^^^
quadmaster ...
Why not give the SR Black fuses a try. Night and day in my system.
quadmaster ...
Why not give the SR Black fuses a try. Night and day in my system.
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?
Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?
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I'm enjoying Shirley Horn's "The Main Ingredient" tonight, a 1995 recording made in her NYC living room after the clubs shut down (and after a chicken and greens dinner she prepared as the story goes). Participants include Joe Henderson, Roy Hargrove, Billy Hart and Elvin Jones among others. A great performance and pretty impressive sonics given where it was recorded. The drums, vocal and piano have a surprising amount of air around them (thank you, SR), though other aspects of the recording are a bit dry. Check it out... |
Sometimes ... in fact, many times, only good jazz will cut it for me. I grew up on it and it never gets old. However, over the years, my musical taste has expanded to include a wide spectrum of music. Tonight's listening session consisted of film tracks. The most haunting was the music from "Schindler's List." Very haunting, indeed. Then for a little change of pace, I put on the tracks from "The Mission," and "Dracula." Now that I'm depressed, frightened and wide awake at midnight ... I think tomorrow night it will be back to some really good straight ahead jazz. Man, that Schindler's List has some beautiful strings ... but I just couldn't stop thinking about what it represents. OP |
After enjoying the red fuses for 18 months, I have finally decided to try the black fuses. A purchased two for my CD player a week ago. I listened briefly after installation and the sound was uninspiring. Two days ago I had another listen. Something was wrong. I checked my connections and they were all correct. I reversed the direction of the fuses and left the player on (but not playing) until this morning. It now sounds much better! |
Oregonpapa and andynotadam Thank you for your inputs. For the next 7 days I will play HollyCole"s "Temptation SACD once daily". I never turn off my system so by next weekend I should be in good shape. It might not be fully broken in by then, but I will know how good it is going to be. I have a very good feeling about these black fuses. |
The Black outlet will give you more space between instruments, better flow, and a more relaxed feel to the music but with better detail. The Tesla plex does not sound as "sophisticated"- it has a little less detail. I do like the Tesla plex. Since my systems are each on circuits that have five outlets , I have a combination of outlets on each circuit. SR essentially took the sound of the Tesla plex and improved it without loosing the good qualities of the Tesla plex. The Black takes a week of current passing through it to break in. It is worth the price to me and does have the 30 day return option. I think it is worth the time and effort to audition a Black outlet in one's system. David Pritchard |
Yeah, the SR Black outlet experiment should be interesting. I won't receive it or have a chance to mess with it for a week or two, but I am curious. In the meantime, I gonna try a really crazy--even for me--tweak, and that is to use a 12x8x2 Himalayan salt block to support my amplifiers via my existing Herbie's Iso-Cup and IsoBall footers. Some say crystalline salt has a resonant frequency near-equal to the Schumann resonance, which is 7.83 Hz. Synergistic's FEQ and Atmosphere mess around with the Schumann resonance as well. I can't find any online evidence to say that anyone has tried something as stupid as this, or at the very least, if they did, they kept it to themselves. If it doesn't work out, I can still gift them to my carnivorous friends as a novel way to BBQ! |
I spun this in the CD player last night. The piano, drums and bass are right there in the room. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Connick-Harry-Jr-Loftys-Roach-Souffle-CD-New-/142040253140?hash=item21124242... |
I found a thread here on Audiogon that provides a youtube link for a DIY fuse break-in device. Maybe it will help someone who has tube equipment to save some tube life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud2n7Mut13s&feature=youtu.be |
I was following the thread in the early days and installed a SR Red fuse in my ARC CDP; I wanted to start at the source. It was such a tremendous improvement in every way and since the spinner is naturally detailed, I stayed with the Red. Next I auditioned the Red and Black UEF PC's on all components and found that my Audience PC's were more musical with deeper imaging. IOW, I didn't need both the fuse and PC upgrade. Now I have the SR Black fuse in my modified Sunfire 300 amp and waiting for it to burn-in. My question is to others who have the SR Black in a high power/high current SS amp. Did you find that during the burn-in period, the sonics were similar to breaking in a new cable? I find the sound veiled, instruments lack separation (Classical music), and 2 dimensional. I know the fuses are allegedly directional, and for now I'll assume mine is installed correctly due to the fact that the imaging of string instruments are in the proper place and the soundstage is wide and high. So, I guess I'm asking for reassurance that others have heard these sonic characteristics. As mentioned before, it sounds like I'm breaking in some new cables. Many thanks. |
