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
Mapman wrote,

"I have no conflict of interest either. I even cited how the fuses might make a difference. But I am also not an EE. So reduce my skeptic rating accordingly please. :^) "

So which is it, you think fuses work, you think fuses don’t work? Color me confused. It certainly appears you and Al are the main uber skeptics on this thread. Everything is topsy-turvy. "Fuses are too small to make a difference." "Fuses are unreliable." "Fuses can’t possibly work as the manufacturer states." How can a fuse possibly make any difference to the sound when the signal is AC?" "There is no such thing as wire directionality." Sorry, Charlie. Been there, done that. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder where you are, up above the sky so high....

Mapman also wrote,

"Geoff with all due respect you are a vendor and do have a conflict of interest."

Ouch! Very ouch! But seriously, Mopman, how does my vendor status enter into a discussion of fuses? I don’t sell fuses? You seem to be saying vendors can’t participate in discussions on ANY topic and should be banned from the site. Methinks the skeptic doth protest too much.
@oregonpapa

Have any of you tried the black fused with Wa quantum chip? I was using them on RED with excellent results. Thanks!
"Have any of you tried the black fused with Wa quantum chip? I was using them on RED with excellent results. Thanks!"

Outstanding question! Some other things off top of head, contact enhancer, replace fuse holder with a better one such as Acme silver plated one, send the fuse off to your local cryo company such as the one I’ve been using for 20 years (gosh, how time flies) - Cryopro, use a purple ink pen to paint the end caps, protect the fuse from mag fields with mu metal, damp the fuse & fuse holder.
b_limo,
I'm not very familiar with your Peachtree,  I do recognize that it is a multipurpose component and may as a result have more than one fuse.
I think it'd be reasonable to begin with the main AC power fuse. Does your owner's manual list any fuse information ?
Charles, 
holydio ...

Haven't tried the WA chip. I have one on the fuse that's going to mapman. I'll peel it off and try it on the Black fuse that's in the phono stage.

Thanks for the reminder ... 
David Pritchard - Yup, I think I am going to take the plunge.  Just need to find a retailer (I would prefer a B&M dealer in my area), and make sure the correct value is available.  One month away from my B-day, so that will be my gift to myself.  I will report back here with the results.  This just sounds too good not to try.  The cost/benefit ratio seems off the charts.
Bondmanp,
If there's no B&M retailer available,  the Cable Company is a good source. Top service and they honor the 30 day return policy. 
Charles, 
Hello guyz ...

Just as a heads up ... I have learned that the WA chips are NOT compatible with the SR Black fuses. Putting a WA chip on the Black fuses will degrade the sound. 

Take care ...
"Hello guyz ...

Just as a heads up ... I have learned that the WA chips are NOT compatible with the SR Black fuses. Putting a WA chip on the Black fuses will degrade the sound.

Take care ..."

Well, let’s look on the bright side. It’s not like the WA Chip did nothing. I can’t recall, do WA Chips break in? Anybody? Is it possible that two nanotechnology/quantum audiophile thingies, Graphene and WA Chips, cancel each other out? (Yes, that’s a quantum mechanics joke).

Footnote: to OP, you learned this first hand one assumes.
bondmanp:

Do not know your location but I would suggest buying the fuse via E-mail or telephone call to Alfred and Betty Kainz at High-End Electronics, Apple Valley , Calif. He has multiple ads under power cords, and tweaks here at Audiogon. He is a leading Synergistic Research fuse seller and so has a large inventory ready to ship. Normally sends USPS in small box with no shipping charge.
Also he is very understanding about returns. He makes this a no hassle process.

I am a big believer in getting oneself a Birthday Present and seeing or calling one's Mother on that special day in your life!

Wa Quantum Chips: I spent a lot of time and effort trying them on fuses, power cords, interconnects, etc. They do produce a sonic change, bit in my system there was always a sense of information loss. Sort of a more detail but less emotion effect. Other users have had a more positive result. 

Boy the music sounds good at my house these days.

