nearby soft tissue. Your brain, for instance.

That’s why some experts believe it’s a good idea to keep your cell phones conversations short in duration – and also keep the number of those conversations to a minimum. That’s especially for adults who are always talking on their cell phones. And, that goes double and triple for children.

Which brings us to the research of people calling themselves the Environmental Working Group. They say they consist of a “team of scientists, engineers, policy experts, lawyers and computer programmers (who) pore over government data, legal documents, scientific studies and (their) own laboratory tests to expose threats to your health and the environment, and to find solutions”.

On their EWG “Get A Safer Phone” Website, the group has published lists containing the results of what they’ve found. There’s a list for regular “feature phones” cellphones and another for smartphones. There’s even a quick and easy look-up system to see how well your current handset has fared.

All of this is even more interesting because the City of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors has just passed a law requiring retailers to post notices on just how much radiation is reportedly being emitted by cellphones they sell. They hope this information will help consumers make a “safer” choice. That’s if consumers think this is important enough to care about in a world of iPhones, Androids, Blackberries and the like.

All of this sounds very ominous and scary. I’m not sure it should be your first priority when you buy a phone but being aware of your phone’s radiation numbers could make a difference.

David Pritchard is one of the really good guys in the audio business today. First, he loves good sounding equipment – and second, he especially loves good-sounding, vintage transistor Quad component products.

I wrote about Net-Audio a few years back and David’s amazing upgrades for the Quad 33 (pre-amp) and 303 (power amp). The different pre-amp upgrade options consist of swapping out the original plug-in circuit boards for David’s modern designs. The power amp upgrades range from soldering in a new power supply board to a full, top-to-bottom re-design of the amp. Read my original write-up on MSNBC.com for full details.

I’ve listened to all of these options and can tell you that David really knows what he’s doing. In the past 3 years, I’ve tried other amps and pre-amps on my vintage Quad ESL speakers – but within weeks I always seem to come back to – and prefer listening to David’s upgraded components. A short while later, David had sent me an even newer Tape Adapter board. My 33 sounded great.

That brings us to the present. David let me know he had made further improvements to the Quad 33 output boards and wanted to know if I was interested in hearing what he accomplished with some new, MK2 series boards. If I could have reached through the computer screen and grabbed the boards right then and there it wouldn’t have been soon enough.

After waiting a few weeks (which seemed like an eternity) the plug-in boards arrived. I quickly replaced David’s “old” boards with the new ones – sat back and started listening. They sounded great – but I knew that if I followed David’s instructions – and let the new components “burn-in” for a few hundred hours I’d be rewarded with an even better listening experience.

That was an understatement. The new boards now have nearly 400 hours on them and the improvement over the last boards is amazing. Playing upon his circuits strengths, David has actually squeezed even more clarity and a wider/deeper sound-stage out of his designs.

To put it another way, an original, UN-modified Quad 33 sounds a bit dull and dated compared to modern-day hi-fi equipment. With David’s original upgraded circuit boards a modified Quad 33 could keep pace with most modern-day gear. With these new boards, a Net-Audio 33 can basically keep up with the rest of the stuff out there. Even with all the mods, David’s 33 reproduces music that sounds absolutely right.

Match the 33 with a Quad 303 (make sure the amp is working properly – they are 30-40 years old) and, at least, add David’s super-duper power supply board – and you have some spectacular gear to listen to.

Back when I was doing the original testing of Net-Audio modded gear, I brought my Quad 303 with David’s new power supply board to an amplifier shoot-out at my friend Robin’s house. He had arranged to have a number of very expensive power amplifiers to try on Robin’s Quad speakers. After a n hour or so, the other listener involved, a musician and fellow Quad ESL owner snapped his head around when Robin placed my 303 in the music playback chain. “What’s that?” “That’s a 35-year old Quad 303”, was our response. The expert was stunned. It sounded (and still sounds) THAT good.

Here’s the best part. Finding unmodified Quad 33s and Quad 303s is easy. Just look on eBay. They always seem to be at least one or two examples of each for sale. And usually even more are available from Great Britain. Prices are low – especially with the dollar being strong at the moment. Even with overseas shipping.

