Synergistic Red Fuse ...
Wolf ... Instead of expecting the rest of us to do your research for you, why not do it on your own ... then report your findings here when you're finally satisfied? Here's the contact information for Synergistic Research ... phone numbers and all. Maybe you can get Ted Denny on the phone. http://www.synergisticresearch.com/contact/ Be sure to report your finding here. Thanks ... OP |
Charles ... Mister Record (Robert) came over for a listening session last night. I dug into the vault and took out the Montgomery Bros. album and played both sides. I haven't played it for a couple of years. Gotta say, with the fuses, room treatments and the cable upgrades made over the past year, its even better than I remembered. In addition to Harold Land on tenor, the Montgomery Brother's album also features Freddie Hubbard. The vibes playing by Buddy Montgomery is outstanding ... and in the room. Frank |
Hi Jond, I know you find many excellent music titles via Tidal streaming. Here are a couple I suspect you'd really enjoy. Pianist Tardo Hammer, "Look, Stop And Listen" A wonderful tribute to Tadd Dameron. Pianist John Hicks, "Twogether"( spelled correctly) features alto saxophonist Frank Morgan. Charles, |
Perhaps if somebody knows Ted Denny, he could be asked pop in here and explain how he came up with the designs of his fuses and maybe his "transducers." I assume somebody in here knows this guy as otherwise how would the arrangement to be compensated for pushing these products have come about? Note to patient readers of this thread…after often asking clearly if ANYBODY knows how or why these things provide the astonishing benefits alleged in this thread, there remains zero actually useful info proffered by the SR product users. Reminder: A fuse is NOT in the signal path, and if working properly only provides its services by melting if need be. Do any talented and successful amp designers swear by the sonic benefits of "special" relatively expensive fuses to the extent that they'd be willing to explain what they actually do? Pass? D'Agostino? Atmasphere? Shindo? Anybody? My feeling from being around a few of these designers is they don't do magic well…it simply seems lame to them. |
Haven't checked into this thread in a while as I had nothing really to add but let me say agreed @almarg is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable and helpful people on this site and definitively not a troll. And on the subject of shilling, look we are all, hopefully, adults here and should be able to evaluate claims we read and make up our own minds. No one is forcing you to believe anything that's written here or for that matter to even read it, so relax folks! And thanks for the Harold Land rec I have a twofer of Eastward Ho! and Fire in the West queued up next! |
Geoffkait ... Again ... there are those of us who really don't care how an electronic devise works, only that it does. The bottom line for us isn't the technological aspects of the hobby ... its about the musical enjoyment one derives from the devises that have been designed and put together by others. This would include tweaks like upgraded fuses, cones and little thingies that adhere to the walls and profoundly increase the realism of what is coming out of the speakers. If this weren't the case, we'd all be building Dynaco Stereo 70's and Heathkit amps from scratch. The last time I tried using a soldering iron, I burned the hell out of my thumb. :-) OP Charles ... I have an LP of The Montgomery Brothers that I believe was recorded exclusively for radio stations. I found it in a used record store back in the early 70's. Even though I keep searching, I have never seen it since. Its mono, but the sound is spectacular as is the performance. Its one of my reference and demo LP's. I love playing it for people just to show them how good mono can sound. Harold Land is spectacular on the album. If you can put up with a little surface noise, I'll burn a copy and send it along to you. Frank |
| Post removed |
Marqmike wrote, "As far as knowing how something works. I don’t know how my computer works but I am glad it does. I don’t know how my flat screen tv works but dido. I grew up fixing my cars and I don’t know how todays cars work but dido. I really don’t know how electricity flows but dido. I am not sure how the black fuse does it’s voodoo but dido." I’m not sure it’s a particularly good idea for you guys to be promulgating the idea that proponents of the Black Fuse or any audiophile device don’t know much about how anything works. It gives the wrong impression and is reminiscent of my least favorite audio magazine reviewer comment, "Gosh, I have no idea how this thing works but works it does!" Cheers |