I've only used HiFi Tuning fuses but the results were the same as yours: kind of awful sounding until they broke in. Mine took about 4 days to completely break in, playing 24/7, much like a cable, and I've never thought twice about it since. A definite improvement. Your patience will be rewarded. All the best, Nonoise |
sherod ... Thanks for that very interesting link. lowrider ... Same experience with tube electronics. The Red fuses come into their own at about the 20 hour mark. The Black take about 70 to 100 hours. Until they open up, watching the news is more interesting than listening to the stereo system. BUT, once the fuses open up ... OMG! :-) |
Oregonpapa 06.13.16 "Going from the red fuse to the black fuse is more of an improvement than going from the stock fuse to the red fuse" Hafreeman 06.14.16 " I must say the improvements going from the red fuse to the black fuse is profound. The music is sweet and clear and more listenable all around" Andynotadam 06.15.16 " The sound (of the black fuse ) is smooth, liquid, detailed and extended " I replaced the red fuses in my Sony SACD player about a week ago and after listening to my system this morning I can now say that I agree 100% with all the above statements. These black fuses deserve the highest recommendation. If the audio magazines are awake, they have a moral obligation to name the Synergistic Research black fuses " Product of the Year" and " Budget Product of the Year" for 2016. I am now salivating at the prospect of upgrading my preamp, power amp and sub-woofer with these magnificent fuses. These fuses have my unqualified recommendation for all systems regardless of the components being used. This is a major upgrade to all power supplies and the power supply has the most consequential effects on sound quality. If after installation the sound is still below par, make sure your connections are correct. If they are reverse the direction of the fuses. ( I know that "theoretically" reversing fuse direction in an AC circuit should not make a difference, but is does. This is also the experience of other audiophiles in this forums. Remember, we are not privy to manufacturing process. If we were the reasons for things like this would become clear ) |
nyame: I agree 100%. The Synergistic Research Black fuses will give a major upgrade to one's sound system. And they will improve the sound in all the components you have listed- even the sub woofer. I do think these fuses give the highest performance to cost benefit of any audio product available. As you found out it is a fun and sonically rewarding experiment. David Pritchard |
To complement my system's phalanx of SR Black fuses, I just ordered a second Black outlet for my second dedicated line. It was gonna be kind of a pain to replace even one of them as the two lines share a double outlet box back in a corner, so I figured replacing both at the same time will be easier than not and regretting it later. I should have the two outlets some time next week and will hook them up as soon as possible (they will be replacing PS Audio Power Ports). This second line powers the REL along with some noisy bits (and noisy bits on each circuit are all plugged into Blue Circle Audio PLC FX-2 filters). Because the system spans the two circuits(via the REL high-level connection from the amps). I have been worried about ground potential differences and ground loop problems. I did have a hum when the REL was first connected with its three wires, the solution from the REL distributor was to leave the ground wire unconnected. The REL played just fine and the hum was gone, so it was clearly getting its ground reference from somewhere. After I installed the Black fuse into the REL, I decided to try tying the chassis ground of the REL to the star ground post on my Nordost QBase which powers the main components on the other line. The two circuits are on a tandem breaker (not two separate breakers ganged) and my guess is that they were wired on two different hot phases relative to neutral/ground. I'm seriously considering hiring an electrician to check the box and change things around so that both circuits are on the same phase. The grounds seem to be fine, as the 22ga. REL chassis ground wire doesn't get warm at all suggesting there is no meaningful difference in ground potential at the outlets, which is good since I have tied the grounds of the two circuits in two places--at the breaker box and at the outlets. If code allows, I will also ask the electrician to drive another ground stake to connect to the star ground on the QBase It shall be interesting to see whether the Black outlets can enhance the sound beyond the dramatic changes wrought by the Black fuses. It's kind of addictive (OK, it is addictive). We shall see... |