David’s original replacement output boards are still available ($94.50 at current exchange rates) and the new (and highly recommended) MK2 boards are $109. An entire Net-Audio upgrade (full boards swap) will set you back $269. That’s a bargain for what you get.  You’ll need to add a 120v power supply (it plugs into your new Tape Adapter board and David will advise you on which one to get) also postage, handling and any taxes your government might add.

David reminds me that my 33 is currently, nearly, completely up-to-date.  It now contains the following Net-Audio components:

You have the new output and tape adaptor boards plus you have an original disc board, not the new MK2. All signals go through the output boards. Tape and Radio signals pass through the Tape adaptor board as does the disc signal after being processed by the disc amplifier and disc adaptor cards.

There is a MK2 disc board which you do not have fitted to your 33.

I think it sounds amazing just the way it is.

These are top-quality component boards that are available now at near rock-bottom prices. Add some of David’s upgrade magic to classic Quad components and you’ll have an affordable and stupendously super-sounding system.

Very, very highly recommended.

Looking for a great Father’s Day gift that won’t break the bank? How about brand new, flat-screen HDTV?

I’m not kidding. You just need to know where to look.

Personally, I would look toward a brand named Sceptre. They are now selling new, affordable flat-screen LED TV’s in places like Walmart, Sears, Target, Costco, New Egg and Tiger Direct.

What do I consider affordable? The TV set I’ve had the pleasure of testing for the past few weeks (Model X195BV-HD) has a 19-inch screen (measured diagonally) and is capable of providing your eyes with full 720p resolution, a contrast ratio of 1,000-to-1 and 4 ms response time.

The Sceptre has dual HDMI and USB ports (in case you want to use it as a computer monitor too) and is Energy Star 3.0 compliant. That last one means it uses something like 40% less electricity than a TV not Energy Star 3.0 complaint.

OK. So far, what’s so exciting about this that would make it worth your while to check out? It sports a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $199. I’m not kidding. And that $199 is the suggested. You might find it selling for less.

Some things you should know. Since this is an HDTV, and since it the screen is the standard 16:9 aspect ratio, this TV screen is smaller than a 19-inch screen on an old-fashioned, 4:3 aspect ratio TV set with a cathode ray tube inside. Both types of TVs are perfect for small rooms, or desktop – but the new-fangled HDTV 19-inch screen is wider and a little less tall.

I’ve been watching this Sceptre for a few weeks now and can tell you that it’s a pretty good TV. In addition to feeding it from the HDMI output from my Cable TV box as well as using the Sceptre’s built-in over-the-air tuner. Both produce a sharp, moderately bright, very watchable picture. Quality is very good. I found that keeping the TV next to my bed the optimal viewing distance was 4-to-9 feet away. Any closer and my TV stand placed the image too high for good color rendition. Any further and you quickly realize just how small as 19-inch HDTV can look.

The only two items I can fault the set on is the Blue indicator light when the TV is on (it’s way too bright in a darkened room) and the sound (there are small internal speakers inside and even though they can go very loud they can sometimes sound tinny.)

Remember, we’re talking about a $199 HDTV. At that price it’s a best buy.

A wall mounting bracket is optional.

And, if you think a “19″ is too small for your needs, Sceptre also makes 23-inch LED models selling for $269, a 27-inch LCD model for $399 and 42-inch LCD models for $699.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

In case you missed this, CBS News’ 60 Minutes just aired a profile of Marty Cooper who, while working for Motorola in the 1970’s, was responsible for a wireless device which allowed him to make the world’s first cell phone call.

The Motorola handset he used was the size of a adult’s shoe and weighed more than two pounds.

This is a terrific piece about a clever guy who is still plugged into the mobile device world and has a lot to say about the past, present and future of on-the-go communicating.

(I apologize, in advance, for the promotional commercial that CBS adds before letting you watch their news story.)

Finally, there is a Garmin cell phone worth talking about.

This is the T-Mobile Garminfone. It runs on Google’s Android operating system. It uses three different GPS direction-finding systems.

And it’s one of the best Android phones on the market today.