Frank, Wow! As much jazz as I've listened to over the years yet I wasn't aware of any Harold Land and Montgomery Brothers collaboration. I'll happily seek those out. The Montgomery Brothers were really good 😊. One could spend a lifetime exploring jazz music and still you'd keep discovering new/unknown musicians and recordings. Such a joy. Charles, |
Ghosthouse sez: "8. The OP = Shill" Nope ... just a dyed in the wool old time audiophile who found a tweak that works so well that I wanted to share it with other like-minded individuals. So far, its paid off big time for a lot of happy posters here. With all due respect, I suggest that you read the thread from the very beginning before you form any concrete opinions. Charles ... We're very lucky to have so much of Harold Land's music on recordings. He was a very prolific sideman as well. Some of his best work was done on some of the Montgomery Brothers albums. OP |
| Post removed |
Well I have about 30 hours on my black fuse in my dac. The red fuse's have been fantastic and the black fuse is better I think. I did not compare them in each component. And I got to finish breaking them in. Anyway the black fuse has put beautiful timbre in my tone, see through in my sound stage, vibrato in the voices, swinging pace with the bass, openness in the air, tension in the fret-tion of the viola, tam tam in the tom tom. It has hidden my speakers and I can't find them. As far as knowing how something works. I don't know how my computer works but I am glad it does. I don't know how my flat screen tv works but dido. I grew up fixing my cars and I don't know how todays cars work but dido. I really don't know how electricity flows but dido. I am not sure how the black fuse does it's voodoo but dido. I got to try some more voodoo after this fuse's unexplained behavior finishes changing. |
I guess in light of George’s link and since labels were being assigned previously, we can suggest: 8. The OP = Shill Wolfie Cotton Ears? Seriously?? Sounds like something my 8 year old niece would come up with. Just by way of disclaimer, I don’t really have a dog in the fight - don't care one way or the other if these Synergistic fuses work as advertised or not. I do find Wolf's posts amusing, however. |
+1 wolf_garcia http://www.infoworld.com/article/2618833/identity-management/cyber-shill-business-is-booming.html Cheers George |
^^^ Okay, I finally broke one of the SR Black fuses open and discovered the absolute truth. Here it is my fellow audiophiles and music lovers ... Somehow, the folks at SR have developed miniaturization to the point that they can actually shrink instruments and musicians down to the level where they fit into these clever little fuses. Inside the fuse in the phono stage, much to my delight and surprise, was a very tiny Sammy Davis Jr. and Laurindo Almeida in residence. Almeida with guitar in hand strumming away. Sammy Davis Jr. singing "Here's That Rainy Day." But wait! ... There's more!! I then broke open the SR Black fuse in the preamp, and there stood Victoria de los Angeles surrounded by the entire La Scala orchestra di Italia along with hundreds of rabid Italian opera fans, box lunches comfortably resting in their laps, all waiting with baited breath for the great soprano to start singing. I had to quickly wrap electricians tape around the fuse to close it up. The crowd noise was deafening. How did Ted Denny and the crew at SR figure out how to get all of that inside one little fuse? I had a hell of a time prying Fats Domino and Jimmy Rushing out of the two fuses in the CD player. Those two guys obviously haven't passed up the bacon cheeseburgers and the Saint Louis ribs. Upon further investigation, I discovered that whatever piece of music one plays, the artists seem to be reincarnated inside these wonderful little fuses. As it turns out, there is nothing different about these fuses at all ... other than the musicians and instruments are actually inside them. Now we know why, with the installation of the SR Black fuses, everything sounds so real. Because IT IS REAL. So there you have it, Wolfie Cotton Ears. All of your technical questions have been answered. You can go away now. Ted Denny ... you are a genius! OP |
| Post removed |
I've never actually seen a thread with more shameless product shilling and relatively less product design discussion…I don't mind the name calling as it proves my point about the lack of spine among the clearly insecure who are unable or unwilling to understand simple questions and comments if they get too close to the truth…if I worshipped an inane and unexplainable object I'd likely worry about naysayers, but nothing is sacred to me, except my right to object to obvious commercial hype in a forum. You can put lipstick on knghifi, but he still needs eyeliner. |
| Post removed |
