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?
OK, Al, I’ll see it your way, "beyond a reasonable doubt" it is. My assertions are beyond a reasonable doubt. Not beyond a reasonable doubt for you and Moopman perhaps but for someone who will listen to reason. I notice you did not actually present a counter argument to my assertions. That must be a lawyer trick. Case closed. ;-).
If people spent as much brain power trying to figure out how something works rather than trying to figure out why it can’t work they would be much better off, to paraphrase PT Barnum.
"Geoff, since nothing apparently matters to you except to hear yourself talk, there is no purpose in anybody arguing with you. Anyone who can read can decide for themselves."
This sort of thing about how a fuse sounds needs to be put in the bin. Cheers George
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
GEOFF KAIT FOR PRESIDENT. He has got the audio world's problem solved with solid logic, so maybe he can figure out our geo-political problems. Since I support the leading candidates of neither party, and I live in CA which is presumptively Democrat, I am going to write in my nomination for GK for President. Let's get behind GK and maybe we will all get some "crystals" for our audio enjoyment at the expense of the Federal government.
"This sort of thing about how a fuse sounds needs to be put in the bin. Cheers George"
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
How about elaborating on that statement, George?? Exactly what is "the bin" and what else have you put into it?
And actually that wasn't a post on "how a fuse sounds." Its how the total system sounds without the smearing and other degradations caused by being burdened by a stock fuse.
A shout-out to friends of the forum jafreeman, davidprithart, and mikirob who weighed in on a comment or two of mine in an affirmative way. Guys, my main passion in life is jazz music and a fine system with which to hear it, within the limitations of my living space and budget. Literature is a passion, too, which I can enjoy the with the music. I live for music. As I point a finger at myself, never should we music lovers find ourselves at unfriendly odds over silly issues like the debate over fuses and create ill-will toward one another with our strongly-held views as to what is right and what is wrong with a particular tweak, for example. I responded irresponsibly in this thread to folks who love their upgraded fuses and I find myself now realizing that there are many paths to sonic pleasures and we must all let out ears (and pocketbooks) be our guide. Still, if you have a BS Meter working in your head, be wary of anything that GK posts about tweaks or more particular, anything that the sells. That is my best advice. Peace and love, Whitestix
Mmm, Based on what grannyring said, I believe my digital player having no glass fuses or fuse holder is very good, when at first I believed the scheme was some sort of cheap implementation, I have followed grannyring and talked to him on these thread's for the last few year's, I respect him, and a few other's here on this thread, I will tell you all, when it comes to diy high end electronics, the man has a lot of experience, what he does is real world tweak's that save him alot of money! , however, his explanation of these after market fuses to me is spot on, makes practical since , my opinion, like all audio, some works, some don't, depending on preference, and any given component that may, and may not be improved by these fuses, personally, I've seen certain components sound like crap on certain speaker's, when the same speaker's sound incredible on other component's, does this mean the speaker's don't work or are inferior? , my opinion, no, I've seen the same thing happen to nordost Odin cable's, does that mean they don't work, absolutely not, my opinion, they are one of the hand full of best available cable's money can buy, the same can be said about these sr-black's fuses with everything that I have specified here, it's my opinion that the sr-black's are also in the few of best available money can buy, may work, may not, some component's will improve, some component's will not improve likely because the design will not benefit from high end fuses, at the end of the day, the sr-black fuses remain some of the best available fuses money can buy.
"Still, if you have a BS Meter working in your head, be wary of anything that GK posts about tweaks or more particular, anything that the sells. That is my best advice."