The Garminfone is actually manufactured for Garmin by Asus – famous for their netbooks and computers. They’ve been making smartphones for the rest of the world (not the United States) for years and they’ve done an excellent job on the Garminfone’s hardware.

Garminfone is a GPS device first and foremost – a cell phone second (check out the large buttons on the phone’s home screen). It’s also a modern-day Android smartphone with all the trimmings.

It has a 600MHz Qualcomm processor, a multi-touch screen, 4 GB of built-in storage (2GB goes to Garmin’s North American map storage) and also a 2GB miniSD card (upgradable to 32GB).

In the box you get a nifty car mount bracket which allows you to charge the phone, make and receive calls via the built-in speakerphone and also learn where you are going at the same time. Even better, when you take the Garminfone out of that car mount bracket the phone remembers your exactly location where you have parked – so you can easily find your car again. A clever feature.

It does that with Garmin’s built-in North American map system (other area maps are optional) as well as Google Maps software and AGPS triangulation with cell towers. The purchase price includes Garmin’s standard maps upgrade policy (called nuMaps Guarantee): you can update to the latest version of North American maps for free for 60 days (starting with the first time you acquire a GPS signal). After that, you have to pay. All the other stuff, updates of Garmin’s real-time traffic, weather, arrival time and gas prices are updated for free.

In addition, Garminfone is a GPS device which comes with all the high-end features you’d find in their top-of-the-line (and much more expensive) location devices. As a matter of fact, even more.

For instance, there’s Garmin Voice Studio which is an app that allows you to disregard the built-in voices and re-record turn-by-turn directions in your own voice. Or your friends’.. or your child’s.

Of course, it’s also able to handle your Google mail (it IS an Android phone), any POP3 and IMAP mail account and even ActiveSyncs with your Microsoft Exchange mail servers. Don’t forget all of your IM, texts photos, videos, music files and all the other smartphone goodies you can think of.

A smooth performer, the test Garminfone worked perfectly right out of the box. Their new interface – they call it Breeze – while different than other Androids is easy to master. Since this is a GPS phone – the largest buttons are for making voice calls and finding directions. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Amazingly, I’ve found that despite a slightly slower (Qualcomm 600MHz) processor, this phone turns out to be a virtual speed demon in its own right. I’m sure, this is due to the handset support for T-Mobile’s fast (7.2Mbps) 3G HSPA network.

T-Mobile plans to begin selling Garminfone in June. No actual date had been set though. They have announced the pricing: $200 with a new two-year contract and your pledge to pay for an appropriate voice plus data plan.

Comparing the Garminfone to other Android phones is somewhat unfair – to all the other phones. This is not meant to be a super-modern PDA with support for voice calls and travel directions. This is meant to be a top-of-the-line GPS and voice device built into a super-modern Android smartphone. (and all the apps you can get from the Android store).

Garminfone is aimed at a different audience than all those other devices which highlight their ability to Tweet and handle Facebook entries.

Built for a specific purpose – Garminfone is an unqualified winner.

Like many others, I find that’s it’s a good idea to carry an umbrella when there’s a chance of rain.

Usually that’s a no-brainer.

It’s necessary this time of year here in the New York Metropolitan area – and especially during this very, very wet Spring.

I hate big, walking-stick style models preferring small, very portable umbrellas. Easy to slip in a shopping or computer bag.

I think I’ve tried them all. The $5-$10 dollar models you buy from street vendors – the slightly more expensive Totes (etc.) models you find in department stores and even some “high-end” designs sold overseas. I’d guess that I’ve spent hundreds on these little umbrellas over the years.

All those collapsible models have shared one major trait (aside from sometimes shielding me from the rain) – they all seem to have disintegrated after a few uses.

That’s why, when I discovered Davek NY’s line of super umbrellas, I had to share my find.

These are super-tooled, super-strong, heavy-duty designs which are made to protect you for as long as you own them. That means they come with an unlimited lifetime guarantee. Not the umbrella’s lifetime. YOUR lifetime.

According to Davek their umbrellas are “made to ensure satisfaction and service for the natural life of the product. If, during its lifetime, you find any defect in material or workmanship, or the umbrella should fail to function properly, we will gladly repair or replace it at no charge (except $9.50 for postage and handling).  All they ask if that you register your umbrella with them when you buy one.

