Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Patricia Barber may be a great singer, but how can anyone tell? Her recordings are so drenched in artificial digital reverb it sounds like she's singing from the depths of an enormous cave.  This isn't intended to put Patricia Barber down ... its intended to put down the ham-handed recording engineer who can't keep his mitts off of the reverb dial on his mixing board.

Frank

schubert ...

"I know its heresy but I always thought Sarah was better than Ella."

Not heresy at all. Its the down to earth truth. There's just more soul being released from Sarah, and its transferred to the heart of the listener. 

In reading your's and Charles' last couple of posts its apparent how close our taste in jazz is. It seems we've come to the same conclusions ... Monk over Peterson, Sarah over Ella. And this is with what? ... probably close to 100 years of cumulative listening combined?  

"It puzzles me why people think that Patrica Barber IS a singer."

Thank you.  :-)

Frank
 Rep

Bill  (Grannyring) true. This is why I try to make it clear that I'm not putting down an artist who may not be my favorite.  Surely Barber has many fans who adore her and her music and I respect that.  It just so happens that Schubert,  Frank and I have considerable admiration and love for Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae.  As we all recognize we're simply discussing our own taste. 

Schubert, 
Miles Davis said the same thing about Sarah,  saying that she was absolutely adored by all of the top jazz musicians of her era . 
Charles 

There are indeed all kinds of art . Most of what passes for it currently is of little positive value either for the individual or society in general .

Barber is an artist and has her own unique style and creativity. All kinds of art and ways to communicate it in this big world.  She may not be many folks cup of tea, but she is a credible and talented artist. 

charles1 dad, you’ll never know how much you post meant to me .
In my not very humble opinion what Sarah and Carmen both had in common was everything thay did was an act of love for both the music and the musicians they made it with . Sun-Ra once told me Sarah was the most beloved singer among jazz-men,as a person, he ever met .
Carmen was a lover of a world which broke her heart over and over .
She fought on. . Lovers are a takes one to know one thing . Simple .
P. S .
Just between us, a footnote to the "I never understood why Torme was such an underrated singer" . It puzzles me why people think that Patrica Barber IS a singer .

Hi Jond,
I'm glad you were able to find them.
Charles 

Shubert,
It’s as if you’ve read my mind given your observations. When I first began listening to jazz my exposure was as would be expected to the iconic and well established names. Ellington, Armstrong, Miles, Coltrane, Oscar Petterson and Ella’. Over a period of time you naturally become aware of many other artists of much merit.

I have numerous Ella Fitzgerald recordings and unquestionably she has a very beautiful voice. The eventual introduction to Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae simply moved me to a different level. They convey a communicative emotional connection that I just didn’t reach with Ella despite her enormous talent.

Sarah and for me even more so Carmen McRae allow a deep connection that’s hard to explain, it’s either there or it is not. Obviously this is purely personal and othermusic lovers will feel quite diffently. Another example, Oscar Peterson vs Thelonious Monk. Early on it was Petterson (I still enjoy him) Monk is my "guy" and just takes me to a higher and deeper place. I still enjoy Miles, Coltrane and Ellington as much as I’ve ever had.
Charles

Uh, oh, it looks like the stalker's back. Pretend he’s not there and maybe he’ll go away.

Charles thanks working from home this Friday and have "Parker's Mood" and "Fingerpainting" both queued up!

The only way to assure 100% break in of a fuse is to play Helter Skelter backwards.

Since using a break-in device or break-in track will further break in an older fuse, even one that's been in the system for 10 years, wouldn’t it be fair to say playing music will never break in the fuse completely? So, one might conclude playing music for 100 hours might break in the fuse, say 80-85%. Certainly not 100%.

Agree with EARLY Carmen McRae , best singing I ever heard was on a Decca LP from ’"57 with Ray Bryant on piano .
Her voice was as clear as a mountain spring and perfect in every aspect .

As to old voices giving out , Tony Bennett may not be quite what he once was but he can sell a song better than ever and is not just a walk down memory lane .

I never did understand why Torme was so underrated .

I know its heresy but I always thought Sarah was better than Ella.
To me, and of course says more about me than Ella, as beautiful as her voice was I always felt like she would rather be somewhere else doing something else, while Sarah seemed like there was no where else she’d rather be or nothing else she would rather be doing ..

