Mapman ...
Yes, Wolfie claims he's tried the Black fuses. Fine. But he also "knows" that the HFT room treatments don't work. He hasn't experienced them in his system though. That's the amazing hearing acumen I was referring to. Geeze, he's even been to the Chinese factory where they're made and he's inspected the drill press used to make the darned things. I'm tellin' ya ... the guy's not only a genius but a world traveler to boot. Amazing, no?
OP |
nyame ... On the IC replacement later this year; I'd highly recommend that you also audition one from Von Gaylord Audio. A one meter pair is right there at your budget limit. Fantastic products. Very neutral, musical and tonally correct. http://vongaylordaudio.com/beta/cabling/OP |
Mapman & Wolfie ...
I'll chime in here, but first, why all of the negative input? If the SR products don't work for you, for whatever reason (assuming that you've actually tried them), let it go already. For the rest of us, we have created what amounts to magic music machines.
On the stock fuses: All of my ARC equipment came with the stock fuses supplied by the factory. Over time, I changed them out for the HiFi Tuning fuses. That was an improvement and worth the cost of entry.
Then I replaced the HiFi Tuning fuse in the REF-75se ... and that's what originally started this thread from day one. Little by little, all of the HiFi Tuning fuses were changed out with the SR RED fuses. Every fuse change offered a substantial improvement. Again, worth the cost of entry.
A couple of months after completing the system with the RED fuses, SR came out with the BLACK fuses. I tried one. Wow! Night and day over the RED fuses.
Now, with the exception of one fuse in the analog section of my CD player, the entire system sports SR Black fuses. For the difference in cost between the RED and BLACK's. Its well worth the change. I'd do it again in a heart beat.
There is no way I would want to go back to stock fuses, or any of the other fuses mentioned above. Its just no contest.
With every SR product I've tried, from fuses, to HFT's and on to their power cords, its been not just a substantial improvement, but a system changing event. My system today, compared to a year ago is WAY beyond where I ever thought it would go. And believe me, it was no slouch a year ago either.
And by the way, I'm using new top of the line bi-wired speaker cables and a couple of IC's from Von Gaylord Audio that are finally broken in. They are fantastic. The designer, Ray Leung, is a genius. Look for a new thread in the Cable Forum soon to come.
OP
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Mapman ...
If you notice, I addressed my last post to both you and Wolfie. A variety of opinions are welcome here as they should be. What I reject are the personal attacks and I will defend against them. Remember Labtec's last post? Nuff said there,.
With that said, if you guys can come up with any "scientific" reasons why these tweaks don't work, have at it.
I'd be especially interested in hearing Wolfie's explanation of how he obtained the magic powers to hear what some of these tweaks do without ever experiencing them. Man, talk about super hearing. The guy's simply amazing. :-)
OP |
nyame ... I agree with you on IAR and Peter Moncrieff. I was a real fan and subscribed to his publication for years. It was Peter who led me to the original Well Tempered Turntable. He loved it and continually raved about it. Too bad he didn't hear it with all of the mods and tweaks that can be done to it. I've had mine since it first came out.
I bought the arm, new in the box, from an engineer who bought it directly from Bill Firebaugh after Bill demonstrated it at the engineer's audio society meeting. Then, I subsequently bought the bare table from a WT dealer. Total outlay was $1,900. That was the best buy I've ever made in the audio hobby.
Thanks to Peter Moncrieff I will never need another table for the rest of my life. I've been told by really credible sources that to get better than what I have now, I'd have to exceed $50,000 for a new table.
I've searched the web over and over for Peter's Well Tempered review. Not attainable.
Here's Peter's review on the Von Gaylord IC's: http://vongaylordaudio.com/beta/wp-content/uploads/pdf/pmoncrieffreview.pdf On the Von Gaylord IC's. I have one pair of balanced between my preamp and amp and an RCA pair between the turntable and phono stage. They are the Von Gaylord "Return of The Legend" IC's. $1,995 for a meter pair. I was so impressed by them that I now have the Von Gaylord speaker cables as well. When I refer to my system as a "Magic Music Machine," the Von Gaylord cables are a big reason. Ray Leung, the designer, is truly a genius ... and he knows the sound of music too. I heard his system this past year at the Newport Show .. .and was so taken by how accurate and musical the sound was that I had to try the cables. Not looking back at this point. No need. The Von Gaylord cables are very compatible and synergistic (no pun intended) with the Synergistic Research power cords too. Great combo. For those who say cables don't make a difference, I'd say ... get the wax out of yer ears. I'm tellin' ya nyame ... its Nirvana. :-) OP |
Andy ...
Glad you're getting good results from the new SR outlet. I'd love to hear your review. Its on my bucket list. One thing at a time. :-)
OP |
Charles & Nyame ... Some of the most musically accurate systems I've heard had a Linn turntable in it. I used to seek out the Linn room at CES every year just to sit and listen to their wonderful systems. Not only did the Linn TT play music, but the Linn folks had exemplary taste in music. You could always count on being entertained with great music in their demo rooms. Enter the Well Tempered TT. What could be better than a well designed tonearm bearing? How about no bearing at all? Yes, the WT tonearm looks like a Rube Goldberg contraption, but it works amazingly well. Here's an early (2006) review written by Paul Dudley: http://www.stereophile.com/artdudleylistening/1106listening/index.html#xGYT2q7bzxmimwgy.97OP |
Charles ...