These Daveks are built from a special, 190-thread count, micro-weave fabric with a waterproof coating on the outside and a special protective coating on the inside. The frame is crafted out of carbon polymer and fiberglass ligaments to stand-up to strong winds. The main shaft is made strong to resist bending and distorting.

You know you’re dealing with a quality product as soon as you hold it. They are heavier than they look, solidly built and project an air of confidence in bad weather. Even the huge leather closing strap screams “super-luxury”.  Plus, my test umbrella came in a red presentation gift box!

I got to test one of the smaller Daveks in their product line – the auto-open/auto-close Solo. It’s made to protect one person – and protect them well. It kept me dry during some recent downpours. After the soaking, the umbrella seemed to dry within minutes – and I was able to stow it back into it’s fabric case in no time. What more can you can from an umbrella?

All this superior craftsmanship does come at a price. The Solo I tested retails for $99. There’s also a slightly smaller, Traveler 2.0 model ($79), The Golf, with a full-sized canopy ($99) and The Duet, a compact model large enough for two people ($149). Davek offers discounts for multiple purchases: check out their Website.  Also see Davek’s site for a full list of retailers.

I can vouch for the quality of the Davek Solo. If the rest of the line is as good (and I’m guessing that it is) buying one could be the last time you have to buy a new umbrella.

Not everyone on the planet speaks English – despite what many Americans believe.  As a matter of fact, not everyone on the planet uses a Latin-based alphabet to communicate.

That’s why, a few months ago ICANN — the organization which controls Internet names and addresses worldwide – announced that that would soon begin handing-out non-Latin-based URLs.

Soon begins now.

As of today, you can head to http://موقع.وزارة-الأتصالات.مصر and be among the first to visit this Website with an Arabic address.

For those not adept at typing Web addresses from right-to-left, this basically translates into http://xn--4gbrim.xn—-ymcbaaajlc6dj7bxne2c.xn--wgbh1c/ar/default.aspx which is just a tiny bit easier to understand.

The Website belongs to the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.  It can also be accessed in its English form at http://www.mcit.gov.eg/.

The Arabic-based URL opened with no problems for me in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Google Chrome in Windows XP, Vista and 7 as well as Ubuntu Linux 10.04 LTS.

Remember, this is the first non-Latin based URL.  Expect many, many more.  Just think how many hundreds of thousands of additional Websites will be asking for native language addresses in China, India, Russia, Indonesia, Israel and lots more.

No longer will surfers around the world have to know a Latin character-based language (usually English) to get to a Website in their native tongue.

And, from now on, it’s the rest of us who may have to become adept at using URLs in someone else’s language.

Every once and awhile you come across a product – or a group of products – which are unlike anything else in the marketplace.

There are lots of similarities but for reasons which only become apparent when you get to live with them, some products can’t really be compared to or measured against others.

That’s how I feel about Microsoft’s new line of KIN devices. Notice I don’t call them cell phone or smartphones.  That’s because they’re not about being cellular voice devices. They are really a new breed of mobile social-networking devices.

That said, let’s talk about these new devices. KIN is a Microsoft idea. The KIN operating system is an outgrowth of Microsoft’s work on their Zune HD media players and the upcoming Windows Phone 7 smartphones. Microsoft calls KIN a new “Windows Phone” but wants you to know it’s not a new Windows Phone 7 device.

KINs are made for Microsoft by Sharp. Even though their name isn’t on everyone’s lips when it comes to cell phones they are big players in the Japanese marketplace and are known here, primarily, as the company that manufacture Sidekick handsets for T-Mobile. The company that originally designed Sidekicks (Good) is now a division of Microsoft. Sidekicks are still wildly popular with ‘tweens and young teens as portable IM-ing platforms.

There are two new  KIN designs. Both sport capacitive touchscreens, have slide-open QWERTY keyboards and only one button on the front – allowing you to go “back” one level. (More about that Back button in a minute.)