Burning in electronics without playing music is like breaking in a car on cruise control - not recommended. All the gears and moving parts in your electronics are not getting a varied enough workout. Like with oil in the car it is a good precaution to change all the electrons after break in. I check electron levels in my electronics every time before starting - nothing worse with regard to wear and tear than running an amp without enough electrons or dirty electrons. Fuses are akin to oil filters - they should be changed regularly or face the cosequences when your amp seizes up.

Hi Jond,
Yes, I certainly agree with your assessment! It’s a very good and involving listening experience. We apparently have pretty similar taste/listening perspectives. I’m going to recommend two recordings I believe that you’d like if they’re available on tidal.

Both are Verve recordings done in the mid 1990s using analog tape rather than straight DDD format. The musicians were still in their 20s but were already fully developed at that young age.

"Parker’s Mood" Charlie Parker music played by Roy Hargrove (trumpet) Stephen Scott (piano) and Christian McBride (bass).

"Fingerpainting " music of Herbie Hancock played by Nickolas Payton (trumpet) Mark Whitfield (guitar) and Christian McBride (bass).

If they're available and you can listen  let me know your thoughts.
Charles

Charles it's a great recording very well played and very involving, konitz plays the sax in a lively melodic style. Thanks for the rec will favorite it for repeat listening!

As for the 100 hrs of breakin, does music actually have to be playing, or is leaving the equipment on enough?

The AC current drawn by a preamp will be essentially the same regardless of whether or not music is being played, as long as the preamp is in an operational mode as opposed to a standby mode.  The AC current drawn by a CDP will increase somewhat when the transport is spinning a disc, but almost certainly by an amount that is too small to matter, IMO.

So assuming that the fuses you replaced in those components are AC mains fuses there should be no need to play music to break them in.

Regards,
-- Al
 

As sceptical as i was, i'm glad i gave it a try. And thanks for the warm welcome. As for the 100 hrs of breakin, does music actually have to be playing, or is leaving the equipment on enough?

Jond, 
Yes, beautiful and involving music. That's why we bother to put our systems together in the first place. Let me know if you find the live konitz appealing . Taste is such an individual variable.
charles

Charles thanks Live at the Half Note is now queued up as well! It's going to be a late night listening thanks to you. :)

Hi droleg, 
Welcome to the ever growing list of happy "fusers"😊
Charles 

Hi Jond,
You are welcome and I’m glad that you like the suggested music .
Here’s another really fine Lee Konitz, "Live At The Half Note ". Wonderful playing and the recording puts you right there in the club. I know that your Audio Note DAC will do all this great music justice 😊

Frank,
I was pretty certain that you’d like Tardo Hammer. He has very strong Bop roots and is just a fine jazz pianist . His version of "If You Could See Me Now " track 8 and track 4,"Dial B For Beauty " are just gorgeous. We’re all very fortunate that there’s so much excellent music available for us to enjoy.
Charles

^^^ And don't forget, there's a break-in time of @100 hours. They really do improve quite a bit over time.

Well, getting back to little black fuses, a few days ago i received 2 . 1 for pre, one for cdp, and i must say that i am somewhat disappointed...that i can't(wont) return them. I had no intention of paying $240. for some silly little fuses. I was sceptical, and wanted to prove it to myself, but they do provide an improvement!  So this fool is parted from his money. I had every intention of returning them after trying them, never thinking that a "fuse" would have an impact in SQ, but must admit i was proven wrong and will keep them.

Charles ...

Thanks ... I'm listening to Tardo Hammer as I'm writing this. Another musician I've never heard of. Love his break out on the first cut ("Focus") of the Look, Stop and Listen album. 

As I continue to listen I hear a real tight group. Excellent drumming too. 

Listen to cut #6. It reminds me of Bud Powell. 

Frank

Charles thanks for the vibe recs I have Jay Hoggard queued up next "Duke Ellingtons Sacred Music-Something Bout Believing" great title found it on Tidal. Listened to some Brad Mehdldau some of his work is excellent some skews a bit modern for my tastes but love Lee Konitz and Charlie Haden will check that out. Thanks for the Tardo Hammer rec to forgot all about him going to add that to the queue also!

