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?
I am still trying to truly understand the magnitude of improvement people are hearing with Red and Black fuses.
On a scale of 1-100, what would you rate the magnitude of change heard with the SR fuse versus the speaker/floor isolation tweak?
For me, the isolation improvement was much greater than anything I heard with the Red fuse. The Subdudes and Isoacoustics stands each made huge differences in sound that surely anyone could hear. But only on my second level. Not much difference if used at foundation level on solid concrete floor (with thin dense carpet and padding).
Honestly, if the Red fuse made a difference is was hard for me to identify at all with any certainty. So much less effective than isolation when needed.
The difference in results of isolation of my same speakers on two totally different levels of my home acoustically show how even potentially real and effective tweaks will vary in results depending.
Bottom line is there has to be a real problem to solve first and then an effective solution to address it.
So while I do not think all fuses are created equal, I also believe that the problem fuses address has been solved effectively by many commercial fuse products over the years and for very low cost.
So are the expensive fuses a solution looking for a problem or not? Obviously opinions will vary on this.
mapman 13,538 posts 07-29-2016 9:29am Isolating speakers from lively floors is a must usually for best sound. I’ve found it to be one of the most basic and effective room tweaks one can do.
Yes, Isolating the rest of the system from the speakers, I.e., acoustic feedback, is a great idea. Everything should be isolated because speakers aren’t the only issue. Placing cones under heavy furniture on suspended floors can be quite rewarding as well.
I had a terrible time with my raised floors. Muddy bass.
If one were to look at my system pictures, the solution is evident. I ordered two, two-inch thick unfinished maple platforms from Mapleshade. The platforms are spiked to the floor and the speakers are spiked to the platforms. The difference was night and day. Also, putting heavy granite platforms on top of the speakers helped too. Its like increasing the mass of the speakers.
David ...
I love the stories about your Mom. You are a loving son. After meeting you in person at the Newport Show, I can say that it is reflected in your personality. You have a sweet spirit about you David. Very evident here in your posts as well.
As an older person (how did that happen?), the best advise I can give to younger folks who still have living parents is ... treat them with respect and kindness. Keep in constant touch. Let them know that you love them and appreciate all of the sacrifices they have made for you in your younger days. You will appreciate it later.
Remember, discipline weighs ounces ... and regret weighs tons. :-)
Thank you for the kind suggestion - I will order it today. Yesterday my Mother was very upset at herself for burning popcorn in the microwave. Being sight limited she had set the microwave to hours instead of minutes and then went outside the apartment while answering a neighbor's knock on the door.. She returned to really toxic fumes- the microwave popcorn artificial butter becomes toxic when burned.
So for two hours I clean the Kitchen floors, walls, etc., discarded the microwave and changed the air cleaners - the Hepa and the activated carbon prefilters. While doing so I asked Mother to turn off the Hallmark TV channel and put on her music system.
After 30 minutes of cleaning, I realised I was hearing a faint female vocalist to some of the instrumentals. MY Mother has softly singing with the music! The powerful healing - relaxing - inspiring effect of music had taken place.
This is a music system that has all Synergistic Research Black fuses, Synergistic Black wall outlets,and a Synergistic Research Grounding Block.
She hears and feels the improvement these products give her system.
For those readers or readers with loved ones over 70, please consider a quality air cleaner that has a Hepa filter - for the bedroom and also for the main living room. Please consider once a week B-12 shots. The improvement in the "I think easier with less strain" can be quite remarkable.
Isolating speakers from lively floors is a must usually for best sound. I’ve found it to be one of the most basic and effective room tweaks one can do.
There are many products that do this well. The main thing is find one that works for you and your speakers best.
One will be amazed how much better most systems can sound when interactions with lively floors are minimized. Muddy bass is reduced and everything is cleaned up resulting in improved imaging and soundstage as well. It really lets you hear your gear more and not so much the room.
I use Auralex Subdude platforms under my large floorstanders and Isoacoustics brand stands under my monitors and both are similarly quite effective.
These are good examples of products that solve a real problem simply for very reasonable cost that will appeal to many.