1. Al is definitely not a troll. 2. Wolfie Cotton Ears is definitely a troll. 3. Electroslacker's comment was brilliant. 4. Acman3's comment was brilliant. 5. Harold Land = Brilliant tenor player. 6. Hampton Haws = Brilliant piano player. 7. Wolfie Cotton Ears is definitely a troll. That's about it in a nutshell. Well okay ... a nutshell and a half. OP |
I tested the fuses (reluctantly, until provided with a pile of them that I couldn’t resist playing with), and found them to be merely fuses, and not very safe fuses at that. That in itself should be helpful information for those considering wasting money on these silly items. You’re welcome. The fact that "clean your fuse holder" Almarg has been deemed a troll by some here speaks volumes of the mind set among some of the magic fuse Athletic Supporters in this thread, and Al is welcome to visit my PA festooned box under the freeway anytime. A note regarding technical explanation…For decades I’ve hung with and spoken to successful cable designers, speaker designers, amp designers (both home or pro use) and serious musicians who are also audio geeks, and pretty much anybody will readily and unhesitatingly discuss the whys and wherefores of their gear if so disposed to do so…Bill Low entertained me with logical and well reasoned cable design wisdom for an hour before a jazz show I was mixing (there’s that swine PA reference again!). He seemed legit, and not one to simply throw a "low manufacturing cost relative to extreme high retail price" Carpel Tunneled (I mean Quantum Tunneled) gizmo at the Subjective Audio Geek market without supporting technical reasoning…my issues with SR’s ability to fill their corporate coffers by using threads like this to promote Quantum Trammeled Carbon pleasure placebos to rabid seekers is my main reason to keep showing up here…that and the fact that I refuse to be bullied off by boneheads. |
Max Planck warned against the mental state of "knowing" that gets us stuck. He noted that constantly striving to understand is the remedy, and observation is important, even if it contradicts theory, and even if total understanding is unreachable. My tendency is to know the fuse can't make a difference, but Max was no slouch, so whether it's subjective perception or engineering, I'll strive to stay in the striving state. |
Dear Al, Ralph and geoffkait ... Your interesting technical dialogues are always informative and enjoyable to read. But .... . Is there anything to be said for just using one's ears to assess whether a tweak makes an improvement, causes a subtraction, or just doesn't make any difference at all? Especially if one knows the sound of live music and that is what any given system is compared with? I've said it before ... I don't know the difference between a resistor and a capacitor, other than the capacitor stores energy and ... and ... what was it that a resistor does again? All I know is, upgrading from the HiFi tuning fuse that was in my amp, to the original SR Red fuse that started this thread was not subtle by any means. It was so much of a positive change that it motivated me to start this thread to begin with. A good friend whose ears I trust heard the improvement without knowing what the change was the moment he walked into the room to start a listening session. Then with the conversion over to the SR Black fuses, the stage was set. It was like upgrading to a far better pre-amp or amp without the outlay of many thousands of dollars. Then, the SR High Frequency Transducers (HFT's) really locked everything into place like never before. I don't know how these little things that stick on the walls work ... I only know that the little buggers are fantastic. So, there are those of us out here who really don't need to know "why." We only care that it "does." And that was the point I was trying to make with the purveyor of PA systems for the home environment, Wolfie Cotton Ears. In the meantime, Mr. Record, who hears like a dang bat, is coming over for dinner and a listening session tonight. He always brings his latest thrift store finds, both vinyl and Cd's. So ... I'm looking forward to this evening. Take care, guys. OP |
Almarg wrote, "There are at least two reasons why some (including me) would find it unsettling that a persuasive technical explanation doesn’t seem to be available: 1)A persuasive technical explanation, especially one that seems to make sense when looked at in a quantitative manner, would tend to dispel doubts some may legitimately have about what could legitimately be considered to be the seemingly implausible efficacy of such a tweak. Which would add confidence that the investment of time that would be required to properly assess the tweak in the various possible applications within a system would not be wasted." 2)A good technical understanding of how a given tweak works its magic may, hopefully, enable increased predictability of whether or not that magic will be forthcoming in a specific application." Another typical trollish comment that dismisses ALL technical explanations for fuses already put forward, you know things like purer metal conductor and end caps as well as vibration control. Recall, dear readers these explanations are NOT rocket science. The use of the word "magic"by naysayers when describing tweaks, you know, like psychological, perception, placebo, bias, I.e., is just another clue that the person’s mind was made up a long time ago and that nothing can change it. This is all just another case of one troll admiring the cut of another troll’s jib. |