This thread has turned into something far greater than SR fuses. As I said in a previous post, its become a meeting place for friends. I've found it to be very educational as well. I really appreciate the music suggestions too. You've turned me on to some good recordings and performances. I look forward to your continued input.
Tonight was Gerry Mulligan night at my house. One LP has Mulligan on one side and Paul Desmond on the other. Red vinyl ... mono. Some of the Mulligan tunes are Line for Lyons, Bernie's Tune and Frenzi. I had this record on 45 rpm in high school and wore out several copies. My brother, sister and I couldn't stop playing it. We had a box style Hifi with side speakers that detached from the side so that we could get some decent sound out of the thing. The problem was ... the tonearm must have weighed a couple of pounds.
OP |
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I had a terrible time with my raised floors. Muddy bass.
If one were to look at my system pictures, the solution is evident. I ordered two, two-inch thick unfinished maple platforms from Mapleshade. The platforms are spiked to the floor and the speakers are spiked to the platforms. The difference was night and day. Also, putting heavy granite platforms on top of the speakers helped too. Its like increasing the mass of the speakers.
David ...
I love the stories about your Mom. You are a loving son. After meeting you in person at the Newport Show, I can say that it is reflected in your personality. You have a sweet spirit about you David. Very evident here in your posts as well.
As an older person (how did that happen?), the best advise I can give to younger folks who still have living parents is ... treat them with respect and kindness. Keep in constant touch. Let them know that you love them and appreciate all of the sacrifices they have made for you in your younger days. You will appreciate it later.
Remember, discipline weighs ounces ... and regret weighs tons. :-)
OP |
Mapman ... Its a mystery to me as to why the fuses were so significant of an improvement in my system while no improvement was detected in your's and a few others. The only thing I can come up with is that I've spent an inordinate amount of time, effort, and money over many years to reduce micro vibrations throughout the system and in the listening room. Everything I could think of in the area of vibration control has, or had been addressed. Even after all of these years and effort, I'm still finding areas of improvement as new products are developed. The latest being the SR High Frequency Transducers (HFT's). These things are NOT subtle at all. Amazing, really. I've paid attention to large and minor details as far as micro vibrations are concerned from the turntable all the way back to the back wall of the room. My equipment stand is made of three layers of plywood with constrained dampening material between each layer. The stand is spiked to the floor. The equipment rests on granite platforms. each layer is machined to close tolerances with more dampening material sandwiched between the layers. The ARC equipment is built with dampening material inside the chassis and the tubes are dampened with tube rings. Even the placement of the tube rings has been done to ear. We have Warren Gehl at ARC to thank for that. He's an engineer with a specialty in vibration control. I've learned tons about this stuff from Warren over the years. Over time, Warren has developed a turntable mat, a CD mat and even a tonearm wrap that works quite well. He's responsible for the design of the granite platforms that my electronics rest on and that are on top of my speakers. So, here's the bottom line. I think that because such attention has been applied to the fine details, any improvement (or detriment) can be heard immediately ... and they can be profound. You asked me to compare the speaker platforms to the fuses. The Mapleshade platforms were a major step from top to bottom. As the bass was cleaned up, it affected the mid-range and the highs significantly as well. Everything was more focused in a big way. I finally had a bass that was clearly defined. With the fuses (and keep in mind here, there is a huge difference between the SR Red fuses like you tried and the Black fuses), right off the bat, from the first RED fuse, it was like going from a standard tube TV set with white noise that you didn't know was there, and then converting over to a new LCD TV. The clarity, depth and width of the sound field were improved dramatically. The most striking improvement from the fuses, especially the Black fuses, was the improved organic nature of the sound of instruments. Much more realistic and emotionally involving. Its what compelled me to start this entire thread in the first place. So, I would encourage anyone reading this who is seriously into great sound and music to seek out ways to get everything in the system under control from a vibration standpoint. Consider the room itself to be part of the system and control that too. It can be something really inexpensive like tube dampening rings, cable elevators for your speaker cables, or expensive as well, like Shakti Hallographs in all four corners of the room. Everything makes a difference for better or for worse. Find the better and chuck the worse. :-) http://shakti-innovations.com/hallograph.htmSo, what do you think, mapman? I have no way of knowing what you've done in the way of fine details as described above. I'd be really interested in your assessment. Thanks ... OP |
Al ...
I used to get the biggest kick out of Sam Tellig's reviews that included Lars. You could tell that they were the best of friends. I loved the way Sam used to emulate Lars' Swedish accent. Funny stuff.
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mapman ...