The KIN ONE (from now on I’ll refer to it as the ONE) is a cute little square (3.25 by 2.5 by 0.75 inches; 3.9 ounces) vertical slider handset that sports a 2.6-inch, TFT (QVGA) touchscreen, a 5-megapixel, autofocus, still/video camera with LED flash and 4GB of built-in (non-user-replaceable) storage.

The KIN TWO (from now on I’ll call it the TWO) is a horizontal slide (4.25 by 2.5 by 0.75 inches; 4.7 ounces) with a 3.4-inch HVGA touchscreen, an 8-megapixel camera capable of creating 720p high-definition videos, stereo speakers and 8GB of built-in (non-user-replaceable) storage. The TWO’s shape and good looks remind me a lot of the Palm Pre.

Both KINs share the Tegra APX2600 processor and 256MB of RAM, the Zune powered music/video/TV/podcast/ FM Radio experience (yes, there’s an FM tuner which only works with earphones), a 3.5mm earphone/headphone jack, “push” Exchange mail (that means the mail server constantly send your email to your phone), POP3 and IMAP “pull” email (that means your device asks for the mail to be delivered), an HTML browser with Bing search capabilities (of course), 802.11b/g Wi-fi, Bluetooth 2.1 and GPS. Both KINs connect seamlessly to Verizon’s 3G network.

The first thing you notice about the KINs is the packaging.  High-concept round cylinders – white for the ONE and dark gray for the TWO. Inside there’s another cylinder which cradles your new device, the battery and charger and the very friendly basic operating instructions.  It looks like Microsoft spent a lot on the packaging.

Take the KIN out of the box, insert the battery and start charging it up. While that’s going on you can start the KIN set-up/registration process. You give your KIN account it’s own name and password and then you can add your Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Windows Live and email account(s) information. That’s it. Takes about 2 minutes. By the time you’re done your KIN is already downloading and displaying your personal info.

There are three KIN display screens. The main screen is called “The Loop”. That’s where you can monitor your always-updating social networking information. If you scroll left you encounter the KIN’s “Apps” screen where you will find icons to get to your “Browser”, “Email”, “Phone”, “Messaging” (the instant kind), “Feeds” as well as places to change the “Settings” and “Alarms”.  The third screen (scrolling to the right of The Loop) is reserved for your “Favorites” where you can drag and drop pictures/info for your most favored social networking contacts.

Unlike other smartphone-like devices, you can also scroll up and down (as well as left and right) to fully navigate these three KIN screens.

There is also a dot on the bottom of each of these screens.  Microsoft calls it “The Spot”.  Sounds silly but it’s what makes a KIN one of the more interesting devices on the market.  The Spot is really an information hotspot. If you have an interesting Tweet or Facebook entry, or email, or photo, or video and want others to see it you drag that object to The Spot and then also drag the icons for the people you want to share with into The Spot and the KIN does the rest.  It takes cutting and pasting to the next level.

Actually taking this to the next level, say you want to meet some friends. Decide on a location, ask your KIN to map it out, drag the map, and the friends you want to meet, into The Spot – type a quick message (“Let’s meet in 15 minutes”) and they’ll get the message quickly.

Now, I know that some of this can be done with other smart devices like an iPhone or Motorola Blur/Android phones but combining these different abilities with “The Spot”, a simple way to tie them all together, makes KINs unique in their ability to take social networking to another level.

The other half of the equation is the KIN application for your computer.  Microsoft calls it the KIN Studio.  Nearly everything on your KIN (messages, contacts, photos and videos) are backed up to a private, password-protected website. As a matter of fact, any photos or videos that have been stored on your KIN for more than 30 days are automatically uploaded to your KIN account for safe-keeping. You’re left with a little thumbnail on your KIN. Microsoft promises virtually unlimited storage and almost no limit to what you can keep in your “cloud”.  Very cool.

And, being a Zune-like product in a number of ways, Microsoft is offering KIN buyers a free 14-day trial of their Zune Pass. For $14.99 per month, the pass allows you unlimited access to streaming music onto your KIN and your PC – and allows you to download and keep 10 MP3s per month.  Since KIN is a “closed system” (that means there are no apps to download and use” you can’t use similar “advertising-supported” services that are available on other phone platforms.