Frank,
See if you can find this on spotify.  Pianist Tardo Hammer "Look, Stop And Listen" . This is a tribute to Tad Dameron and is exceptionally good! Tardo can flat out play.  This was recorded in the early 2000s, he's out of NYC.
Charles 

Frank,
Early influence for Mehldau were Wynton Kelly and McCoy Tyner (you can’t go wrong there). Listening to him right now and he certainly has his own sound (which is how it should be). He has style similarities to Fred Hirsch, but not identical. He is definitely interacting well with Konitz and Haden 😊
Charles

Well it turns out that I have a recording featuring Brad Mehldau as a sideman.  "Alone Together " it is a live recording of leader Lee Konitz (alto saxophonist) and Charlie Haden on bass. Venue is the Jazz Bakery in Los Angeles.  Definitely an influence of the avant-garde but I'm listening and like what I hear.  Haven’t played this in quite some time. Blue Note label and very good sounding!
Charles 

Charles ...

I was fortunate to have seen what I believe to be Ella's last concert. It was at the Hollywood Bowl and the co-star was Mel Torme.

Ella, the poor thing, had glaucoma to such a degree that she had to be led onto the stage by Torme and a stage  hand. As she began to sing, her voice warbled in the way of old folks ... the way in which we will all sound if we are fortunate  to live long enough.  With each song, you could hear the greatness of the "young" Ella trying to force her way through the aged vocal chords, but never making it. The audience, the conductor, the orchestra members all treated Ella with the utmost respect out of the memory of what was once stellar.  I needed several tissues.

And Torme? Great as always. A little known factoid about Torme: He made most of  his money throughout his career as an arranger for major orchestras. He was a musician extraordinaire and a genuine song stylist.

Wolf-Garcia ...

I'm listening to Brad Mehldau on Spotify as I'm writing this. The guy is really good. Thanks for the recommendation.  Man, do I have a problem being hung up on 40's and 50's jazz. I've never heard of Brad Mehldau before. I hear the influences of Monk and Bud Powell in his playing ... even a little Bill Evans. I like it. I need to get out more. :-)

Frank

Wolf,
Mehldau, is someone I’m only vaguely aware of. Are there any generally "straight ahead " jazz genre recordings you’d recommend as an introduction to him? I’m glad the 30 foot wide drum kit is excluded.
Thanks,
Charles

I recently saw Brad Mehldau do a solo show doing Bach and Bach-ish improv on an unamplified Steinway. The sound was amazing (Sanders Theater near Harvard), and Brad is a friggin' genius (a step up from regular genius). I have a lot of his recordings and sonically they're  generally balanced and great sounding things, avoiding the "30 foot wide drum kit" sound and obvious digital effects…highly recommended.

Frank,
Good point about Sarah maintaining her voice late into her career,  I feel the same about Mel Torme's  voice longevity. 
Charles 

Hi Richmon, 
Thanks for the kind comments.  I do not dislike Barber and I am familiar with her music.  That’s why I acknowledged these preferences are nothing but personal.  Don't know if you are familiar with or listen to Sarah Vaughan but here are a few examples of her marvelous talent. 

"Sarah Vaughan +2" Early 1960s recording. 
"After Hours " another excellent early 1960s studio recording. 
"How Long Has This Been Going On " 1978. Features Oscar Peterson  and Joe Pass, need I say more? 😊

Carmen McRae "The Great American Songbook " which  Frank suggested is an excellent live jazz venue recording from the early 1970s. Joe Pass is featured. 
"Bittersweet " 1964 studio. 
"Velvet Soul"  Early 1970s. 
All  of these are terrific in my opinion. 
Charles 

richmon ...

Try just one of Charles' suggestions .... some EARLY Carmen McRae or Sarah Vaughn in her later years when she was actually in her prime.

Sarah Vaughn had this enormous voice, not unlike a voluminous tenor saxophone player such as Ben Webster or Lester Young.  Unlike Carmen McRae and Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn never lost her voice and maintained perfect pitch to the very end. 