David Pritchard
"Wa Quantum Chips: I spent a lot of time and effort trying them on fuses, power cords, interconnects, etc. They do produce a sonic change, bit in my system there was always a sense of information loss. Sort of a more detail but less emotion effect. Other users have had a more positive result."

i spent quite a bit of time with WA Chips, too.  What I found was a little different.  I found the WA power cord chip on the circuit breaker box wrapped around the wire coming into the breaker for the audio system worked great. But not on power cords. When I say great I mean more information, more dynamics.  I also thought the inductor chip worked as advertised in close proximity to the transducers on my Sennheiser 600s. And also the capacitor chips worked on small and large capachitos.

David ...

I agree wholeheartedly with you on Alfred and Betty at highend-electronics. Suburb service and rocket ship delivery. 

geoffkait ...

First hand? No .. from the horses mouth.  The Black fuses have a coating on the outside of the fuse. The WA chips interfere with that coating and degrade the sound of the fuse. 

The music is sounding wonderful at my house as well, David. :-)



But seriously, Mopman, how does my vendor status enter into a discussion of fuses? I don’t sell fuses? You seem to be saying vendors can’t participate in discussions on ANY topic and should be banned from the site.


You're a smart guy.  Figure it out.

I didn't say you can't participate in anything.   Only that you are a vendor selling other poorly understood tweaks and therefore may be judged to have a conflict of interest.   Especially when you bash "skeptics".   I'm sure you won't likely  judge yourself guilty on that but others easily could, which is all that really matters. 
"So which is it, you think fuses work, you think fuses don’t work?’

I think it is definitely possible that different fuses could make things sound different at least in some cases. I’ve posted that on many occasions.  I've never said they don't work

Mapman ...

Your SR Red fuse is on its way via USPS. It even has a WA Quantum fuse chip on it. You can peel it off if you want to make a comparison. Be sure to experiment with the fuse direction. If you have it wrong, the sound stage may sound a bit wider ... but the system will sound out of phase. Get it right and everything locks into place. Please post your impressions here in this thread. Thanks ...

PS: Keep in mind that the SR Black fuses KILL the Red fuses.  :-)

Enjoy ...
What specifically did the WA chip sound like or detract from adding it to the Black fuse? I have them on and didnt think to remove and try wothout them.

Comments by Geofkait about the cable chips not working well on cables and losing emotinal impact could well be due to the cable chip cleaning up the sound. In most cases, cleaning up the highs and tightening lows seems to make midrange sound leaner and less tubelike giving the impression of a slightly more mechanical sound.
^^^
ustubes2 ...

I didn't try them on the Black fuses. I had them on three of the Red fuses. I suggest that you ... and anyone else interested in the SR products visit their Facebook page. Also, check out their demos on Youtube. Some very interesting stuff happening there. 


Ogegonpapa wrote,

"First hand? No .. from the horses mouth. The Black fuses have a coating on the outside of the fuse. The WA chips interfere with that coating and degrade the sound of the fuse."

Right, that’s second hand information. The WA chips sometimes don't work on fuses of any type.  The cable chips work on cables yet the cable jacket and shielding doesn't interfere with the chip.  It's not cut and dry either what the WA Chip is doing, how it operates, OR why it doesn't work in some cases.  Can't the WA Chip be attached to one of the end caps of the Black fuse, avoiding perhaps interfering with the coating, if in fact the coating is really the issue?
^^^
First hand ... second hand ... from the horse's mouth. No matter, geoffkait ... the info I have came from SR' s Facebook page. If you want to try a WA fuse chip on your Black fuses ... go for it. As for me ... I'll take SR's word for it. 

Take care ...
Ok, so now I have no clue what in the blue hell these quantum chips do or when to use them or not.

Good thing this is just audio and not prescription drugs. The ramifications of trying things blindly just because would be much higher.

With audio, what’s the worst thing that can happen? Less perfect sound? Or if just a placebo no change at all that perhaps some might still hear for whatever reason. As long as the fuse is reliable to blow when it should.....

I will try my free trial fuse from OP both with and without and report on what I hear when I can.

