Synergistic Red Fuse ...


I installed a SR RED Quantum fuse in my ARC REF-3 preamp a few days ago, replacing an older high end fuse. Uhh ... for a hundred bucks, this little baby is well worth the cost. There was an immediate improvement upon installation, but now that its broken in (yes, no kidding), its quite remarkable. A tightening of the focus, a more solid image, and most important of all for my tastes, a deeper appreciation for the organic sound of the instruments. Damn! ... cellos sound great! Much improved attack on pianos. More humanistic on vocals. Bowed bass goes down forever. Next move? .... I'm doing the entire system with these fuses. One at a time though just to gauge the improvement in each piece of equipment. The REF-75se comes next. I'll report the results as the progression takes place. Stay tuned ...

Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?
128x128oregonpapa

Showing 50 responses by jond

Aha Al that makes perfect sense as I could make out the 250 and was just guessing ma but volt makes sense so that must be it and yes it is indeed a straight thin piece of wire. Thanks!
Was reading about fuses and pulled out the fuse in my preamp but it was very hard to read, it definitely said 6.3A on one side the other side was much harder to make out but pretty sure it said 250ma. Do these numbers together make sense? Also how can I tell if the fuse is fast or slow blow? Sorry for the neophyte questions just never really looked at fuses before. Thanks!
@charles1dad  I certainly can contact them in the meantime took another look and its F6.3A on one side and 250ma on the other. Guessing the F is for fast blow but the numbers are what's confusing me as 6.3A and 250ma are totally different values are they not? I may be misreading the 250ma part the engraving is incredibly hard to make out its a .75 inch fuse. Thanks.
Just ordered a black fuse for my preamp I will find out if all the talk and hype about it is justified and let you guys know.
Charles the new black fuse arrives Thursday I will certainly update you guys on my impressions as I listen over the weekend.
My black fuse arrived today from highend-electronics great service and shipped Sunday and here Wednesday going cross country! My 3rd transaction with these guys great service each time and love the free shipping. Installed the fuse but won't have a chance to listen until tonight so will update you all later.
So tonight came a little early just fired up the system for a first listen and first impressions, 5 minutes in to take with a grain of salt please, things seem a bit more relaxed. Not soft or slow sounding just a bit more organic and a more relaxed flow to things. That's on just two tracks Ben Webster "When I Fall In Love and Bill Evans "Isn't It Romantic" from Live at Shellys Manne-hole. So far so good.
charles1dad thanks and glad to hear you ordered them hope you enjoy. And moved onto Lester Young in DC now and so far so good. Retubed my preamp yesterday too so things just are sounding great right now.
This thread cracks me up, as Charles has said it's the listening that matters not the technology. And the 30 day return policy aside if you buy one fuse if $120 shipped and in the context of money I've spent on this hobby well it's nothing. I'm by no means wealthy but it seems worth checking out at that price pretty much a no lose situation. Of course YMMV but that's the fun of this hobby isn't it?
oregonpapa very well said indeed! One man's distortion is another man's great sound!
Well day whatever the day is with the new fuse day 7 maybe? Anyway the system sounds amazing,  better than ever to me I'm sure the fuse helps along with the six Amperex Bugle Boy 6DJ8's I rolled into my preamp. Plus the new RCA rectifier and trio of RCA 6SN7's I just rolled into my amp. Oh and the stillpoints universal resonance dampers under the preamp and Gregitek Aries Graf footers under my amp and Sonos Connect. And can't forget the Wyred for sound Remedy reclocking device betwixt my Sonos and Dac, Needless to say its been quite a flurry of tweaks and upgrades in a very non-scientific manner in terms of assessing the efficacy of each, but the overall effect is very nice indeed. FWIW.

