Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Took the plunge and ordered two SR Blacks, one each for the power supply boxes for the pre and CDP, respectively.  Like Charles my components are staying put for the long haul, so what the hell, why not...     

The Cable Company is where I ordered the SR Blacks.

Oregonpapa, how many hours would you guess you put on the fuses before you felt they were broken in?

My 2 SR Blacks arrived today, one each for the separate pre and CDP power supplies. Initial impressions aren’t as dire as oregonpapa’s first impressions were. Definitely a blacker background and I can hear quite a bit more detail and better spacing of players.  I just heard a cough I never noticed before in Traffic's "Rock and Roll Stew" and individual instruments are easier to follow.  Sound is more forward and there is some glare/congestion in the upper mids, but not quite as weird as I’ve experienced with fresh tubes or in particular the CDP when it was brand-new and had a very aggressive sound. I should find it quite listenable during break-in.

What is pleasantly surprising so far is the bass, which has better texture, tonality and density - in most break-in cases for me, the bass is just about the last thing to straighten out.

The SR Blacks have been in the CDP and pre since Saturday, with a total of maybe 30 hours use on them (the CDP is left on all the time while the pre is not), so semi-broken-in at this point.

I'm waiting for the last bit of stridency in the upper mids to chill out, but other than that I'm a very happy camper and they are doing for my system pretty much everything oregonpapa says they do for his.    

Although I have not kept religious track of the hours on the SR Blacks in my CDP and pre, I figure I’m at or past the touted 75 hour break-in milepost. At this time I am extremely pleased to say that they are a significant improvement over both stock and Furutech fuses I’ve previously used.

The effects I notice are similar to the ones heard when I put the speakers and amps on Star Sound platforms: a quieter background, more precise placement and separation of players in the soundstage, and more heft and body to the music. As a bassophile, the lower end improvements are especially satisfying. Additionally, previously "hot" digital recordings are now more listenable, as there is less of a hard edge.

Lest anyone think these things have tilted the sound way over to the warm and soft side, these attributes come with no loss of detail whatsoever: the quieter background and more precise soundstage are bringing out even more detail from the recording. If using a stereo to listen to music is like looking out the window, it’s as though the view is even more clear.

Highly recommended.

David, I have Revel Salon 2s.  The Star Sound Apprentice XLs really took them to another level.

"I guess the next place would be the source, and pull the furutechs, because I'm sure the blacks would mop the floor with them and would be a better sonic upgrade from going from red to black in the preamp... "

I replaced Furutechs in my CDP and pre-amp with the Blacks.  The Furutechs were indeed an improvement over the stock fuses and served me well for a few years.  But the Blacks are in another league. 

The "quality control" issue here is the human ear and how different people perceive things differently.

"But to me these fuses are up there with Shaun Mook Mpingo pucks, very unexplainable things going on, can really **** with your head."

This is where I find being generally disinterested in how this sort of thing works a true bonus.  I already have enough stuff ****ing with my head both professionally and as an unpaid volunteer elected official!  

Was listening to some Rolling Stones SHM-SACDs on my Ayre C-5xeMP player, and decided to experiment a little just for the hell of it.  Pulled the SR Black fuse out of my Symphonic Line CDP and popped it into the Ayre (replacing Furutech fuse).  

The results were so pleasing I just ordered another Black for the Ayre.  

I put SR Blacks into my Symphonic Line CDP and Ayre C-5xeMP multi-disc player, and they improved the sound in both.  

I'd also like to thank both Synergistic Research and The Cable Co for resolving an issue I had with the 1 amp SR Black fuse blowing when I returned from vacation and simply powered on the Ayre player.  

After a little bit of back and forth (and some good advice from oregonpapa, who definitely does NOT work for SR but does have common sense), SR agreed to send me a 1.25 amp fuse gratis.  It was nice to see a company exercise a customer-friendly approach to an issue occurring in the grey area, so to speak.  

Good luck with the rebuilt ticker, although Wolf may question the efficacy of installing new valves, LOL...