Good comment by Mitch2, whose opinions and sonic perceptions have over the years earned very high credibility in my book. And I agree that the discussions/arguments about the efficacy of fuse upgrades have pretty much run their course. I would like to add something, though, to what has been said about the value or lack thereof of having a technical understanding of how tweaks such as these fuses work the magic that many users have described them as providing. There are at least two reasons why some (including me) would find it unsettling that a persuasive technical explanation doesn’t seem to be available: 1)A persuasive technical explanation, especially one that seems to make sense when looked at in a quantitative manner, would tend to dispel doubts some may legitimately have about what could legitimately be considered to be the seemingly implausible efficacy of such a tweak. Which would add confidence that the investment of time that would be required to properly assess the tweak in the various possible applications within a system would not be wasted. And by "implausible" I don’t mean to suggest that a fuse change can’t make a difference. In fact based on Atmasphere’s experimental results that I quoted on 8-3-2016 on page 49 of this thread I would expect that the mere act of removing a fuse and then putting the same fuse back in place could make a difference. What does seem implausible to me, however, and frankly quite baffling, as well as fundamentally inconsistent with my technical understanding of how electronic designs work (and I completely recognize and acknowledge that technical understanding can neither explain nor predict a lot of what we hear or don’t hear in a system) is that the benefits of upgrading to a particular fuse would occur with the high degree of consistency that has been reported, ***among components that are completely different in design, that perform completely different functions, that are used in very different systems, and that are powered by AC having very different voltage and noise characteristics.*** 2)A good technical understanding of how a given tweak works its magic may, hopefully, enable increased predictability of whether or not that magic will be forthcoming in a specific application. Regards, -- Al |
Hi, Charles ... Hampton Hawes? Yes, I have a number of his recordings. One of my favorites is his playing of "The Champ" on the "Lighthouse at Laguna"recording on Contemporary. On one side you have Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse Allstars, and on side two is the Hampton Hawes trio. Its only available in mono, but its a Contemporary, so its one of those recordings that has you asking ... "who needs stereo?" Here's what to look for: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lighthouse-Allstars-At-Laguna-CD-Mint-/391526192694?hash=item5b28c79636:g:OY... I have a lot of recordings featuring Harold Land too. I've always considered him to be an underrated player. He's one of my favorites. He did a lot of work on Contemporary Records and they did an outstanding job of giving us great sounding recordings. The folks at Contemporary turned out a superior product. I have a ton of Contemporary recordings and I don't think there's a bad sounding one among them. Here's some of the Harold Land albums I own: http://www.ebay.com/itm/HAROLD-LAND-The-Fox-Elmo-Hope-Dupree-Bolton-Frank-Butler-Herbie-Lewis-LP-/25... http://www.ebay.com/itm/West-Coast-Blues-Harold-Land-Vinyl-LP-/282151675630?hash=item41b18ce6ee:g:-~... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harold-Land-Eastward-Ho-61-Jazzland-LP-/370524519238?hash=item5644fb7b46:m:m... http://www.ebay.com/itm/CLIFFORD-BROWN-MAX-ROACH-IN-CONCERT-JAPAN-KING-LP-Teddy-Edwards-Harold-Land-... http://www.ebay.com/itm/RED-MITCHELL-HAROLD-LAND-5ET-Hear-Ye-Hear-Ye-Hear-Ye-Hear-Ye-LP-sm-wobc-/301... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Harold-in-the-Land-of-Jazz-New-CD-/291802879128?hash=item43f0ce9498:g:~ygAAO... Right now I'm listening to "A Portrait of Love;" early 18th century music for the French court, consisting of violin, harpsichord and gamba ... plus Nancy Argenta - soprano on Harmonia Mundi. Amazing! http://www.ebay.com/itm/VARIOUS-A-Portrait-Of-Love-CD-Like-New-Mint-/182222450066?hash=item2a6d4ded9... I have to say, since the big strides in resolution and musicality have been made over the past year in the system, as good as the Harmonia Mundi recordings were in the past, they really have come to life. What a great label. Its fun discovering "new" recordings among the "old" collection. OP |