mapman yes I think the soundstage opened up and the bass seemed a bit deeper with the remedy and music just seemed more enjoyable.
Geoffkait I actually installed the remedy a few weeks ago before I made any other changes, so I was able to see that change independently and even removed and reinstalled it and the difference was clear. Regarding everything else as I said my system has never sounded better and frankly that's all I really care about. It very non scientifically makes me happy :)
Charles1dad glad you liked it and I'm also a Cyrus Chestnut fan! I would check Steve Nelson out thanks for the tip!
@charles1dad  a question as I know you also own a Yamamoto YDA-1, actually two questions. Did you put a SR fuse in it and if so I assume positive results? And where exactly is the fuse located on the unit? Thanks!
charles1dad thanks and just for fun I ordered a Hifi Tuning Supreme fuse just to see if I could tell the difference.
Charles you inspired me to put that same Wes Montgomery CD on, well at least what they have on Tidal, Wes Montgomery Fullhouse Live- The Keepnews Collection and it does sound great. One clarification on the Yamamoto and I could be wrong but though it can handle sample rates up to 192k I believe. The Remedy reclocker I put in front of it outputs a 96k signal and the Yammie handles that brilliantly. I know that’s still Redbook but not straight 16/44.1. Or is my techno-ignorance causing me to miss something?
@charles1dad  thanks for getting back to me and one more question you say it takes a small 3amp slo blow but when I check small fuse sizes, I looked at both the Synergistic and Hifi Tuning Fuse ads and both list only a 3.15A in the small 5x20mm. Is 3.15A what you meant?
@charles1dad  I understand which one but how do I get it out? The metal end caps of the fuse seem to big for the holes and it will not come out. Is there some trick or release to get it out?
@charles1dad  is there some trick to removing the fuse in the Yamamoto? I pulled the fuse compartment out the first fuse, closest to me popped right out but I assume that is the spare? I cannot seem to get the second fuse to come out, is there some trick here I am missing? Thanks!
Just minutes ago dropped the Hifi Tuning Supreme fuse in my Yamamoto DAC, and listening to Bill Evans At Shellys Manne-hole and it sounds great, first impressions it sounds a touch faster. And the piano notes pop a bit more? Can't listen much longer have to get to a work dinner but surprised initial impressions are so strong minutes into listening.
Argghh listening is on hold for a while, one of my banana plugs sheared right off in the binding post of my speaker and is lodged in there. A perfect capper to an annoying Friday workwise.
My friend was able to loan me a pair of speaker cables so back in business!
Borrowed a friends extra pair of Kimber 8tc cables and things are still sounding great Bill Frisell Sounds Of Life, of course I've never heard a bad sounding Bill Frisell album. A slightly brighter balance with these unshielded speaker cable but still hearing the better flow and instruments are just tonally gorgeous.
Wow guys I guess I got lucky then I was just looking for a DAC a few years ago and came across a Yamamoto in the listings.  I remembered reading a review about it but I wasn't looking for it specifically. The price was right and I jumped on it, the rest as they say is history. Or music lol.
Rob keep up the faith they do pop up time to time in the classifieds here.
Oregonpapa thanks for the Cal Tjader rec another jazz name I knew but had totally forgotten about listening to Latin Kick on Tidal right now.
@charles1dad thanks for the John Lewis rec just added it to my Tidal queue always on the lookout for new jazz!
charles1dad thanks I added those Eric Reeds to the queue also and loved the John Lewis thanks for that rec. And I love that Curtis Counce album, I've had that CD for years, that cymbal hit that opens it always makes me jump. Great looking cover on that album too!
So got my speaker cables back yesterday and hooked them back up and also dropped in a second Cerious Graphene Extreme digital cable between my Sonos and W4S Remedy. The system is really singing now sounding better than I have ever heard it. The cumulative effect of a number of tweaks, new fuses included, has brought me to a very good place indeed.
Charles I am using Graphene Extreme digital cables, analog interconnects, and speaker cables, but my power cables are all the previous generation Cerious Nano signatures. They were the very first power cables I truly thought made a difference and now have them on my DAC, preamp, and power conditioner.
My preamp leave the tubes lit in standby mode then all the way on when I flip the switch. The only way to turn it off totally is unplug it which I never do. It uses tubes up more quickly, I retube about every 12-18 months, but it sure does sound great. And things just keep getting better as the fuses break in and I guess my speaker cables need to re-break in a bit, so loving the system more than ever. Just wish I have more, or any time to listen this week work is killing me!
@charles1dad thanks and you're right I'm blessed to be busy and have a job that I love! And finally logging some listening this morning Bob Marley & the Wailers 10/30/73 at The Record Plant in Sausalito CA, I feel better already :)
Just as a public service just noticed a Yamamoto YDA-1 pop up in the classifieds........
https://www.audiogon.com/listings/da-converters-yamamoto-soundcraft-yda-01-dac-2016-05-30-digital-18...

No affiliation just a very happy owner of the same Dac as is Charles and I know they come up very rarely so thought someone might appreciate a heads up. Happy Memorial Day all!
Jazz rec for you guys Anat Cohen "Notes from the Village" really great clarinet player and a very good album. Sounds good and great playing as well highly recommended.
the Prosthetic Cubans is an awesome band name thanks for sharing that for the name as well as the music!
Haven't checked into this thread in a while as I had nothing really to add but let me say agreed @almarg  is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable and helpful people on this site and definitively not a troll. And on the subject of shilling, look we are all, hopefully, adults here and should be able to evaluate claims we read and make up our own minds. No one is forcing you to believe anything that's written here or for that matter to even read it, so relax folks! And thanks for the Harold Land rec I have a twofer of Eastward Ho! and Fire in the West queued up next!
@charles1dad  I loved both albums I listened to last night awesome music an good sound as well. The rec is much appreciated and Harold Land is in my mental database now thanks guys!
Thanks for another rec guys been listening to and enjoying Zoot Sims tonight!
oregonpapa I listened to the Jutta Hipp album and love it great music and recording. charles I can't find Blues for 2 on Tidal but if I see it I will check it out thanks.
@jmcgrogan2 5amp doesn’t seem that high, my own preamp, an older Deja Vu Audio pre took a 6.3 amp fuse! I would hopefully assume our preamp’s both have robust power supplies! :-) Not that I know anything about such stuff really.
I will say the Audio Magic stuff sounds like a bunch of jargon filled marketing crap, but at least they have the honesty to say their beeswax fuse has a very organic "flavor"  :P

@uberwaltz fantastic post thank you! @plutos skepticism is always healthy when paired with an open mind so kudos to you! @wolf_garcia why do you keep picking on OregonPapa don't you actually work for Jolida?  Ok now wolf you know I am teasing you and generally speaking dude just relax a bit it's just a fuse. Perhaps go after the $5K record weight folks or someone else for a while? :-) Seriously though thanks for the entertaining banter guys it's why I keep coming back to this thread. Peace out.
Charles yes I do have a Black fuse installed in my preamp I mention it about 30 pages or  so back in this long thread lol. It was around a time I made a lot of quick changes to my system so I can't say any specific improvements from the fuse but my system started sounding better all around. A cumulative effect perhaps?
@mribob what a lovely post and totally what I would have expected to hear about Frank given his graciousness, enthusiasm, and obvious voracious love of music! He is an asset to these forums no surprise he is equally fine in person thanks for sharing that!
Frank I realize this is your thread and I have enjoyed it immensely but I would ask you very respectfully to please refrain from political commentary. More than ever these days audio is an escape for me. Thank you.