A very pithy and funny comment, Geo. If the fuses work, that is just dandy, really. What the hell, a great tweak for $100 is a no-brainer for the dough we all have wrapped up in our gear. Folks here love them and I can't dispute what their ears are hearing. But, virtually anything spouted by GK must be judged for what it is, pure foolishness, unfounded by any rational thinking or science. Remember, the dude has skin the game. "Crystals", indeed. Cheers, Mark
At the end of the day, lads, it is a fair proposition to try out all sorts of tweaks like fuse swapping, just so long as you get a money-back return deal. My take is that the business model for a lot of after-market tweak vendors is that if even 95% of the buyers return them for refund, they are still making serious money, given their production costs. The fact of the matter is that 90% of guys that purchase ~$100 tweaks who don't find them worthy will not waste their time sending them back for a refund. Employ your BS meter and send the tweaks back that don't improve the sound of your system. I am gonna go down to the river this weekend and see if I can find some of those magic "crystals" that GK hawks to see if it is the "lack best improvement" for my audio system. Maybe my CD's need some "treatment" too. Cheers, Whitestix
Revenge of the Nerds, Part 2. Tweakaphobes giving advice on tweaks. Hilarious. Looks like I’ve picked up a couple of bogies. A couple of escapees from Audio Circle no doubt.
Geoff Kait machina dramatica we do artificial atoms right
I am glad that the main passion in your life is music. A world of limitless emotion and exchanging of ideas. And jazz - a world of exploration without the trappings of fame and money.
I also listen to jazz and it's forerunner chamber music.
For these types of listening, I believe the quality of the soundstage, the texture of the instrument's sound, and the decay of notes have a major impact on the satisfaction the listener experiences.
My experience is that the Synergistic Research Black fuse gives a significant improvement to the audio qualities listed above. My enjoyment of jazz and chamber music has been enriched.
To suddenly experience Shelley Mann's drumming, Joe Pass's guitar,of Ella's singing in a " I am in the room alone with them while they perform" is exciting. I hope you will available yourself to this experience by trialing a Black fuse.
In addition to the sonic improvements, I have found the fuse evaluation to be a liberating exercise. I am no longer scared to open equipment, pull out fuses, and even reverse fuse directions.
Before ordering I was assertive with the dealers to insure that the fuses could be returned and what the conditions would be. I truly hope that everyone who orders an audio product that has a return policy to do just that if the product does not meet expectations. Do not be afraid to live.
Since somebody asked, my recent listening includes the Vijay Ayer Trio's "Break Stuff," Ingrid Laubrock Anti-House's "Roulette of the Cradle" (get yer modern music hat on for that one), and a new album from the Julian Lage trio I worked with last year as the live sound mixer (Scott Colley bass, Kenny Wollesen drums) called "Arclight."
A reason to defy reason and read the posts on this thread is to see what Almarg has to say. Always rewarding.
I don't consider the opinions about the SR fuses benefits as "evidence" of anything as they are simply subjective opinions by those clearly wanting to see if their investment paid off after 70 hours or of looking for those same benefits. Based on the opinions contained in this thread, my system should sound mediocre…but it sounds astonishingly good without Quantum Tunneled Graphene Cryoed Sand Filled Magic fuses. It just does.
My system pre-Black fuses sounded "astonishingly good" too. I've been saying that all along in this entire thread. With the SR Black fuses installed, it has gone from "astonishingly good" to actually suspending disbelief. But hey, don't take that as any evidence.
A tightening of the focus, a more solid image, 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.
All from a fuse change, you need to do a GK and change your avatar.
Ya gotta figure anyone with lofi in his moniker is probably not really into the whole HiFi experience and most likely has a great big chip on his shoulder. This is an assertion, a theory, a hypotenuse. It has been my experience over the years that a lot of people out there are not into the whole demagnetizing CDs, WA Quantum Chip, cryogenics, Morphic messages, aftermarket fuses, Schumann Frequency, Holographic Foil, Mpingo disc thing and frankly would rather fight than switch. Thus the influx of pseudo skeptics, recording engineers, electronics wizards and the like. What I’d like to know is, did someone forget to leave the roach motels out the last couple of nights?
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.