Is there a way that you can move your equipment so that its all behind your speakers? You say your gear is facing the speakers. I don't think that's the best situation. If the gear is facing the speakers, and the speakers are firing into the equipment (even from across the room), think of how this could be causing the equipment chassis, the amp stand and coffee table to vibrate (think micro level). I know you said there is "no noticeable feedback," but like I said in my last post ... think of an old tube TV set with white noise on the screen that you didn't know existed until you replaced it with the new LCD TV set.
Take a look at my system page. Notice that there is a large glass coffee table right in front of the sweet spot listening chair. That table is about ten feet from my speakers.
A few weeks ago, my friend Robert (Mr. Record) tried talking me into removing the heavy glass top and moving it out of the room. We finally did it. The thing is so heavy it took both of us to move it ... and it will never come back.
Without the large glass top, I'm getting better bass than ever. Very natural, very defined and very deep. Its small things like this that make the differences. Funny how you don't know there's a problem until you remove it.
I love free tweaks.
On your ARC preamp: try moving the two tube rings as far up the tubes as possible without the top ring falling off. Be sure that they are still solidly on the tubes, but as far up as possible. Be sure that both rings are solidly touching each other all the way around. You should hear more overall clarity after you've done this little tweak.
Have you tried removing some of the Mu Metal? I've experimented with Mu Metal in the past, and I know it reduces noise, but it can also be over done and have the effect of dulling the sound.
So, there's a couple of suggestions. May work and may not. If not, nothing lost ... not even return postage. :-)
OP |
Nyame ... I have the "For Duke" album. Its a sock knocker-offer. :-) On the Linn turntable: The first time I heard one was at an audio store in Van Nuys, CA. There was a tech there who modified Dyna MKIII mono amps and Dyna PAS pre amps. His name was Michael Frazier. He knew how to eke magic out of those Dyna products. Anyway, he had a setup consisting of his electronics, a pair of little Linn "Kan" speakers and the Linn turntable. Michael and I sat there after the store closed for a couple of hours just immersed in great jazz. I still remember one recording featuring John Coltrane that put Coltrane's tenor sax right there in the room. It was amazing. On the Von Gaylord cables ... What I look for mainly in an audio system is a natural sound to the instruments. If the instruments aren't tonally correct, what's the point? I've heard systems costing in excess of 100K that don't get this part right. While attending audio shows, I always seek out systems/products that get the tones right --- the rooms that play music. That's what drew me to the Linn demo rooms in years past. Well, this past June, at the Newport show, My friend Robert and I spent time, as we always do, in the Harbeth demo room listening to their great 40.2's. That was one of the best rooms at the show from a natural sounding standpoint. The Harbeth speakers are truly great in this regard. I could listen to them for hours on end. After the Harbeth room, my friend Robert and I wandered into the Von Gaylord room. It was just the two of us and the designer Ray Leung. Here, we had just left the Harbeth room listening to the 40.2's at $16,000 a pair, and walked into a room with small speakers costing $6,000 a pair making music at least as good if not better than the big Harbeth's. We couldn't tear ourselves away from Ray's room. It was that good. The speakers, electronics and cables are all Ray's designs. After the show, I tried one pair of Ray's IC's. They went between my turntable and phono stage. That's all it took. I was hooked. So, now there's another pair of Von Gaylord IC's (balanced) between the amp and preamp. A pair of Von Gaylord bi-wired speaker cables are in the system now too. All of these cables replaced some highly regarded cables in their own right. The improvements attained with Ray's cables are, in a word, stunning. Highly recommended. Here's a link to Ray's Von Gaylord site: http://vongaylordaudio.com/beta/If you take the time to talk with Ray, you'll find him to be a perfect gentleman with a ton of patients. Check out the reviews. OP |
^^^ Sorry, Charles. If I went there, I don't remember it at all.
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Here's my favorite Saint Saens Organ Symphony. Unfortunately, I can't find it on CD. It may have been reissued on CD at some point, so its worth keeping an eye out for it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SAINT-SAENS-organ-symphony-PHILADELPHA-ORCHESTRA-Biggs-COLUMBIA-STEREO-US-LP...Also, you guys might consider getting into some Wurlitzer theater organ music. Here's a bargain on three CD's by the great George Wright: http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-3-George-Wright-At-The-Wurlitzer-Pipe-Organ-AUDIO-CD-407-422-478-/152...I have some pretty rare organ music on CD that I couldn't find on Ebay. Limited edition stuff I guess. One is a recording of the magnificent threater organ at the Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar. CA. I've heard it played in live concerts a few times. Once was for a trubute to the great early film comedian Stan Laurel. They showed early silent films of Stan Laurel while the organist played along with the films. Stan Laurel's great grand daughter was in the audience. At the time, she was in her middle 80's. I bought the CD at the concert. That particular organ is the second largest theater organ in the world. When the organist hit the bass notes, it was like WWIII. The other rare one I have is a recording of the big organ that resides at The Mission Inn in Riverside, CA. I think they sell the CD in their gift shop. Both the Nethercutt and the Mission Inn recordings will convince most that they should have some really good organ music in their collections. Its not just for the spectacular sound ... The music is great too. OP |
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And in the meantime, among all of the controversy, with all of my fuses facing in the proper direction, my magic music machine just keeps playing music. |
Nyame ...