This better be good!!!! I’d rather spend my time listening to the great sound and music I already have and worked hard to achieve then experimenting with things I have no clue about how they work or why. :^)

In any case when I tell my more normal than I friends including some world class systems engineers that I am experimenting with $100 hifi fuses and quantum chips, that will make for some entertaining discussions. Especially if they truly seem to work and make things sound better. I have absolutely no clue how a quantum chip works. Makes a fancy fuse seem mainstream in comparison.
Oregonpapa wrote,

"^^^
First hand ... second hand ... from the horse’s mouth. No matter, geoffkait ... the info I have came from SR’ s Facebook page. If you want to try a WA fuse chip on your Black fuses ... go for it. As for me ... I’ll take SR’s word for it.

Take care ...

no problem but wasn’t it SR who stated that their fuses were absolutely positively NOT directional?  I have a definite tendency to take everything I read on Facebook or anywhere else for that matter, when it comes to high end audio, with a grain of salt. Nothing personal against you or SR.

Cheerios

Geoff at MD
^^^ ... Hmmm ... I don't recall anything about SR saying their fuses weren't directional. I may have missed it though. 

Mapman ...

I'm looking forward to your assessment on the fuse. If it works for you ... don't tell the "world class engineers."  I seem to remember an audio magazine where the "world class engineer" constantly made the claim that "all amplifiers sound the same," and "if it  measures the same, it sounds the same." :-)
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.

OP,

These are computer systems engineers like me. Not EEs,. Some of which are interested in hifi, some not.

They like to know what makes things tick in general, but are smart enough to know what they know and what they do not and act accordingly.

It’ll make for interesting conversation around the water cooler. That’s about as far as I will predict.
Mapman…If you don't mind, when you're finished enjoying the astonishing transformation produced by the use of the half inch of directional hair thin fuse wire on your system, your wardrobe, the brightening of the sound room wallpaper, and your Mama, please send it to me as I would like to experience the same (maybe not the "your Mama" part)…plus I can assume it will be thoroughly broken in and please note which direction sounds best, as I don't want to waste 170 hours on tawdry electron confusion.
Wolf,

Once I get all that I will surely be hooked and hired ninja assassins may not be able to make me part with my new friends.

We'll see....  :^)
Oregonpapa wrote,

"^^^ ... Hmmm ... I don’t recall anything about SR saying their fuses weren’t directional. I may have missed it though."

at this point in time I suspect SR doesn’t really care one way or the other since it’s common knowledge or at least it should be that you’re supposed to try all fuses both ways, even the ones like Isoclean and HiFi Tuning that come with directional arrows as well as stock fuses. You know, better safe than sorry.  Speaking of which, do the SR fuses come with directional arrows or directions for how to insert the fuse into the system, e.g., per direction of writing on the fuse?

Addendum to previous post regarding directionality of SR fuses, in particular the Black fuse.

This is an excerpt from the Stereo Times review of an earlier SR fuse that addresses the subject of fuse directionality (of SR fuses) as apparently SR see it. Maybe SR has changed it's mind about directionality, who knows.  I do know that HIFi Tuning used to claim that their fuses were not directional but would burn in properly no matter which way they were inserted.  Of course, HiFi Tuning has since recanted.

"Finally, the Synergistic Research Quantum fuses are put on the Tesla coil both directions, which they claim makes them not directional. That would be convenient, but I have found that not true. I find the lettering on the fuse runs opposite of the direction of the fuse that sounds best. This is not a major factor, but with their exceptional realism, it is not one you would want to forego."
wolf-garcia ...

Pleeeze!!! Don't diminish the size of the fuse I sent mapman. The appendage I sent was 1.25 inches and not the paltry "half-inch" you alluded to. We Italians are sensitive to such things.  :-)

Nice to see your humor in the thread, wolf. 

geoffkait ...

Nope, no instructions, no arrows. You just put it in and let the equipment tell you what's best. 