Try the last two cuts on this album ("I've got a crush on you," and "A Foggy Day in London Town") to see what I mean about Sarah Vaughn. Your Art-9 will bring out the best in her voice. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SARAH-VAUGHAN-MICHAEL-TILSON-THOMAS-Gershwin-Live-JAPAN-Orig-VG-OBI-LP-/1723...

Here's my favorite Carmen McRae CD. She's at her finest here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARMEN-McRAE-SINGS-GREAT-AMERICAN-SONGWRITERS-COMPLETE-CD-1993-MCA-/32246852...

Hi Frank,
Regarding Jay Hoggard I haven’t heard "Solar Power " but I’ll seek it out. Vibe with the Hammond B3 is usually a winning combination. His "Overview " recording is beautiful music that also recorded well, I believe that you’ll enjoy this one quite a bit.

Steve Nelson is really a fine player and is on a label that records him well. I suggest "Sound Effect " and "Full Nelson ".

Stefon Harris, I recommend "African Tarantella " he’s a terrific vibraphonist. Some of his recordings do have a bit of the "modern artifact " character but he’s a first rate musician. Nelson and Hoggard are on labels that typically have a more natural sound.

Yes in regard to Patricia Barber overkill at shows for demonstration (D. Krall fits this category as well). In a sense I understand it, these two vocalists are extremely popular with the target audiophile crowd attending the audio shows. They will play what they believe people want to hear. Just as you mentioned, I take recordings I’m very familiar with and enjoy. This does help me in assessing various systems and components. It's interesting to listen and realize that some highly regarded and expensive components/speakers fall short on musical emotion and natural tone and timbre.  Just an observation. 

Admittedly it’s a matter of taste. I don’t think they’re bad, but I’m spoiled by the greats such as Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae. Simply pure subjectivity of course. Among the current crop of female vocalists I really like Roberta Garbarini, her "You Are There " recording with the late great pianist Hank Jones is wonderful both musically and recording quality. Frank I believe that you’ll enjoy and appreciate this effort.
Charles

Charles ...

I really need to explore the new guys more. I’m so stuck in the 50’s jazz scene its pathetic.

Perhaps I have a problem with the modern recording techniques or something. Artificial digital reverb and other added electronic artifacts kind of drive me nutz. Some of the "music" they demo at the audio shows is really gross. Patricia Barber? Uhhh ... no thanks. I’ll take a good, natural recording of Margaret Whiting or Jo Stafford any day of the week. In fact, we usually take good recordings to the shows in order to determine what the offered equipment is really doing.

I checked out Jay Hoggard on Spotify tonight. His "Soular Power" album sounds nice. I especially like the accompaniment of the Hammond B-3. Do you have this album, Charles? If so, I was wondering how it sounds on a good system. I’ll buy it upon your recommendation.

Of the three recommended musicians, none of which I’ve heard of before reading your above post, Jay Hoggard would be my first choice ... based upon what I heard on Spotify playing through my trusty AudioEngine A2+ speakers that are hooked up to my PC.

All of the Stefon Harris albums offered by Spotify have the artificial electronic artifacts added that to my ear sound very unnatural. :-)

Spotify only offered one album by  Steve Nelson, so not much to go on there. What I did hear sounded very good ... and naturally recorded. 

Its kind of  hard to judge this stuff listening through a modest desk-top system though.  

Frank

My perception is that these fuses bring something to the table over conventional fuses, and no fuses sound best. 

Hypothetical question. Many folks seem to believe that the Black fuse and maybe the Beeswax fuse "bring something to the table," in other words, they are better than no fuse at all, I.e., where no fuse is required, e.g., portable CD players. Or even the case where a copper bar or magnet bypasses the stock fuse. So, the question is, has anyone given any consideration to using two Black fuses in series. if they "bring something to the table" wouldn’t two fuses be better than one?

keydoades ...

You're welcome.   I'm a real vibes freakiod. I believe Charles is also. Its a wonderful instrument and can be very emotionally involving to be sure. Here's some more recommendations for you: 

1.  Just about anything by Cal Tjader. His Latin jazz is really good, but his straight ahead stuff is outstanding. Tjader is my favorite vibes player. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cal-Tjader-Latin-Kick-CD-New-/142234404279?hash=item211dd4c5b7:g:HMkAAOSw65F...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Stan-Cal-Tjader-Sextet-Getz-Stan-Getz-Cal-Tjader-Sextet-CD-New-/361636299993...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sentimental-Moods-Cal-Tjader-CD-Used-Very-Good-/182467691259?hash=item2a7bec...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cal-Tjader-Black-Hawk-Nights-CD-New-/142094987570?hash=item2115857132:g:FZEA...