If this happened in Outter Mongolia between a man and a mule, the chances are it had nothing to do with a fuse.
Fourwnds ...
So far, no one has reported trying an SR fuse in their power conditioner. Why not be the first, then report the results here? I'd certainly be interested in the results.
OP |
"Do I still need a fire extinguisher when doing this? j/k :)"
In the past, some audiophiles used to put a solid copper plug into the fuse holder instead of a fuse. Whether it was an improvement or not ... who knows. There's always those who will take chances.
Did anyone besides me see the guy on the news this past weekend who jumped out of a plane at 25,000 feet without a chute and landed in a net? |
^^^ David ... You had question about the makeup of the Von Gaylord IC/s, I contacted Ray, and here's what he sent:
"The 7000s IC is designed with Silver, Copper, and Alloy. The Cable comes in two different version : Shielded and non-shielded Shielded version is designed for sensitive system. (easy pick up " Hum )"
Take care ...
OP
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Wolfie ...
I've read in a respected medical journal that the insertion of those PS audio plugs can make a person feel uptight and in severe cases produce an overwhelming compulsion to write inane things on audio boards.
OP |
^^^ Fine people indeed. Their service is great too. I met Alfred at the Newport show this past June. We had a nice talk. I was hoping to meet Betty too, but she had to stay home to take care of the business.
OP |
^^^ Competition is a great thing. It makes everyone strive harder to be the best ... and the end consumer is the beneficiary.
Wolfie ...
Living under that troll bridge must be really detrimental to the sound of your system. Try a ten-pack of Synergistic Research's High Frequency Transducers (HFT's) to tame the echo. :-) |
The vinyl record puts Willie Nelson right there in the room. His "Redheaded Stranger" album isn't too shabby either. By the way, as a harmonica player, Nelson's harmonica player makes me want to throw all of my harmonicas into the trash. |
David! ...
That was a totally unexpected story regarding Mickey Raphael. He's a great player. The way he bends the notes is very seductive. I've played since I was nine years old, and still can't even come close to mastering the instrument. The harmonica is an easy instrument to learn to play ... and almost impossible to master. I could never figure out how to draw and blow bend until I took a clinic put on by the great Lee Oskar. Lee actually took me aside and took the time to teach me how to get those sharps and flats. It was all about changing my technique from tongue blocking to lip blocking. Who knew?? Talk about sore jaws.
By the way, one of the CD's that I sent you was Robert Bonfiglio's "Live at the Grand Canyon." He's one of the premier harmonica & chromatic players in the world. Another great, and I have a lot of his music on LP, is Charlie McCoy. Another great note bender.
Sherod ...
Thanks for the input. The Von Gaylord IC's and speaker cables are truly great. I would recommend them to anyone looking to upgrade their cables. I was using some highly regarded cables before, but Ray Leung's Von Gaylord cables are in a league all by themselves. They have brought my system to an entirely new level.
OP |
p59teitel ... I'm pleased to hear that you got the blown fuse issue resolved to your satisfaction. Thanks for posting the results. More often than not, businesses hear the complaints and not the compliments. The SR crew led by Ted Denny realize that the true boss that every employee, from the janitor to the CEO, has in a private company is the customer. The success of any company relies eventually on satisfied customers. Satisfy the customer and the business thrives. Don't take care of the customer and the business will fail. It is the customer that determines if the doors of the business opens the next day or not. Tommylion ...
I don't know about a transport, but swapping out the two fuses in my CD player absolutely transformed the player. On Clifford Brown ... Yes, he was taken way too young by a car accident. He was only 25 years old at the time of his death. He was an absolute genius. Lucky for us that he recorded so much of his work. Back in the 70's, I was going through a record bin at Aaron's Records in the Fairfax district in Los Angeles when I noticed a nicely dressed man in a suit looking through the Clifford Brown albums. I asked him if he was into "Clifford?" He said ... "Oh yes, I play trombone for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. All of us brass players know about Clifford." Clifford Brown not only had blazing technique, but he played with soul too. Over the years, I've collected most of Clifford's albums. Back in the early 70's I ran across an Ex-DJ from Hawaii. He didn't want to move his albums back to Hawaii, so he sold me whatever I wanted for two bucks per album. I cleaned up on his Clifford Brown records on EmArcy ... all in mint condition. Two bucks apiece. My favorite is the one with the red jacket and the bell of the trumpet on the cover. The cut "Autumn in New York" really gets to the soul of Clifford's playing. http://www.ebay.com/itm/LP-CLIFFORD-BROWN-ALL-STARS-self-titled-EMARCY-MG-36102-/310389217565?hash=i...Take care ... OP
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marqmike ...