By the way .... I'm getting sound from records now that I never thought I'd ever hear. If you have a phono stage that takes a fuse, be sure to put a SR Black fuse in there. Here's the deal ... the AT ART-9, for the price of a $120 fuse  has gained at least $1000 in sound quality. No joke. 
Oregonpapa wrote,

"By the way .... I’m getting sound from records now that I never thought I’d ever hear. If you have a phono stage that takes a fuse, be sure to put a SR Black fuse in there. Here’s the deal ... the AT ART-9, for the price of a $120 fuse has gained at least $1000 in sound quality. No joke."

Now that you mention it, I don’t use any fuses in my current system. That would be a what, $2000 improvement in sound quality? Did I luck out or what?

The Synergistic Research Black fuse is definitely directional. This is coming directly from Synergistic Research in a call I placed. They suggest the flow of current to go From the "S" end to the "R" end.

The Stereo Times article was about the earlier Synergistic Research SR-20 fuse. I have several of those fuses and the Black fuses are much better. I did not find there to be nearly the direction difference with the SR-20 fuse. To me it was a small difference and not huge.

Geoff:
 Actually the Synergistic Research fuse may improve the sound better than no fuse or a piece of straight wire. It's time to get your headphones cryo treated! I had my Sennheiser 650 treated and I like what I hear.

David Pritchard



David Pritchard
Davidpritchard wrote,

"The Synergistic Research Black fuse is definitely directional. This is coming directly from Synergistic Research in a call I placed. They suggest the flow of current to go From the "S" end to the "R" end."

Of course it’s directional. That’s kind of my point. All fuses are directional. All wire is directional, at least if it’s metal. It’s just that some fuse manufacturers are late to find out, like HiFi Tuning and SR, and maybe some still haven’t found out. So, the 64 thousand dollar question is...drum roll...are they SR right? Is that the best sounding direction, with current flow from S to R?

davidpritchard also wrote,

The Stereo Times article was about the earlier Synergistic Research SR-20 fuse. I have several of those fuses and the Black fuses are much better. I did not find there to be nearly the direction difference with the SR-20 fuse. To me it was a small difference and not huge.

So, not to beat a dead horse, but SR was wrong then about claiming it wasn’t directional, no?

Davidpritchard also wrote,

"Geoff:
Actually the Synergistic Research fuse may improve the sound better than no fuse or a piece of straight wire."

Really? That’s a pretty bold statement. How so? I have no fuse, by the way, not a straight wire. No fuse, no fuse holder, nothing. Maybe two Black fuses would sound better than one, eh? ;-)

Davidpritchard also wrote,

"It’s time to get your headphones cryo treated! I had my Sennheiser 650 treated and I like what I hear."

Been there done that. I was one of the first to get into cryo big time. That was about twenty years ago. My Sennheisers were also completely naked, no grills no internal foam. Plus the WA Inductor Chips. The Stephan Arts headphone cable was also cryo’d of course.

cheerios

Not to detract off topic, but ect where shown on the fuses as an intended improvement.

Has anyone tried witj the reds or blacks and what sort of improvement they have.

I find the hft pretty useful but thats for use in 

I may need to take the wa chips off to see if it makes an improvement. 

Wonder the ects have graphene of similar effect when used on the sr20 or red fuse.
Geoff:

Glad to read the headphones and cable have been Cryo treated. James at Stephan Arts Audio makes a nice Sennheiser 600 - 650 headphone cable.

If you at sometime change to the Sennheiser 800 or Audeze headphones, Synergistic Research (SR) now makes a headphone cable utilizing the technology found in their fuse- such as Quantum Tunneling and the use of Graphene. I really like what this SR cable does for the headphone experience. And they come with a 30 day trial.

justtubes2:

My systems do have all Synergistic Research Black fuses and they also have the Synergistic Research Electronic Circuit Transducers (ECT's) in place. 
I do like one ECT at the end of the main power fuse location. At the other fuse locations in the SACD player (a total of six fuses), I did not find adding an ECT improved the sound. Placing the ECT's in a component  (like my SACD player) is by trial and error. The Synergistic Research "how to install instructions " give good suggestions on possible places to try. But not every location will give a benefit. You can certainly overdue it. What I hear with the ECT effect is not the same as Graphene but is helpful.