Andy,I believe that your chances of success are high based on David's listening experiences and given the company's overall track record in general . I don't have the Synergistic Research AC outlets, rather I use the Avatar Acoustic Afterburner 8 outlet and I'm very happy with its contribution to my system. In my opinion a high quality AC wall receptacle and fuses are exceptionally good value audio tweaks. Let us know how it turns out in your system. Charles, |
andynotadam: I congratulate you on undertaking this experiment. It is both a lot of time and effort to really dial in a system and there are no sure short cuts. I do think you plan has great potential and will answer many questions about the best Wall outlets for your system. The Synergistic Research Black outlet in my system had a significant effect on the system when I replaced a PS Audio Power Port Premier outlet (grey colored body). The background became darker, and the music has a richer harmonic texture. There is a more relaxed flow but with excellent detail. Upon installation I found the music to be more forward but with some hardness. Give these outlets a week to really settle in. I think you will be happy. If not, send them back! Charles1dad: David Pritchard |
Andy, I just installed a SR Black outlet for my power conditioner, which replaced an Oyaide R1 outlet. I found the Oyaide R1 to be bright sounding, not to my liking. In comparison, the SR Black outlet sounds more natural and organic, right from the get go. The difference between the two outlets is very noticeable. I am looking forward to the sound improving even more with the Black outlet as time goes by. For anyone interested, I also just bought two Oyaide wpc-z outlet covers on Amazon. They have two left for $139 each, which is a substantial discount from msrp. |
Hello David, You are privileged to be able to alternative between the two SET amplifiers, no doubt that both presentations are very enjoyable. I firmly believe that the individual 300b tube preference varies depending on the particular amplifier in use. For example the Western Electric reissue American tube is superb in some amplifiers. I didn’t care for it at all in my Coincident amplifier. In this amplifier the EML XLS is a much better match. Charles, |
thaluza ... Thank you for that post re: the SR Black outlet. I'm presently using the Oyaide outlet and considering going with the SR Black. Question: You say the Oyaide was "bright sounding." It doesn't sound bright in my system ... so, I'm curious ... does the SR Black have any "dark" attributes to it at all, or do you find it neutral like the SR Black fuses? Thanks ... |
Oregonpapa, The SR Black outlet is neutral to my ears, nothing dark at all. I don't feel like anything is missing. I put the outlet in 3 days ago. The first time I listened, I was in my chair for a few hours before I realized how much time had passed. That's an indication that I am really enjoying the music in my system. With the Oyaide, I would get up and wander and do chores or something else. I got more done around the house, so in that sense the Oyaide is better for me. But for musical enjoyment, the Black is better, at least for me. I only gave the Oyaide 2 weeks, and for sure it needs more break in. But I am not willing to go through hundreds of hours for an outlet to break in. I already went through something like that with the Acme outlet that I bought 10 years ago. That sucker didn't sound right until several months later. I did not want to go down that path again. The SR Black outlet sounds good right away and will only get better, I anticipate. Tom |
oregonpapa: When I replaced my Oyaide R1 wall outlet with a Synergistic Research Tesla Plex outlet , I heard more music emotion coming into the room. With replacing the Tesla Plex with the SR Black. I still obtain the more music is present sensation but now added is better detail and focus. I am very happy with the Black outlet in my system. It needs a week to fully settle in. I use and like the Oyaide wall outlet cover - mounting brackets. That is a good price at Amazon. They are occasionally sold at Audiogon in the $129.00 price range. Charles1dad: I sincerely do feel fortunate to have the SET amps using the PX-25 tube and the 300B tube. I hope all the readers of this thread will enjoy some great music and great sonic presentations this special Holiday weekend. David Pritchard |