You won't get "carried away" until you swap out the red fuse for one of the black fuses. :-)
OP |
^^^ Interesting comment marqmike. I keep saying that myself. It just keeps getting better. After you do the fuses, you may want to try a ten-pack of SR's HFT's. They are NOT subtle at all. |
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^^^ ... But then of course, there are those who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
"The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."
OP |
^^^
When one lives under bridges and uses a PA system and claims it to be an audio system, it makes one stone blind to audio truth. In fact, the massive echos that emanate off of the concrete arches under the bridges cause severe listening fatigue and makes one stone deaf as well.
Massive amounts of Synergistic Research High Frequency Transducers (HFT's) are seriously called for in Wolfie's sorry-assed case. The SR HFT's have been known to transform under-bridge living and listening to an almost human-like existence.
Now, I know you will all say that in Wolfie's case a human-like existence is impossible, but I disagree. Anyone who uses KT-150's in his PA system can't be all bad.
Oh wait! ... in a recent post in another forum, he said that he dumped the KT-150's in favor of another tube ... and he actually claims that he can hear the difference. Imagine that! He can hear the difference between glass bottles, but he cannot hear the difference between a stock fuse and an after market fuse that 99.9999% of those posting through 52 pages of this thread can clearly hear with no problem at all.
Is Wolfie's last name "Cotton Ears?"
Hmm, Wolfie Cotton Ears. I like that.
Go figure.
OP |
^^^ Nah, mapman ... it can't be.
If it were any good he'd post pictures of it in the "virtual system" forum.
I'm betting that its a PA system that plays at only one level ... LOUD. Either that, or the heart of Wolfie Cotton Ear's system is a 1978 Pioneer receiver that he picked up at the Salvation Army thrift store along with the worn out first generation CD player that he bought at the Goodwill store five years ago. How good could it be with all of that moisture dripping from the concrete under the bridge?
Under bridge dankness does not make for good sound.
OP |
The price of everything and the value of nothing.
What's the point of buying a fine California Napa Valley Cabernet for 20 bucks a pop when we have Trader Joe's selling Two Buck Chuck for $2.49 per bottle? Wine is wine, right?
Why buy a fine aged single barrel bourbon for 50 bucks a pop when we have Thrifty Drug Store down on the corner selling Ancient Age for $4.99 a pint? Bourbon is bourbon, right?
Why buy a fine small brewery Kraft beer when we can buy that swill known as Bud Lite for 50 cents a can on sale? Beer is beer, right?
No point in buying super fine Prime beef when you can save a lot of money by buying a cut of Choice or below. Beef is beef, right?
Why drive a Lexus when there are perfectly fine used VW Jettas out there? A car is a car, right? Point "A" to point "B" is all that matters, right?
Why buy a high end fuse when we can buy a perfectly good fuse for 2 bucks at Pep Boys? A fuse is a fuse, right?
Those who don't know the difference, who lack a discerning taste in the finer things in life, will never know the difference these things make, or the joy they bring, but they will take delight in tearing at the seams of the dreams of the rest of us as we seek perfection in much of what we do.
For those trolls who just cannot stay away from this thread, I ask you ... what is your motivation? Before you answer, dig deep into the inner reaches of your brain and deep down into your heart of hearts. Was it mistreatment as a child? Were you bullied? Abandoned as a child? Molested? What causes you to strike out against your fellow humans in such a derogatory manner? The only thing I can come up with is that trolls lead a very darkened, narrow little life, and the only way they can feel better about themselves is to go through life destroying the joy in the lives of others. A very sad existence, indeed.
In the meantime, and in a much more positive light, tonight was taken up mostly with Franz Liszt's orchestral music. The bowed strings, from top to bottom, were singing to the tune of the Hungarian Rhapsodies.
Back in the early 80's, MCA Classics came out with a budget CD series of Westminster classical recordings; a bargain at two CD's for ten bucks. I bought a bunch of them, as I already knew from my record collecting how great a lot of the Westminster recordings were. They are all analog stereo recordings. Yes, there's some tape hiss, but better that than compressed highs. The music is gorgeous.
I have to say, since converting over to the SR Black fuses, installing the SR HFT room treatments and upgrading the cables, massed strings are so real, its amazing. They just wash over you with sublime beauty. The lower strings, like bowed basses and cellos have real POWER.
But then again, a fuse is a fuse is a fuse is a fuse. Right?
There are those who will never know. A real shame, actually.
OP
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^^^ To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the problem you have Wolfie Cotton Ears, isn't that you know too much. The problem is, you know too much that isn't true.
As a technical person, its understandable that you suffer from the common affliction of many techno-boobs ... and that is analysis paralysis. You are so locked into the trees that you cannot rise above them to see the forest.
Its understandable that the audio hobby attracts techno-boobs like you with functionality problems and serious social dysfunctions. If I, or others tell you that we have gained substantial benefits in our audio systems from certain tweaks, but cannot tell you why, why is it that you cannot understand that we don't give a fig why? We are romantics. We want the end results. We will leave it up to you techno-freaks to figure out why ... and also to design more and better tweaks so that we may improve our systems. For your skill set, we are willing to pay good money ... and that keeps food on your table, a roof over your head, your wife well dressed, your children in private schools and your subscriptions to technical journals current.