And I have this one on vinyl. One of my very favorite Tjader albums:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cal-Tjader-Cal-Tjader-Quartet-Cal-Tjader-CD-3ZVG-/391684227627?hash=item5b32...

Another favorite vibes player of mine is Victor Feldman. This is a must have:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Arrival-of-Victor-Feldman-by-Victor-Feldman-CD-Mar-1998-Original-Jazz-Cl...

Terry Gibbs is another wonderful vibes player. Here's four albums on one CD:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIBBS-TERRY-4-CLASSIC-ALBUMS-CD-NEW-/292004413296?hash=item43fcd1bf70:g:McYA...

Happy listening ....

Frank

  Just wanted to say thanks to oregonpapa for the cd recommendations.  I just love the Red Novo sound and looking to get some more.  I'm not sure if this is Big Band or jazz but I really am enjoying my new cd.

Death Wish IV

Use a N52 magnet in place of the fuse or the jumper..$ 2.49  American. I use them everywhere..enter at your own risk. Tom

Your welcome, Kalali. Good procedure, getting accustomed to them(or any other component) stock, before tweaking. If you can solder: bypassing the attenuator circuit just takes one connection per side, eliminates the two lousy screw terminals, is easily reversed and will save you some money.  Sound Anchors and Mye Sound stands are both good investments.    I welded up my own stands, with adjustable spikes.   Less wobble=better focus.  Happy listening!

Rodman, thanks a lot for your input. Much appreciated. I'm expecting to receive the speakers this weekend and am struggling to try to control myself and use them in stock form at least a couple of weeks before I jump into the upgrades. Both the fuses and the Cardas jumpers you mentioned were exactly what I had in mind when (not if) I go the upgrade route. Fortunately the speakers already have the Sound Anchor stands so the upgrade path is slightly shorter. Thanks again.

@Kalali- One of the most popular, simple tweaks, for Maggies, is(or, at least, was) bypassing the fuse altogether. Easy to do, by unscrewing the fuse/input plate and soldering both wires, going to the fuse holder, to one post. Of course, then you don’t want to get crazy with your volume control, or clip an under-powered amp, into your MMGs. If you’re not nuts with your listening, you should never have a problem. That’s also a good time to replace Magnepan’s silly connectors, with high-end five-ways. I’ve owned Maggies for a couple decades(two pair, currently), listen at high SPLs(with more than adequate power) and have never hurt a tweeter. I believe our(those of us that use them) boutique fuses are designed more with AC main and B+/power rail supplies in mind. I’m certain there are those that use them in speaker systems, but I’ve never heard any appreciable difference in that app, unlike the improvements they make in all my other equipment. Like they say though- YMMV. If you’re determined, this is the one you’d want: (https://highend-electronics.com/products/sr-red-quantum-fuses?variant=819916563) Further notes, for your consideration: (https://www.thecableco.com/newsletter-detail.aspx?iid=5924#articles_3) btw: I’ve always bypassed the resistor/attenuation circuit too. A piece of steel in the tweeter circuit, just doesn’t make sense to me. If you don’t want to follow that lead, at least replace their steel with silver or copper. The Cable Company shows a couple options, on the page linked to above.

Thanks Al, as always. Looks like a 4 amp fuse is the correct value but part of the reason for my question was based on the reports from the users  - not Magnepan owners in particular, that recommended a fuse with a (slightly) higher amp rating than OEM to minimize the likelihood of prematured blowing of the fuse. That precaution might only apply to "powered" components and not apply to the Magnepan speakers thus the question.

Hello Kalali,

"3AG" is not a current rating.  It defines the fuse as being glass and having a physical size of 6.3 x 32 mm (1/4 x 1-1/4 inches).

Beyond that, I have no knowledge of what the MMG may require.

Good luck.  Regards,
-- Al