Frank, Due to your efforts this thread has made many music lovers aware of a very good tweak, myself included. You should be justifiably proud. Different topic, Frank do you have any recordings of Hampton Hawes? He was a first rate West Coast style pianist. I really enjoy him, as they used to say, this cat can play! He did some wonderful collaborations with Harold Land and Jim Hall in the 1950s. Charles, |
^^^ No problem, Charles ... Your post made a lot of sense to me. There's been way too much energy spent hoping that somehow through osmosis some logic might seep into the brains of those who should already get it. They don't. They won't. No matter how one tries, their stubbornness prevails. So what's the use of even trying? With the improvement of resolution and musicallity in the system, I'm discovering some really good artists. I had a couple of Harry Connick's CD's and one of his LP's for a number of years. Like a lot of music in my collection, they just sat dormant on the shelf. Well, I got out the LP of Connick's "When Harry Met Sally" sound track and played it. VERY enjoyable indeed. That led me to discover Connick's recordings of his jazz group. No singing, just good piano jazz accompanied by other accomplished musicians. Good stuff ... and it swings. When I hear Connick sing I'm reminded of a combination of Sinatra, Torme' and Jack Jones. I guess you could call the guy a song stylist. OP |
Hello Frank, For clarification I was not suggesting that you need to be muzzled. I was just expressing my own observation that what more can be said in terms of rebuttal from either side. Harry Connick sure was a big name during the 1990s primarily as a vocalist. I'll check into his piano recordings, thanks. This weekend my wife, her cousin and I attended the Detroit Jazz Festival downtown on the riverfront. Beautiful sunny,80 degrees and no humidity, perfect weather and large, happy enthusiastic crowds. We got to hear Rod Carter, Russell Malone,Roy Hargrove, Marcus Roberts and other terrific jazz musicians. Wonderful live jazz the entire weekend! What a treat. Charles, |
^^^ Okay, hard as it will be, I'll try to keep quiet out of respect to the other posters. Hopefully, my last post made sense to "WCE." Some music not to overlook is the small group trio stuff done by Harry Connick Jr. He's an excellent jazz piano player and he really cares about the quality of the recordings he puts out. I listened to two of his CD's early this morning and the group was right there in the room. Very accurate piano recordings. OP |
Hello David, I look forward to your listening impressions of the Sophia blue glass 300b tubes. I’ve auditioned many 300bs over the years and it was both fun and informative. Mitch2, I believe that the vast majority here at this point share your recognition of "agreeing to disagree ". It seems that the arguments have been exhausted with no new points being made. Either the fuses improved your system or they did not. For many posting here they did. For a few they did not. Charles, |
It seems this thread has run its course with respect to believers and naysayers, with all the parties planted firmly on one side or the other, except Geoff who has no fuses in his Walkman yet enjoys working the bellows to keep the fire hot. Any attempts at humor seem to have evaporated like the magic dust inside of a blown “audiophile” fuse. With respect to Oregonpapa, the original question he posted was “Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?” Therefore, this thread was never intended to be an argument over the scientific validity of "audiophile" fuse technology but rather a discussion of what people do hear. I have tried the SR reds but didn’t hear the “bang for my buck” so I am mostly happy using UL/CSA Eaton Bussmann type fuses. I think this thread is best left to those who have discerned sonic improvements from installing “audiophile” fuses in their hi-fi systems, and from orienting those fuses so the half-inch fuse wire is pointed in the right direction. Agreeing to disagree can be a reasonable resolution. |