For God's sake, Cotton Ears, if I buy a new Ferrari, do I really have to understand the function of Weber carburetors or the dwell angles of the dual overhead camshafts? I just want to go fast and enjoy the handling on challenging roads ... not to mention the sound of that lovely V-12 at full song. Try to get your technical head around that.
You seem to have a real problem with salesmanship and/or those who sell for a living. I don't give a damn how good of a product you invent and/or develop from a technical standpoint, if it doesn't get to market it won't sell and your doors won't stay open.
The next time you're driving on the highway, take an introspective look at all of the semi trailers loaded with goods on that same highway. Those goods are going to market, and they wouldn't be going to market without a salesman on the initial end of the transaction. Someone has to SELL to a willing buyer or the product will just sit there taking up room in your warehouse. No movement, no money. No money, no profit. No profit, no business. Without salespeople, the entire country would come to a standstill resulting in an eventual economic collapse.
Look Mr. Cotton Ears, you may be great at figuring out that two plus two equals four, but try to figure out what will motivate a potential seller to buy your product ... then exercise professional sales skills that have taken you years to develop. Developed to the point that the prospect doesn't even realize that he/she has been sold. Then, once they buy, they thank you for turning them on to such a great product.
That takes real people skills, my friend. Skills that you sorely lack. Why do I say you lack people skills? Its obvious. You continue coming into this thread with a jackhammer in an effort to impress everyone with your delusional "superior" knowledge. You find joy in insults, even to the point of accusing me of being on SR's payroll, and in general just pissing everyone else off. Great people skills, eh?
As a person who has spent over a half a century earning a living in 100% commissioned sales (no draw and no salary), knocking on doors, making appointments, giving sales presentations and closing transactions, I can honestly say that most people wouldn't last a week in the sales business ... especially techno-freaks like you, Mr. Cotton Ears. If your biggest fear is criticism, which it most likely is, you wouldn't be able to stand the constant rejection that professional salespeople experience on an hourly basis. For us, every "no" puts us closer to a "yes." For you, the "no's" would be devastating. For us, we need to apply for a new job every day. For you, you wouldn't be able to stand the insecurity ... never realizing that you find true security when you give up the "security" you have right now.
So, stay secure in your comfortable lab coat with a hot soldering iron in one hand, a tube tester in the other and a slide rule in your shirt pocket, and just keep quiet and stop telling the rest of us how much knowledge you have and what WE should think and what WE can or can not hear. Wake up ... we don't give a flying .... ####.
Now then, on a brighter note, this morning's listening session consisted of more of Franz Liszt's orchestral music. Lovely what these SR fuses, SR room treatments (HFT's) and the SR level 3 power cords have brought to my audio system. Nope, I don't know how the fuses, the room treatments, or the power cords work, nor do I care. I only know that they do work.
I think the next SR tweak I'll try will be the SR PHT's for my cartridge. If the promotion on these items hold true, and I have no reason to believe that it won't, it should be a major upgrade for the old Well Tempered Turntable. Perhaps Mr. Wolfie Cotton Ears would be kind enough to do the research then tell us why they work while the rest of us just sit back and just enjoy the music.
Happy listening ...
OP |
Geoffkait ...
If you live within driving distance, I'd like to invite you over for a listening session. A triple layer of adult diapers will be required though.
OP |
^^^ "Huggies?" There's the adult diapers again. :-)
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^^^ Hey, I'm all for that, mapman.
I hope its been a learning experience for all.
OP |
Mapman ...
With all due respect, there's no problem with anyone "not buying into what is being sold." The problem lies with those who have a condescending superior attitude while intimating that those of us who have been in the hobby for years, in my case over 40 years, don't know what we are hearing, or that we are fools for investing money on products that "just cannot work."
Until Mr. Wolfie Cotton Ears (and others) make a trip to MY home and listens to MY system, then he should just keep his trap shut. Without hearing what I have going on, or any of the other members who are enjoying the various tweaks offered by Synergistic Research for that matter, he's going against his own"scientific" principles by not having all of the facts in place to form a legitimate opinion. Until he/they have all of the facts in place, and that would most importantly include hearing first hand the systems in question, they are spouting nothing but bull pucky. I suspect that Wolfie Cotton Ears' dilemma is more about suffering from the pain of envy more than anything else.
OP |
All is quiet on the Western Front.
Just an observation ... The better the system gets, the more I'm enjoying the complexity of classical orchestral music. Classical Rock too.
Just finished listening to a CD that is a live feed from a Fleetwood Mac concert. Its a bootleg burned from the master tape. I don't remember where I got it, but I dug it out of the vault of CD's that I haven't played for several years. Great blues guitar and harmonica playing! I had no idea just how good this recording is. The SR tweaks have really brought it to life.
Onward and upward.
OP
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Follow the owner's manual for your specific equipment. It will call for either a slow or fast blow fuse of one particular value. |
^^^ As previously pointed out earlier, this thread has become like a group of guys meeting down at the local pub.