The only feature I found annoying on the KIN was the “Back” button – but that’s because I also use a Palm Pre where you just flick your finger to slide from screen to screen.  The Palm method is easy to get used to and use.  KIN’s back button might come naturally to you – just don’t use a new Palm product too.

I spent some time playing with the KIN TWO and found that, overall, it’s easy to learn and master.  Information flows quickly in all directions. Email (remember email?) seems to work well but if you use a service like Gmail don’t expect KIN to be able to easily access your contacts or calendar.  (To be fair, Android phones do GMail well but have the same contact/calendar problem with other services.  Same for Windows Mobile devices and most other platforms).

The Web browser works well but chugs along at average-to-below average speed. The phone made and received voice calls and sounded fine to the user and to callers alike.

KIN is available online on Verizon’s Website and will be available in Verizon stores on May 13.  KIN ONE will sell for $49.99, and KIN TWO for $99.99, both after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year contract.  According to Verizon, customers will receive their rebates in the form of a debit card which can be used wherever debit cards are accepted.

For the record, those prices were lowered late last night – from $80 and $150 respectively – just before the official announcement at midnight.  I think the price drop was a great idea.

There’s also the service plan to contend with. KIN users will also have to subscribe to a Nationwide Talk plan ($40/month), and an Email and Web for Smartphone plan (starting at $30/month). Verizon should not be charging KIN users full smartphone rates.  One of the reasons for the Sidekick’s great success was the reasonable service contract prices.   Verizon should reconsider. 

I was told that adding a KIN to an existing Verizon family plan should bring down costs to somewhat more reasonable levels.  I hope so.

I don’t know what the KIN advertising campaign will look like – and I don’t know how Microsoft’s target audience (ages 13-to-30) will respond to these two new devices.  But if buyers do their due diligence KIN might become as big a hit as the Sidekick.  And in this iPhone/Android/Palm/BlackBerry smartphone world that says a lot.

KIN’s unique features bode well for Windows Phone 7 devices which we’ll get to see later this year.

This a really a tale of two different phones.

The first is the new T-Mobile HD2.  

It is an absolutely spectacular piece of hardware.

It’s made by HTC the producers of the Google Nexus One, the DROID Incredible and dozens of other top-line smartphones.

It sports a magnificent 4.3-inch (480×800 pixels) touch-sensitive screen. 

That huge screen is simply the best display on any smartphone offered for sale in this country.

The HD2 also has:

• A speedy, 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
• A 5-megapixel digital camera with dual flash.
• HTC’s Touch home screen system.
• The Barnes & Noble eBook reader software.
• Movies on Demand from Blockbuster.
• Guitar Hero
• Works on GSM/EDGE/HDPA world bands
• Bluetooth, Wi-fi and GPS
• Estimated talk time of more than 6 hours per battery charge.
• A 16GB microSD card and lots, lots more.

The other phone I’m discussing here is actually the same phone – the new T-Mobile HD2. Only this time I want to talk about the software inside.

This HD2 runs on the soon-to-be-outdated Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system.

In the scheme of life that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Windows Mobile 6.5 is greatly improved over older versions of the OS. And, even in updated form it’s way behind when you compare it to other modern-day operating systems like Google’s Android, Apple’s iPhone, Nokia’s Maemo and Palm’s WebOS.

What makes all of this worse is that Microsoft has announced their next OS, Windows Phone 7, coming later this year.  And we’ve been told that the HD2 is not upgradable. This is not a good thing for potential HD2 buyers.

I’m sure there will be similar, new hardware running on “7” but at this point why would you spend a few hundred on a non-upgradable “6.5” phone when new handsets, loaded with a gazillion new features are coming soon?  That just doesn’t make much sense.

On the other hand, the HD2 is a fantastic smartphone in its own right. Everyone – and I mean everyone – who has seen this phone falls in love with the design. The huge screen and the precision feel of all the controls makes this phone a winner.  And if you buy one you’ll surely be able to get lots of great use and loads of enjoyment out of it. It is truly a beautiful piece of equipment and there’s even a chance that someone will figure out how to run Windows Phone 7 on them.