I have not tried the Wyred but I have tried the Audioquest Jitterbug, USB Disruptor, and the Regen unit. The Regen ($175) was returned -the sound became "thinner". The USB Disruptor had a nice improvement in making the instruments have better focus and in soundstage placement. One Jitterbug but not two had a small positive effect. I am waiting for the latest iFi USB device to arrive as just reviewed at Audiostream. It has a 60 day trial from Music Direct. com. These USB devices do have an effect. The challenge is finding the one or ones to best suit your system.
A Synergistic Black fuse had a greater positive effect than the USB Disruptor and Jitterbug unit. I am sure we will see a lot of companies developing USB improvement devices.
" ...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."
Just curious, if as you say you installed a bunch of tweaks simultaneously how can you attribute any change in sound to the Wyred for Sound Remedy or to anything else in particular? You even commented yourself how non-scientific it is to assess the efficacy of each tweak. Hel-loo!
Exhibit A - Audio Magic Premier Super Fuse and Beeswax Fuse description. Anyone not seeing the connection to the SR Black Fuse raise your hand. I won't even mention the connection to the list of assertions, theories, educated guesses, whatever why aftermarket fuses improve the sound provided by your humble scribe.
"Audio Magic is known for having the quietest, best sounding fuses on the market today. When it comes to innovative fuse design we accomplish this by stopping noise in a variety of ways that no one else does.
a. Stop the element from vibrating at 50/60 hz which is a huge noise component. We accomplish this by injecting the fuse with a proprietary liquid anti vibration material that stops the vibrating element in it's tracks.
b. Injecting the fuse with our Black Out mixture which gobbles up internal and external EMI and RF.
c. Treat the fuse with our Nano Streaming process which brings the crystalline structure of any metal in the fuse closer together thus removing static discharge in the fuse as well as making all metal parts better conductors.
d. Incorporating our exclusive i Core Technology in the Premier line, this process allows for the energy going through the fuse to do so in a very uniform manner thus increasing efficiency.
Nano Premium Liquid Fuse This is our entry level fuse which incorporates a mixture of our anti-vibration fluid and Black Out material blended together.
Super Fuse This fuse is filled with a 1/3 anti-vibration material and 2/3 Super Black Out mixture for even better EMI and RF control.
Premiere Super Fuse This fuse is just like the standard Super Fuse, only we've add our NEW i Core Technology to the fuse.
Premier Bees wax Super Fuse This fuse is identical to the Premier Super Fuse only we've replaced the standard anti-vibration material with Bees Wax [ a very intense process ]. This fuse gives all the great attributes of the Standard Premier with a very organic flavor.
All Audio Magic fuses have had extensive testing done to make sure the fuses blow at the ratings the manufacturer intended, and, no, they will not leak as the fluid solidifies after about an hour of being in."
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 :)
Hey Jond, Thanks for the Tim Warfield "Gentle Warrior" recommendation, it's quite good! Cyrus Chestnut plays terrific piano on this recording. Here's one for you, vibraphonist Steve Nelson,"Sound-Effect" Charles,
Well, I've put these SR Blacks in all my home stereo setup and am fully impressed with what they have done with the sound of my system. Worth every penny for the improvement they brought.
I have a little desktop system at my work with Nappa Acoustics speakers and recently picked up their matching hybrid integrated amp for $400. Of course I just had to replace the fuse after the performance I got at home. It took a little longer than the typical 70 hrs but that little black fuse really turned that Nappa Acoustic amp into a stunner!
These Black fuses have increased the performance of my system more than any tube or cable could ever do. Thanks Oregonpapa for starting this thread!