It started out as a thread regarding SR Red fuses ... and has developed into far more than that. Its evolved into a continuous discussion about other tweaks (especially SR tweaks), electronics, speakers, music, recording recommendations and even family.
Its become a place where we can join together as friends with a common passion.
The problem starts when one, two or even a few of the visitors have way too much to drink, then filled with liquid courage (think keyboard courage), start violating common courtesy and believe its permissible to push others around who are enjoying their time yacking it up at the pub.
So, the question becomes what to do with these miscreants? Do we continue taking their abuses, or do we continue showing them the door? I vote for showing them the door, while at the same time exposing them for the Sad Sacks and bullies they really are.
In the meantime, the system is sounding better than ever before with one of the very best mid-ranges I've ever experienced. The superiority of analog was always a given in the system, but now well recorded red book CD's are WAY beyond the point where I ever thought digital would be.
Over the past year, WITHOUT CHANGING ANY OF THE ELECTRONICS, the system that resides in my listening room has been transformed from a very good audio system, one that I could have lived with from now on, into a magic music machine that I wouldn't want to live without.
I have many posters here to thank for that.
OP |
sherod ...
Of course you're totally right. BUT ... some trolls need to be forced back under the bridge from time to time. Especially when they make it personal.
OP |
Naunc0 ...
I have two rail fuses in my ARC CD-7se. Replacing the stock fuses with the SR Black fuses was an ear opening experience. Very analog like. Way more of the total presentation became available. The huge reduction in smearing really allows one to enjoy the complexities and inner detail of classical music. Things just appear more "live."
wolf-garcia, aka Wolfie Cotton Ears ...
Why do you continue coming into this thread with the same worn out diatribe? You complain about "personal attacks," and yet, it is you who continue attacking.
Here's more evidence of your people skills. And all of this from just one post:
"
personal attacks" ... "
nonsensical rantings" ... "
fraudulent products" ... "
imaginary glee" ... "
this is profit driven scamming."
OP |
Wolfie Cotton Ears sez:
"... the Believers who seem to simply not care about the technology, but don't hesitate to toss piles of money at it based on faith…"
Count me in as one of "The Believers." Contrary to Wolfie Cotton Ears' above statement, there is nothing about the SR fuses that was "taken on faith." The only "faith taken" was the faith that the dealer would honor the 30 day money back guarantee on the initial fuse purchase a year ago.
Nope, nothing has been taken on "faith." Everything stated in this entire thread was taken on HEARING THE RESULTS.
True that there are those of us who couldn't care less about the technology. So What? I'm a salesman not a techno-dweeb. I don't sell the steak ... I sell the sizzle.
I worked as a salesman for a few years in an ultra-high end audio store. While there, I saw the owner, (an engineer) master mind his way right out of business by overwhelming prospects with technical jargon until their eyes glazed over. What was lost on the owner was that the prospects weren't coming into the store to spend money on low slew rates, wire metallurgy, or speaker cone material. They came into the store because they wanted to recreate reproduced music as accurately as possible in their home. Because of the owner's failure to understand the prospects basic needs and wants, and his continual refusal to learn basic salesmanship, I watched while an entire fortune was flushed down the drain and the doors of a fantastic audio store were closed forever.
On the outlay of cash: My system uses five fuses. That came to a full retail cost, including state sales tax, of $659.00. What have I received for the cash outlay? I've gotten in return an audio system that completely disappears. It doesn't call attention to itself in any way. Its totally three dimensional at this point. The instruments are reproduced in a very believable way. The dynamics are amazing, from the softest triangle strike to the big tympani's and the lowest organ notes. Its quite amazing, really. Vocals are "reach out and touch it" real.
When you can take a truly great amplifier like the ARC REF-75 se, that bowled you over by its grain free presentation straight out of the box stock, then simply replace the stock fuse with an SR Black fuse and discover what the meaning of grain free truly is, well ... that's worth the price of all five fuses combined right there. Why would I need to know how the fuses work at that point? I don't need to know. I just want the music. That's it, period.
Each year, its estimated that approximately 350,000 1/4" drill bits are sold in the U.S. Did the buyers of those drill bits want drill bits, or did they want 1/4" holes? Do they need to know how drill bits work, other than knowing how to attach the bit to the drill motor? Nope. They just want the hole.
Dear Wolfie Cotton Ears ... try to get your head around this: We don't want the fuses. We want the music the fuses so greatly improve upon. Simple, no???
OP |
^^^
Okay, hard as it will be, I'll try to keep quiet out of respect to the other posters. Hopefully, my last post made sense to "WCE."
Some music not to overlook is the small group trio stuff done by Harry Connick Jr. He's an excellent jazz piano player and he really cares about the quality of the recordings he puts out. I listened to two of his CD's early this morning and the group was right there in the room. Very accurate piano recordings.
OP
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^^^ No problem, Charles ...
