Yeah, sure.
Something For The Fuse Guys ...
There are fuses, and then, there are fuses.
I'm evaluating some prototype fuses that I received in the mail three days ago.
Over the past few years, I've used fuses from five different manufacturers. The last three were the Red, Black and Blue fuses from Synergistic Research. Each one incrementally improved the sound of my system. My favorite so far was the SR Blue.
The prototype fuses being evaluated presently raises the SQ beyond all of the others mentioned above. The major improvement to my ears is better tonal accuracy. Instruments and voices are more life-like. The noise is reduced allowing for a more solid 3-D presentation with the musicians more solidly presented on the sound stage. Overall, more information is fleshed out of CDs and LPs.
The manufacturer, the price and the name of the prototype fuses will come later. I don't have the information thus far. My understanding is, if all works out, the release date is to be mid-October.
Stay tuned ...
Frank
I'm evaluating some prototype fuses that I received in the mail three days ago.
Over the past few years, I've used fuses from five different manufacturers. The last three were the Red, Black and Blue fuses from Synergistic Research. Each one incrementally improved the sound of my system. My favorite so far was the SR Blue.
The prototype fuses being evaluated presently raises the SQ beyond all of the others mentioned above. The major improvement to my ears is better tonal accuracy. Instruments and voices are more life-like. The noise is reduced allowing for a more solid 3-D presentation with the musicians more solidly presented on the sound stage. Overall, more information is fleshed out of CDs and LPs.
The manufacturer, the price and the name of the prototype fuses will come later. I don't have the information thus far. My understanding is, if all works out, the release date is to be mid-October.
Stay tuned ...
Frank
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I've taken a lot of notes so far and will be sharing those at a later date. All I can say at this point is ... they need a little breaking in. Upon initial installation into four separate components, the sound was too relaxed. There were, however, improvements heard right off of the bat, like a more accurate tonal balance. But the sound was just too laid back. That went away after a couple of hours of listening. Thoroughly enjoyable though after that brief period. On the tonal accuracy ... that is one of the most, if not THE most, important areas in my estimation. Instruments and voices have to sound right to my ear in order for the whole system to be enjoyable. These prototype fuses improved tonal accuracy beyond what it already was. That's saying something considering the lengths I've gone through to get it right over time. Last night I put on Tchaikovsky's violin concerto played by Erica Morini, backed by the LSO with Artur Rodinski conducting. Wow! That violin was dead-nutz on. And the performance is truly great. What else could it be? ... It's the great Erica Morini, after all. Here's the CD: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ERICA-MORINI-BRAHMS-TCHAIKOVSKY-VIOLIN-CONCERTOS-CD-6-TRACKS-COMO-NUEVO/322370981557?hash=item4b0ececeb5:g:QrQAAOSwImRYYXLR It is available on LP, but a VG+ original vinyl in stereo goes for around $150 and is extremely hard to find. I have the budget CD transfer reissue from the Westminister tapes. That's all one needs. It is beautiful. I've found that some of these budget CD reissues really sound the best. The reissuing companies really don't take the time to muck things up, so as a result of their budget mindedness, we get more of a direct transfer from the master tape type of sound. I'm boycotting recordings and reissues that are drenched in artificial digital reverb. Stay tuned ... Things continue to improve. Frank |
Oregonpapa. I need to apologize, as my post of the fuse / amplifier problem, might have put a damper, on your 1st, and most wonderful, thread. Never intended for that to happen, as it became realized, when I wanted to do another fuse upgrade. So, I am with ya ! Let this thread be the continuation of your " fuse thing "......My guess would be Isotek. Always, and Enjoy ! MrD. |
Like Frank said, the number of fuses depends on equipment manufacturer/designer. Most equipment will have one fuse on the A/C mains input. Some designers will load their equipment with fuses both before and after the transformer. Example would be Parasound JC1 which has 7 fuses that directly affect the audio path and another 3 that do not affect audio (standby and trigger/turn-on circuits). Even with this, just changing the primary A/C mains fuse on the back panel will yield improvements/changes. Marantz is another company where you see a lot of fuses inside their equipment. Some equipment may appear to not have a fuse and uses a circuit breaker instead, but in actuality still uses a standard fuse internally. Example would be the Bryston 7b monoblocks. Some equipment does not use a fuse at all and only uses a circuit breaker. Example is the latest Emotiva Gen 3 amps. |
^^^
mkgus There are no dumb questions. Not all audio equipment have fuses. Most do. The fuses mentioned above protect the circuit in case of a surge or a short. They are in the signal path, and the after-market fuses sound better than the stock fuses, some more-so than others. Read the Blue Fuse thread. Here's a link ... https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/the-new-synergistic-research-blue-fuses Hope this helps. Frank |