I think the combined effect on a system that has been optimized with the Black fuses and then fine tuned with the ECT's does sound extremely satisfying.

Oregon papa:

I attended a performance of the  Julliard String Quartet last night. By design it was held in a small performance room that held 125 people. Not by design  160 showed up for the event. People were allowed to sit on the floor along the side walls and even on the floor behind the players! The barrier between the performer and the players was shattered.

It very much reminded me of the effect of the Black fuses.

It was a very special listening experience!

David Pritchard


David ... ^^^

Nice! I wish I could have been there with you.  I  have a similar experience from time to time.

A local church has a quarterly event featuring our town's symphony orchestra playing concertos with our very best youth musicians. These kids range in age from 12 to 17. They are amazing. My friend and fellow audiophile/record collector, Robert and I, attend these events together. We always sit in the front row right between the piano and string section. Oh, those massed strings!!  And the weight of the piano!!

In several postings in this thread I've alluded to how "relaxed" the system has become due to the SR Black fuses ... much like live music. Well ... its this live orchestra experience that I'm talking about. While everything is more detailed, it is so in a very palatable, organic way. There is no longer a "cringe factor," so to speak.  

On the youth musicians ... Can you imagine a 12-year-old kid who cannot reach the petals on the piano playing Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" so well that your friend leans over to you as says: "I'm going to throw every recording I have of this work away. I've just heard the ultimate version!" Twelve years old ... and a total knock out performance.  

Life is good, David.   :-)
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!

^^^

r_f_sayles ...

Nice post.  What's so astounding is how much stock fuses degrade the sound of our equipment. SR has hit on something big with these fuses. Your above post just about says it all.

On the vocals ... I listened to a recording of the Norman Luboff choir's "But Beautiful" last night with the Black fuse in the phono amp. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Record-LP-But-Beautiful-the-Norman-Luboff-choir-/262188669278?hash=item3d0ba...

This is one of my reference records. Its lushness just comes over you in waves. There is a female soloist just to the left and behind the right speaker. As improvements have been made to the system, her voice has incrementally become more and more distinct. Well, last  night she became a featured performer for the very first time. With the placement of the SR Black fuse in the phono amp, I have a brand new record collection. Just uncanny. 

rspyder ...

I've heard the REF-10 on numerous occasions. A fabulous line stage to be sure. 

I have a SR Red fuse in my REF 75 SE. soon to be replaced with a SR Black fuse. 

What I thought to be a grain free amp was brought to a whole new level with the Red fuse. As I said in an earlier post, if you have a REF-75, you haven't heard what the amp is capable of until you change out the fuse for the SR fuse. But why stop with the Red fuse when the Black fuse would take you to a whole different level? 

I don't see why the REF-10 would be any different than the REF-75. The results should be the same if not even better. I suspect that the more revealing your equipment is in the first place, the better the results will be. And ... as you know very well, the REF-10 is REVEALING in a big way. Fantastic piece of gear. 

Take advantage of the 30 day trial period and give it a go. But please report the results here. I'll bet it'll be really, really great. 
The ARC REF 10 is a very expensive high level Line Stage, just go directly to the Black fuse,  no point stopping off at the Red fuse. The Red is "very good ", the Black is in comparison "superb". As Frank, David and I have written previously,  the better resolved the components /system  the greater the impact of the Black fuses. 

Sayles,
You summed up very wel the SR Black effect , a bottleneck is replaced with an open, fully breathing sound. I am happy for you very successful results. 
Charles, 
all this talk abou ref-10', I'm feeling like a scrub with my Ls 17. Lol. Posted in the other SR Atmosphere cable  thread. Got the entry level black cords. Breaking in right now. About 24 hours in. Hard and unmusical. I had been using a hombres cord with belden 33803 or something like that, with furutech copper  and gold plate iec's.  The black cord use what appear to be Leviton brass male connectors, this I would think would be a downgrade, but the prof is in e broken in sound..... We shall see!
I have two Blacks arriving Monday to replace the Reds in my Primaluna monos. I'm planning on moving the Reds to the plate fuses. I'm not sure that replacing the plate fuses will make any kind of difference, but I have to do something with the Reds as there doesn't seem to be much of an aftermarket for audiophile fuses, except among friends. I'll check back in later next week after I have a chance to cook the new Blacks...
Just changed out the Reds to Blacks in my Cambridge 851C. I have roughly 72 hours on them and definitely an improvement over the Reds. Playing with direction of the fuses now and one I definitely had in the wrong direction. 