dbarger: My set amp is a "Ready Set Go" design (this is a circuit design released to the DIY community in 2012). Much like some of Nelson Pass's designs that he has published for the DIY family. Built with premium parts throughout. It has a volume control and so no preamp is needed with my SACD player or Antelope DAC . This amp can use the EML mesh 300B tubes without overstressing them and so I bought it here on Audiogon. But I have not found any used EML mesh tubes as yet! David Pritchard |
Well today is July 4 and I have the day off from work. So I spent the last several hours changing out one of the wall outlets in my Mother's living room. There are 5 outlets on one circuit. Previously she had One Synergistic Research Black, One Furutech GTXD-R (rhodium), and three Synergistic Research Tesla Plex (red) . The primary power conditioner is plugged into the SR Black outlet. Today I replaced a SR Tesla Plex (red) which the dual subs are plugged into with a SR Black. This occurred while she was out of the room eating lunch. When she got back I fired up the system. Her initial impression " better bass- firmer and more emotion to the music. Details are easier to hear". We then spent the next hour listening to her streaming service and were impressed that we could hear the music presentation improve song by song. "It is like watching a flower unfold and becoming more beautiful" A very nice time indeed. David Pritchard |
sherod: The change in the system certainly was not subtle. The SR Black outlet makes a big improvement over the SR Tesla Plex or the Furutech GTXD-R. I made sure not to change the volume during the outlet installation. She is indeed a very focussed listener. It was a very nice afternoon. David Pritchard |
I received my two SR Black outlets today and I have to say that they are not outwardly impressive in any way. Black plastic, a steel back-strap stamped "spec grade" and the code-required tamper-resistant nylon "shutters" over the hot and neutral slots. About the only externally visible mod is what may be black UEF paint on the heads of the hot terminal screws. I'm planning on installing them tomorrow, replacing the existing PS Audio Power Ports as the first receptacles in line with each of my two dedicated 20 amp circuits. Updates promised. The crazy thing I did today (or maybe just one of the crazy things I did today) was to install two 14 pound 12" x 8" x 2" Himalayan salt blocks under my Primaluna tube monos. The amps have long been supported on Herbie's Balls and Iso Cups which in turn were placed on three smallish granite tiles I used to "couple" them to my living room's oriental rug. It has always sounded pretty good to me (and better than the amps just plopped on the carpet), but changing to the salt slabs clearly exposed a significant weakness to this approach. The soundstage expanded yet again in all dimensions with rock (salt) solid edge-less images floating within and even better bass depth and definition--akin to the sonic improvements generated by the SR Black fuses (hello, almost-the-original-thread-topic!), the HFTs, the Atmosphere and the FEQ. The simple explanation for this is that by substituting a single fairly massive slab base under the three-point Herbie's footers was way better than my three tiles on the carpet approach. In fact I have long considered what chunk of something I could cost-effectively place under the amps, be it granite, butcher block, acrylic, etc. And it's probably true that by ditching the tiles in favor of almost any kind of slab would make for better sonics. Science demands I experiment further (with other slabs or other footers), but at present I am disinclined. So, why did I choose the salt blocks? I can't quite remember how I got the idea (they're advertised for cooking), but at about $60 for two, I figured I couldn't lose as I could always gift them to my cooking-nerd friends if they didn't improve things audio-wise. From an audio voo-doo perspective, salt is said to have a resonance very near the Schumann Resonance of the earth, which just happens to be the (claimed) operating mechanism of the SR Atmosphere and FEQ field generators, not to mention that they generate negative (good) ions when heated, pretty much making me a genius and finally providing the sure-fire path to fame and riches that has always eluded me. Or perhaps not... |