I guessing that the word is out and that sales, so far, have been well above expectations. T-Mobile is reportedly having trouble keeping HD2s in stock. When they did, they were charging $200 with a 2-year contract.

Overall, T-Mobile’s HD2 is an amazing piece of hardware with soon-to-be outdated software.

Bottom line: Would you buy one?

Here is something you don’t think about every day: fuses.

I’m not talking about the circuit breakers in your home’s electrical panel. Those are important too. But what I want to tell you about today are the little fuses that go inside your home entertainment equipment.

Back in the day, those little fuses – a thin wire inside a small glass tube with metal end caps – always seemed to blow at the wrong time (when you wanted to use your gear). Then, you went out to a local electronics store (usually with the blown fuse in hand so you knew what to ask for) and bought a small, lime green, slide-open container with 4 or 5 Littlefuses. That was (and is still) a brand name.

Maybe, they cost you a dime or a quarter apiece. (I’m going back a few years). If you replaced the fuse and it quickly blew again you knew it was time to call the repairman. If it worked, you were all set.

But now, we’re well into the 21^st century. Home phones have been replaced by cell phones. Cathode-ray tube TVs are now flat-screen TVs. Some cars are now powered by electricity. And engineers are now making 21^st century premium fuses as well.

I have been testing these new high-tech fuses in a number of items ranging from my stereo (amps, pre-amps, tuners, speakers, CD and DVD players and high-def TV sets) and want to tell you that there is a BIG difference when you use these little buggers.

I’ve tried Isoclean fuses from the Far East as well as two types of Hi-fi Tuning fuses from Germany. They come in many different power ratings, physical sizes (5mm-by-20mm and 6mm-by-31.8mm) and are exact replacements for the fuses which originally came installed in your equipment.

The Isoclean fuses have gold-plated metal caps and specially-strengthened, shock-resistant glass in the middle.  Each one is hand-tested to make sure they’re operating at their peak. There’s a little arrow on the glass which informs you of which direction the electricity should be flowing. (Rather than checking this with specialized equipment you can listen/watch for a week then reverse the fuses’ direction. One direction will sound/look better than the other.  That’s the correct direction.)

The Hi-fi Tuning devices are built slightly differently. These fuses have a ceramic enclosure in between the two metal caps. The caps are gold-plated silver. There are also new versions without gold plating. They call them their SilverStar model. These fuses are also directional and work at their best when you mind which way they’re installed.

The difference these fuses make are mind-boggling. In almost every case, use of these fuses improved every piece of gear into which they were installed. Differences include cleaner treble – lower-reaching bass, brighter colors and overall less audio and video noise. You really have to see and hear the difference to appreciate just how good they are.

Of all the testing we’ve done – and believe me there’s had been months worth – my favorites are the Hi-fi Tuning SilverStars. To my ears, and eyes, they absolutely sound the cleanest and make the colors pop the most on my 37-in LCD TV.

I know it’s hard to believe that something so small and relatively inexpensive can make such a difference. But it can – and it does.

A friend and fellow hi-fi enthusiast/columnist says changing any older fuse with any new fuse will make a difference. I tried that too. Those 25-cent fuses now cost upwards of $1 each in Radio Shack. One component at a time I substituted a new – cheaper, standard fuse for the older one. He’s right. It does make a difference for the better. But, I’m here to tell you that when you then substitute that new fuse with one of these premium fuses the further improvement is startling.

I’m guessing that replacing the old fuse with a new, inexpensive one reduces the stress on that hard-working, little wire inside. Add a vibration-damping glass or ceramic tube, superior parts and craftsmanship and you start to understand why these premium fuses can make such a big difference.

Of course, like everything else in this life, premium items come with a high price tag. Same for these fuses. Figure these fuses will cost you $39-$49 each for any of the the gold-plated models from either manufacturer and $49-$59 each for the SilverStars.

I know that’s a startling amount of money for something so small. But the improvement is not inconsequential. Especially if your equipment requires more than one fuse to be changed. And, there aren’t many other $40-$60 “tweaks” you can make to your stereo or home theater that will reward you with such a big improvement.

Just try one. Once you experience the change for yourself you’ll want more.