I started with a Black in my ModWright LS 36.5 and because I have two in the Cambridge I thought I'd save a few dollars and start with the Reds there. The Reds were definitely an improvement over the stock fuses but just didn't feel the change was a drastic as the Black in my ModWright. Bought all fuses from VH Audio and of course I was able to send the Reds back for the Blacks which was nice. Anyone thinking of trying the Reds first I wouldn't bother for the price difference honestly. 

Everything has improved across the board but the big thing I can say about these fuses is I find I enjoy listening to the volume down a little now which means my amp is running in Class A more which is nice as well. Too bad my Pass amp doesn't have fuses instead of the circuit breaker switch on the back they use; I suspect it's of decent quality.
"Has anyone tried a SR Red Fuse in a Audio Research Reference 10?"

I have recently sub'd in an Black in place of the incumbent Red that had approx 60 hours on the clock in the Ref10, straight out of the box evolution across the board over the Red.
Thinking of Synergistic blacks for my ARC Ref 150 and Ref 40 and I see that there are a number of ARC owners who have installed the Blacks in their gear notwithstanding my 2 concerns.
1-The Ref 40 uses a 6amp fuse and the Ref150 uses a 7amp fuse. The Synergistics make neither so I would presumably have to come up short but as close as possible (a 5 and 6.3, or if I'm adventurous, two 6.3s).
2-I believe both fuses are specified as 250v whereas the Synergistics are 500v.
Not an electrical engineer or even an electrician so I do not generally like ignoring manufacturer's choices unless I know that it can cause no harm (e.g. after market power cords).  
blu....You should be looking at the 5 X 20mm Slo Blo fuses which are 250V.

Personally I would tend to err on the side of caution, with a fuse slightly under rather than over the manufacturers rating where possible.
Should you consider a value over e.g an 8 iin place of the factory 7 I would recommend a Fast Blo , 


Gpgr4blu, I’m sure Tsushima1 is correct about the physical size and voltage rating of the fuses that are required for your ARC gear, but to clarify about the voltage ratings: The 500v and 250v ratings refer to how much voltage a fuse can withstand when it blows. The voltage a fuse will "see" when it blows (i.e., the voltage that will appear between the fuse’s two contacts) will be the full line voltage. So the higher that rating is the better, everything else being equal. Under normal operating conditions the voltage appearing across fuses having these kinds of ratings will be a very miniscule fraction of a volt. And when the component is turned off the voltage appearing across the fuse will be zero.

HOWEVER, I would disagree with a couple of important things that have been said just above:

1)I would strongly recommend against substituting a fast blow fuse of somewhat higher current rating for a slow blow fuse of somewhat lower current rating. Some time ago, in connection with this thread, I looked at the detailed "melting point" specifications that are provided by the major manufacturers of garden variety fuses. That spec defines the approximate combination of current and time that will cause the fuse to blow (actually, in terms of current squared x time, which is proportional to energy). The upshot is that such a substitution stands an excellent chance of causing the fuse to blow almost immediately. Especially in the case of a mains fuse, where brief but very large "inrush currents" may occur at turn-on.

2)Earlier in the thread there were multiple anecdotal indications that the unspecified melting points of SR fuses are probably a bit lower than those of garden variety fuses having the same current rating (i.e., indications that the SRs blow a bit more readily). And it would seem expectable that in general a fault in a component that would cause a fuse to blow is more likely than not to result in a very large current increase, rather than one that is just slightly greater than the rating of the original fuse. Especially in the case of a mains fuse. So for both of those reasons I would suggest using a 6.3A slow blow in a 6A slow blow application, and an 8A slow blow in a 7A slow blow application. And likewise if an SR fast blow is substituted for a stock fast blow.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al