^^^ Nice post, Andy ... You just never know what will affect the sound either negatively or positively. Salt blocks ... who-da thunk it? :-) I'm really looking forward to your assessment of the two SR outlets as they break in. They're on my bucket list. I tried putting granite slabs under my speakers, spiking the slabs to the floor (raised foundation), and then spiking the speakers to the granite slabs. I was looking for a way to improve the bass. Well, it improved the mids and the highs, but the bass became almost nonexistent. So then I got the idea of ordering two Mapleshade maple platforms and tried them in the same way. http://mapleshadestore.com/feedback_mapleshadeplatforms.php Walla! Great bass and an overall improvement throughout the full range. The granite slabs are now on top of the speakers and they fit the exact dimensions of the speaker tops. The added weight of the granite slabs add to the mass of the speakers and give a further improvement, especially in the area of overall clarity. At the moment, I'm breaking in two of the Von Gaylord 7000 IC's and a pair of their biwired speaker cables. http://vongaylordaudio.com/beta/cabling/ So far, I'm getting fantastic results with only about 50 hours on them. The Von Gaylord cables require about 200 hours to sound their best. I'll start a new thread about them in the cable forum when they're broken in. At 50 hours they are stomping all over the wires they replaced, and those were no slouches at all ... not by a long shot. Hang in there ... and happy listening. |
I have wondered where SR bought their SR Black duplex. I did some googling and found a duplex that looks very similar. Hmmmm... http://www.lowes.com/pd/Pass-Seymour-Legrand-20-Amp-125-Volt-Black-Indoor-Duplex-Wall-Tamper-Resista... |
sherod: The Synergistic Research Black duplex may well have started out as a Pass-Seymour outlet. Then SR takes that outlet and does several thing to make it sound better. The SR Tesla Plex apparently starts out as a Levitron hospital grade outlet and then is modified to sound better. Porter outlets takes a Hubell outlet and then cryo treats it to get a better sound. PS Audio sells their outlets that look like the main bodies are the same as Furutech"s. It sounds different than a Furutech. All of these outlets sound quite different than the outlets sold at Lowes. I am very impressed with the sonic qualities that the Synergistic Research Black outlet imparts to a system. I think the sonic gains I have obtained with the Black outlet are worth the price. I do think the changing the wall outlet produces a greater sonic change than most tube rolling does. Each type outlet will have it's own sonic signature. It is tedious and time consuming but for my audiophile education, it has been worth the effort to audition many outlets. Excellent listening to all this week. David Pritchard |
Yes, the SR is much different, according to their website they do this: Conditioned with a proprietary treatment that alters the conductor at the crystal structure and then treated with 2,000,000 volts of electricity which alters the conductor at the molecular level, the Synergistic Research Black Duplex is truly state-of-the-art. Materials include UEF Coatings and Graphene with 8-million times the conductive density of copper. Synergistic Research’s new UEF Black Quantum Duplex will revolutionize the way you plug in and tune out! |
One of the things that makes me a little nervous, other than the exhorbitant price of the SR Black duplex, is the nickel plating on the ears and backstrap. I have never liked the sound of nickel-plated anything in the audio chain. Maybe their tesla zap, graphene, and UEF coating changes that signature. I recently did a two week test where I took out two Hubbell 8300HBL( non-cryo'd Porter Port outlets) and replaced them with two Afterburner outlets. After two weeks, I felt that something wasn't right. The highs seemed constricted and the overall feel had this strain to it. I put back in the Hubbells and the sound once again had extended highs and an ease to the flow of the music that occurs in a live environment. I am on the fence for now with the SR Black outlet. In the meantime, I am glad that most of the current users of the SR Black outlets are happy with them. |
I just installed the SR Black outlets. The first thing I realized as I dug in to the project was that I was replacing not PS Audio Power Ports as I thought, but rather two Shunyata Research SR-Z1s, very robust Hubbell-based outlets which are cryo-treated in a proprietary process. I wonder who crept into my living room and put those in there? I have been using a non-magnetic stainless steel outlet cover which will be replaced later in the week by a Furutech dampened unit. All grounds were properly tied inside the outlet box per code. Anyhoo, first impressions are that in comparison to the SR-Z1s, the Black outlets make for a much more open, delicately detailed sound, maybe slightly more forward than before, while possessing excellent harmonic structure. To use a visual metaphor, it's as if the stage is more brightly lit. Bass speed and definition is much improved over the Shunyatas as well, while extension is so far something of a wash. Soundstage depth so far seems a bit fore-shortened, however, this being the main negative I detect out of the gate, though it seems to be improving as I continue to listen. Updates to follow... |