Your post made a lot of sense to me. There's been way too much energy spent hoping that somehow through osmosis some logic might seep into the brains of those who should already get it. They don't. They won't. No matter how one tries, their stubbornness prevails. So what's the use of even trying?
With the improvement of resolution and musicallity in the system, I'm discovering some really good artists. I had a couple of Harry Connick's CD's and one of his LP's for a number of years. Like a lot of music in my collection, they just sat dormant on the shelf. Well, I got out the LP of Connick's "When Harry Met Sally" sound track and played it. VERY enjoyable indeed. That led me to discover Connick's recordings of his jazz group. No singing, just good piano jazz accompanied by other accomplished musicians. Good stuff ... and it swings. When I hear Connick sing I'm reminded of a combination of Sinatra, Torme' and Jack Jones. I guess you could call the guy a song stylist.
OP
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Hi, Charles ... Hampton Hawes? Yes, I have a number of his recordings. One of my favorites is his playing of "The Champ" on the "Lighthouse at Laguna"recording on Contemporary. On one side you have Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse Allstars, and on side two is the Hampton Hawes trio. Its only available in mono, but its a Contemporary, so its one of those recordings that has you asking ... "who needs stereo?" Here's what to look for: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lighthouse-Allstars-At-Laguna-CD-Mint-/391526192694?hash=item5b28c79636:g:OY...I have a lot of recordings featuring Harold Land too. I've always considered him to be an underrated player. He's one of my favorites. He did a lot of work on Contemporary Records and they did an outstanding job of giving us great sounding recordings. The folks at Contemporary turned out a superior product. I have a ton of Contemporary recordings and I don't think there's a bad sounding one among them. Here's some of the Harold Land albums I own: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HAROLD-LAND-The-Fox-Elmo-Hope-Dupree-Bolton-Frank-Butler-Herbie-Lewis-LP-/25...http://www.ebay.com/itm/West-Coast-Blues-Harold-Land-Vinyl-LP-/282151675630?hash=item41b18ce6ee:g:-~...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harold-Land-Eastward-Ho-61-Jazzland-LP-/370524519238?hash=item5644fb7b46:m:m...http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLIFFORD-BROWN-MAX-ROACH-IN-CONCERT-JAPAN-KING-LP-Teddy-Edwards-Harold-Land-...http://www.ebay.com/itm/RED-MITCHELL-HAROLD-LAND-5ET-Hear-Ye-Hear-Ye-Hear-Ye-Hear-Ye-LP-sm-wobc-/301...http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harold-in-the-Land-of-Jazz-New-CD-/291802879128?hash=item43f0ce9498:g:~ygAAO...Right now I'm listening to "A Portrait of Love;" early 18th century music for the French court, consisting of violin, harpsichord and gamba ... plus Nancy Argenta - soprano on Harmonia Mundi. Amazing! http://www.ebay.com/itm/VARIOUS-A-Portrait-Of-Love-CD-Like-New-Mint-/182222450066?hash=item2a6d4ded9...I have to say, since the big strides in resolution and musicality have been made over the past year in the system, as good as the Harmonia Mundi recordings were in the past, they really have come to life. What a great label. Its fun discovering "new" recordings among the "old" collection. OP |
Dear Al, Ralph and geoffkait ...
Your interesting technical dialogues are always informative and enjoyable to read.
But .... .
Is there anything to be said for just using one's ears to assess whether a tweak makes an improvement, causes a subtraction, or just doesn't make any difference at all? Especially if one knows the sound of live music and that is what any given system is compared with?
I've said it before ... I don't know the difference between a resistor and a capacitor, other than the capacitor stores energy and ... and ... what was it that a resistor does again?
All I know is, upgrading from the HiFi tuning fuse that was in my amp, to the original SR Red fuse that started this thread was not subtle by any means. It was so much of a positive change that it motivated me to start this thread to begin with.
A good friend whose ears I trust heard the improvement without knowing what the change was the moment he walked into the room to start a listening session.
Then with the conversion over to the SR Black fuses, the stage was set. It was like upgrading to a far better pre-amp or amp without the outlay of many thousands of dollars.
Then, the SR High Frequency Transducers (HFT's) really locked everything into place like never before. I don't know how these little things that stick on the walls work ... I only know that the little buggers are fantastic.
So, there are those of us out here who really don't need to know "why." We only care that it "does." And that was the point I was trying to make with the purveyor of PA systems for the home environment, Wolfie Cotton Ears.
In the meantime, Mr. Record, who hears like a dang bat, is coming over for dinner and a listening session tonight. He always brings his latest thrift store finds, both vinyl and Cd's. So ... I'm looking forward to this evening.
Take care, guys.
OP
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1. Al is definitely not a troll.
2. Wolfie Cotton Ears is definitely a troll.
3. Electroslacker's comment was brilliant.
4. Acman3's comment was brilliant.
5. Harold Land = Brilliant tenor player.
6. Hampton Haws = Brilliant piano player.
7. Wolfie Cotton Ears is definitely a troll.
That's about it in a nutshell. Well okay ... a nutshell and a half.
OP |