Wow. What rhetoric. I have invested in reference level audio equipment and am aware the fuses therein,as in other electrical products,are there to "protect the equipment". The parameters of that protection are well known to the designers. The designers of products at the level of Spectral Audio (a fairly well respected brand) are definitely looking to maximize sound quality-that is the basis of our high quality (high end) equipment, and they seem to take extreme engineering design,innovation and ever improving parts quality to the utmost levels to produce competitive gear. So,can we not assume they would want to supply a power cord, and fuses, that would best show off their products --i.e. "allow" them to operate at their maximum level? In younger days I would have 'logically' thought so. However, the utterly basic power cords supplied with some of the very best reviewed equipment are certainly not worthy of the task. My experimentation (and now ownership) with all of the top of the line MIT Oracle p/c's has clearly proved to me my 'logic' was incorrect. It has proven continuously, with analogue and digital equipment, that "stock" power cords are inappropriate on serious equipment. I have not experimented with fuses,so far, as the cost of failure of any fuse has been an unacceptable risk. I am now retired and don't have the funds to replace the reference level equipment that provides me such enjoyment. I have found vast improvements in experimenting with ac power supply isolation and conditioning and would very much like to further optimize the sound I obtain. However, when I compare the websites of the vaunted "hi-fi fuses" herein, with the website for example of "LITTELFUSE"; I am more impressed with the engineering,research,quality control,pride of performance-and willingness to stand behind their products with very detailed data shown by LITTELFUSE. How do I determine the "hi-fi marketed" fuses will perform similarly? Most sincerely,long time member and avid enthusiast of musical reproduction, Peter.
Peter,I can understand your concern. But rhetoric is what this hobby is based on. The next best, greatest, and cant live without tweak is always just around the corner. I can remember when power cord nay-sayers would have a connipshit about the evil rhetoric in concern of power cord/conditioner benefits. I believe that has been put to rest.
I use an SR black in my tube pre and I can say in all honesty that most of the rhetoric here is true. I say most,not all,because some posts are over the top in wishful thinking from my viewpoint. Its a fantastic tweak that does have worth in a revealing system. Of course ymmv. Give one a shot and see what all the hoopla is about...
It took me some time to decide that I should pay $119.95 FOR A FUSE(!). Well, I have progressed in life to the point that my disposable income has shrunk and retirement has set in. So the days of spending large amounts of money on gear have all but ended. I am ok with that because I have put together a music system that I am quite happy with and expect / hope to stay that way for some time. I am still an audiophile with the insatiable desire to improve what I have. It has just downsized in cost. But, $120 bucks for a fuse? Worth every penny. The Synergistic Black Fuse is a marvel. From the first piece of favorite music I played until I shut things off last night I sat there hearing greater detail, fullness, and air on every recording. I didn't make wholesale changes. I changed the fuse in my Hegel H300 Integrated only. I can't wait til the damn thing breaks in. Well done SR. Well done, indeed.
You may want to stay away from the term "rhetoric" unless you're happy with the misuse of the term due to a lack of understanding of its actual meaning.
Excellent observation. I would have corrected Mapman and pointed out he meant to say hyperbole, confident he wouldn't take umbrage at that because he doesn't know what in the hell umbrage means.
1: language that is intended to influence people and that may not be honest or "reasonable". 2: the art or skill of speaking or writing formally and effectively especially as a way to "persuade or influence" people.
Number one is what audio forums thrive on,or any subjective forum for that matter.
Number two is how the audio rags of the world survive...to make money of course.
Skeptics almost always think when someone says, "It was huge" or "it took my breath away" or "it was equivalent to a component change" it’s rhetoric or it’s hyperbole. I.e., that it MUST be an exaggeration, or perhaps a (gulp) shill. They NEVER think for a minute the statements might be true. This is especially true when the subject of controversial tweaks comes up, you know, tweaks like aftermarket fuses or tweaks that are very small - at least in the mind of the uber Skeptic way TOO small to do much of anything. That’s precisely why fuses have been controversial for twenty years. Along with Mpingo discs, tiny little bowl resonators, quantum chips, Marigo VTS dots, Silver Rainbow Foil, things of that nature. There is a fine line between being a skeptic and being overly suspicious. Lol
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