Ok you guys, this thread has finally done it...
Just ordered a pair of SR BLACK fuses for my pre and phonostage.
I’ll have to pace myself as my Atma-Sphere MA-1 OTL Silver mono blocks take three fuses each (780 USD Ouch!). Next to IEC, the Output section B+ is 5 Amp slow-blow, the middle fuse is the filament fuse (warmers?) and is 5 Amp slow-blow, the third services the driver circuit and is .5 Amp slow-blow. I see no need to upgrade fuse the filament circuits, but the B+ output and the drivers, perhaps. Could anyone comment on if you feel my logic is sound here, this is getting pricey???
I'm confident at this point that I will have all of you to thank when this is said and done and burned-in. It's nice to be back on A'gon!
Happy Listening! |
Thank you Charles, look forward to traveling the path that you guys have been point on for some time now. I’ll be happy to offer some impressions as soon as they arrive.
I will buckle in for the long drive oregonpappa, thanks for an eta. As with all journeys, beyond the ride, it’s nice to know that the destination is totally worthy of it.
David, sounds good, thank you for your thoughts on the power amp fuse upgrade positioning. How do you like your Zana Deux OTL, need I ask? I’ve always admired the Moth designs and what Eddie has gone on to do.
Happy Listening! |
OMG!
The SR black fuses (2) just went in the kit cold from the post box, about 30 minutes warm up, and I que up the first record, Susanne Vega Close-up vol.1. Between the fingering of the guitar, the bass line, and her breathy voice all are more vivid (than with the stock rat shack fuses), no question.
She may present a bit raspy and not quite as ethereal, or liquid, the performance at times may sound a tad confused, which should resolve over time. Now I haven't tried flipping the fuse orientation yet though, so we'll see about that. I look forward to these, very much, after adequate burn-in time.
Fortunately my preamp and phonostage are hybrids and though the signal path is tube driven, the power supplies are SS and basically never get turned off, so the fuses will see current without a need to run the tubes (or my ears) for their entire break-in period.
Does this sound about right on first blush gentlemen? |
This is 3/4" of wire, in the mains supply! And I can't believe the increased depth of soundstage these SR black fuses are throwing. I just listened through to Massive Attack's third album Mezzanine and what immediately sticks me is just how well my kit is sorting out all the textures and detail. There is both acoustic and electronica elements so tightly layered into this recording and it can be rather difficult to sort it all out and present it with analog warmth. Yet, in these early burn
-in hours, these fuses are already proving to pay for themselves. Bravo!
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The SR black fuses (2) in my preamp and phonostage are burning-in nicely, starting to relax with each listen, just as you have been saying oregonpapa.
My system has ceramic drivers in the Coincident PREt’s and can present a bit edgy or harsh if everything is not just right, and they did a little but that is easing away and things are just opening up. Very nice.
I have tried flipping the fuses and the difference was clearly evident, also as reported by the pioneers on this thread. I had them in right from the start.
Thinking about two more for the scd-xa5400es now, imagine that.
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Skeptics need to use their ears and quit thinking so much... Turn on, tune in, and drop out, I say! Something interesting that Caelin Gabriel of Shunyata Research commented on about audio that seems to sum it all up for me... (Read the last three paragraphs of his last comment at the end of the article/interview as I cannot reprint it). The whole piece is excellent, yet his last words ring so true to our pursuit and of our experience. http://www.theaudiobeat.com/visits/shunyata_visit_interview.htmI personally don't derive my pleasure from specs, logic (per say), nor numbers. My joy in this hobby/pass-time comes via my ears and I believe the critic who doesn't use his ears is wasting a grand opportunity for true pleasure. |
I’ll take salt on my chips at the moment pappa, hold the malt vinegar! :)
So far, the SR Blacks are coming into their own and sounding quite amazing. What a value.
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Well, I now have about 208 hours of continuous current on the SR Black fuses that went into my Aesthetix preamp and phonostage and I could not be happier with the poltry investment of these fine upgrade fuses. At this point I'm just playing music, and enjoying it immensely. The depth and contrast these babies reveal is simply shocking. They seem to make my sound much more relaxed and effortless, and yet at the same time more textural and dynamic, if that could possibly be. I have also thrown in a Coincident extreme cable upgrade in between my monitor units and the amps with added success. Combined, they have really made vocals improve their convincingly "humanness" flesh out in a performance. I just so impressed and satisfied by the results. Having tried the stock fuses back in the gear to contrast just how much the SR Blacks have made a difference and it was embarrassing, and no contest.
How these things make the difference they do is a mystery to me. But I have to say that it does seem likely that a .75 to 1.25 inch hair thickness wire in the mains could well become a choke point to any highly resolving system. Well, more fuses on the way... What can I say?!