I like the accesory "Fuse" because it is : 1- inexpensive (as an accessory) 2- Very efficient (in many systems, be it SR, AM, AH, Furutech' etc.) 3- unexpected : when the first audiophile fuses appeared, who could believe it could make such a difference ? No one I net.4- there is several manufacturers that made their fuse sound all slightly different one each others. So with the help of the audiophile community you can have a first valiable approach to expected results in your system. With the help of good return policy you can test "in real conditions", in your system and balance the sound by putting a SR Black here, and an AM'or AH there. It's a kind of cooking we all make and that is part of the fun when we buy an X pre to mate with an Y amp etc, or am I wrong ? Last year I tested several expensive speaker cables (5ooo to 6500€ for a 2,5 m stereo). I kept none. Yes several were audibly superior to mine but not enough for the difference in price. When I discovered the difference an SR Red did in my pre : wow ! For a mighty 79€ it was great. After that I heard of the SR Blacks thanks to Oregon Papa and this thread. I looked at all the fuses and all what be said around, I installed a AM Beeswax that made me happy in the pre and sometimes later, SR Blacks in the amps and the DAC. Very happy too. When The Beeswax SHD appeared I replaced the pre fuse with it. Not fully broken in (about 40 hours only) and it is soooo musical and airy. The musicians and singers seem so happy to play together, I consider it now superior (in my system, room, tastes etc) to the Black. I believe in Fuses because I tested them with my ears and brain. No need to substitute machines to tell me what is good or bad. In a way of being a bit provocative if we speak of faith, so yes I have the Faith in Fuse. To my delight I heard his Word'and it has lighted my audiophile path. Being serious anew a think a kind of competition is beginning and maybe in a few weeks SR will biuld a new one still better and so on. As for bank cards there will be the Gold, the Platinum etc 🤑. A new territory is being explored by the builders and who knows where it will stop... As my girlfriend discovered recently (we are together for a few months) : "Mais mon Cheri, your Hi Fi... It is endless?". |
Wolfie Cotton Ears sez: "... the Believers who seem to simply not care about the technology, but don't hesitate to toss piles of money at it based on faith…" Count me in as one of "The Believers." Contrary to Wolfie Cotton Ears' above statement, there is nothing about the SR fuses that was "taken on faith." The only "faith taken" was the faith that the dealer would honor the 30 day money back guarantee on the initial fuse purchase a year ago. Nope, nothing has been taken on "faith." Everything stated in this entire thread was taken on HEARING THE RESULTS. True that there are those of us who couldn't care less about the technology. So What? I'm a salesman not a techno-dweeb. I don't sell the steak ... I sell the sizzle. I worked as a salesman for a few years in an ultra-high end audio store. While there, I saw the owner, (an engineer) master mind his way right out of business by overwhelming prospects with technical jargon until their eyes glazed over. What was lost on the owner was that the prospects weren't coming into the store to spend money on low slew rates, wire metallurgy, or speaker cone material. They came into the store because they wanted to recreate reproduced music as accurately as possible in their home. Because of the owner's failure to understand the prospects basic needs and wants, and his continual refusal to learn basic salesmanship, I watched while an entire fortune was flushed down the drain and the doors of a fantastic audio store were closed forever. On the outlay of cash: My system uses five fuses. That came to a full retail cost, including state sales tax, of $659.00. What have I received for the cash outlay? I've gotten in return an audio system that completely disappears. It doesn't call attention to itself in any way. Its totally three dimensional at this point. The instruments are reproduced in a very believable way. The dynamics are amazing, from the softest triangle strike to the big tympani's and the lowest organ notes. Its quite amazing, really. Vocals are "reach out and touch it" real. When you can take a truly great amplifier like the ARC REF-75 se, that bowled you over by its grain free presentation straight out of the box stock, then simply replace the stock fuse with an SR Black fuse and discover what the meaning of grain free truly is, well ... that's worth the price of all five fuses combined right there. Why would I need to know how the fuses work at that point? I don't need to know. I just want the music. That's it, period. Each year, its estimated that approximately 350,000 1/4" drill bits are sold in the U.S. Did the buyers of those drill bits want drill bits, or did they want 1/4" holes? Do they need to know how drill bits work, other than knowing how to attach the bit to the drill motor? Nope. They just want the hole. Dear Wolfie Cotton Ears ... try to get your head around this: We don't want the fuses. We want the music the fuses so greatly improve upon. Simple, no??? OP |
| Post removed |