So i take my hat off to Synergistic Research for their obvious engineering accomplishments in this fuzzy area of our hobby. And thank you oregonpappa for bringing this remarkable, cheap tweak to all of our attention. A thank you also goes out to Charles and David and the rest of the posters who's long time experience and reliable opinions (and ears!) helped lead the way for the rest of us. Thank you gentlemen. This is a heck of a lot of fun and with great sonic rewards.
Happy Listening!
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I'm come from the (also lucrative) creative, why not outside the box? and why does it have to be a box anyway? side of business world. So I'm really going to just be a fly on the wall and enjoy this one...
Happy Listening mapman!
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Just ordered a pair of SR Blacks for the CD /SACD player. |
Just installed the two T800mAL SR Black fuses into my Sony XA-5400ES deck. I tried them both ways and everything got better when with the arrows facing the front of the unit.
Playing John Hiatt's Crossing Muddy Waters and I have to say, the jump factor, even with these, cold out of the post box, is really something. The string work between guitar and mandolin sounds more acoustic and more alive, immediately with these babies in place. Can't wait for John's voice to come in.
Time to punch the burn clock! Burn babies, burn!
What a great way to start the weekend.
Cheers!
Happy Listening! |
georgelofi, dear sir, you are sadly confused by only a portion of the facts IMHO.
If you would just use those marvelous joy receptors on either side of that over analytical mind, I believe you would be able to validate beyond any question that something good is taking place here with these little devices. Logic has you bound up believing what experience will show simply enough is false, or a half truth. I recommend just trusting you ears, relax, and enjoy.
Life is too short.
There are many things we can hear that can't be measured, and many things measured that can't be heard. Happy Listening ah?! |
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georgelofi, dear sir, you and I will perhaps never agree because in you mind set, a fact, is not a fact until human consciousness and agreement formally except an idea. In my mind, this can be pure madness and so would be arguing this subject as I am scientifically, admittedly, ill equipped. The problem with this fundamental miss step though is we (and our science) is often wrong until it is right. Commonly the human condition can't see outside the small box it has constructed to feel comfortable. This is not to say, that that is all that exists. But it is our ignorance to believe in such limits. Just like with psychoacoustics or our terribly short audio memory, this mindset can be fooled. History is filled with pseudoscience proven wrong once an enlightened soul happens to observe and validate a phenomenon by looking at it in a way others have not. This is not voodoo, but many have been persecuted or worse for not thinking like the common excepted beliefs of a particular time, deemed as fact. I realize it is scary to question commonly held beliefs, some perhaps "seudo-facts". Yet I'm too busy enjoying my life and the music to argue with you. If you chose to be more interested in stamping out counterintuitive thinking "your voodoo" on public audio threads, that is your choice. Though it is a burden many of us will simply have to bear. I would only suggest that you consider "science" with the knowledge of a old man but, with the wonder and possibility of a child. I contend you will not only be happier, but may well leave the opportunity to actually discover or advance something in our science. In this case, I truly enjoy what Caelin Gabriel speaks of at the closing of this interview as I feel it is so spot on and I find it speaks well to this discussion. http://www.theaudiobeat.com/visits/shunyata_visit_interview.htmHappy Listening, ah?! |
Geoffkait, if we believed in more, at least PT Barnum would have been better off! As for the rest of us, I feel that is still yet to be proven. :)
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David, I wish for your brother all that our modern science can offer and more! This time we have is indeed a very precious thing. And if that is the harmonia mundi, I too would concur, a wonderful piece.
Charles, thank you. I always appreciate your thoughts and respect a set of ears that sits in front of a kit like your’s.
The 24/7 burn clock is running on those newest babies and I truly look forward to the smoothness, collected flow, and voicing to come to full bloom. I really do appreciate what these little things bring to the "humanness" of vocals.
Happy Listening! |
As the burn hours (200+) mount on these SR Blacks I’m simply amazed at the focus they bring to voices. There is a solidity and drive they bring to the music. Leading instruments also get the benefit of this focus. And surprisingly, my lower midrange and bass have gotten a smidge rounder and fuller, and all of this is most welcome. Thanks again guys, you're the best!
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Yes, Charles. I have the Atma-Sphere OTL MA1 Mk3 Silver Edition. But I am yet to fund the four large fuses for them (don't believe the heater would show any benefit with hi-fi fusing). It's on the list, but I just dropped a little cash for a pair of used Coincident Extreme speaker cables for my monitor units on the CPREt's, had the old standard CST on them. I see you are utilizing non Coincident cabling. How do you like it? And just picked up a real good IC for the critical phono to pre connection. So, all things in good time. Cheers!
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oregonpapa, I enjoy hearing you have had and liked the Atma-Sphere gear. Like with any other amp but, perhaps OTL's especially, having a good (impedance match and) power match is vital. Yeah, for me, the transparency and tonal quality they bring, especially in the midrange is addictive. The speed at which they work is also quite remarkable.
I may just stay right where I'm at for a long, long time yet...
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