Hello Music Lovers just a little out of the discussion but can be interesting to know I tried Townshend speaker bars yesterday on my Analysys Audio Epsilon panels. A big surprise at a reasonable cost. You should have a look at the videos and order some. They have a try and buy commercial strategy it seems. Much more music , all very neat realistic without changing the balance of the sound in any way and oh that bass !!! So nice and easy. I think especially to jazz lovers : you should know that. I stop here it was just an info I wanted to share with the gentlemen music lovers of this nice thread. JY
Hi Frank, Oh yes, Gerry Mulligan, I consider him and Pepper Adams genuine masters of the baritone saxophone. I have the CD version of the recording you cite. I'll list a few that I believe you'll really enjoy.
"Mulligan Meets Monk" "Mulligan Meets Ben Webster " "Night Lights " "What Is There To Say ?" Charles,
Last night I was playing ""The Persuasions sing the Beatles" chesky 244. It is a hybrid SACD. The music was so pure and beautiful it was like listening to a group of angels singing. I thought of my mother who died at 90 about 3 years ago.
I don't know why but my mind wandered and I remembered your mother who enjoys music. If you do not have access to this music I would strongly recommend you make it available to her.. She will love it. I GUARANTEE IT.
This thread has turned into something far greater than SR fuses. As I said in a previous post, its become a meeting place for friends. I've found it to be very educational as well. I really appreciate the music suggestions too. You've turned me on to some good recordings and performances. I look forward to your continued input.
Tonight was Gerry Mulligan night at my house. One LP has Mulligan on one side and Paul Desmond on the other. Red vinyl ... mono. Some of the Mulligan tunes are Line for Lyons, Bernie's Tune and Frenzi. I had this record on 45 rpm in high school and wore out several copies. My brother, sister and I couldn't stop playing it. We had a box style Hifi with side speakers that detached from the side so that we could get some decent sound out of the thing. The problem was ... the tonearm must have weighed a couple of pounds.
Hi Andy, I hear you in regard to the very recent exchanges on this thread concerning the Black fuses. Personally it has now become stale for me, what more can be said? Three people tried the fuses and derived no benefit. Multiple numbers of people have enthusiastically reported very positive results. No product pleases everyone. So there it is, the 8 months length of this thread speaks to the obvious overall concensus. The maturity and community/friendly atmosphere has been much appreciated by me (and many others I’m sure ). I’ll continue to post music recommendations and look forward to others posting the same. There are lots of music lovers participating on this thread. ☺☺ Charles,
Some of the most musically accurate systems I've heard had a Linn turntable in it. I used to seek out the Linn room at CES every year just to sit and listen to their wonderful systems. Not only did the Linn TT play music, but the Linn folks had exemplary taste in music. You could always count on being entertained with great music in their demo rooms.
Enter the Well Tempered TT. What could be better than a well designed tonearm bearing? How about no bearing at all? Yes, the WT tonearm looks like a Rube Goldberg contraption, but it works amazingly well. Here's an early (2006) review written by Paul Dudley:
Geez, I am getting old. I thought this lovely thread ended two pages ago, then tonight I noticed two more pages. I could have done without the page before this one, but it's nice to see things back on track and positive.
Earlier this week, I subjected my system to the "Grog test." Grog (actually Greg--a friend since high school) is famous for passing out early. But this time, with my system sounding really good (SR Black outlets fully stabilized) and Grog listened until after two AM (and he was visiting the West Coast from Chicago, so we had the time zone difference working against this outcome as well). Grog is no audiophile, but he likes music, and he really enjoyed what he heard that night. Apologies to my long suffering neighbors.
One of the fun aspects of having one's music library accessible via iPad is that you can just turn it over to a guest and let them have at it. It's fun to have another person crawl through your collection. It's like getting a different perspective on the music you loved enough to have purchased and added to your library....
I am not familiar with the Well Tempered table but I am very familiar with the Linn Sondek LP 12. I used it with a Grace 707 tonearm and a Fidelity Research low output moving coil cartridge. I have forgotten the name of the FR cartridge. The Grace tonearm was very popular with reviewers in HIFi News and other English publications. I eventually found out that the main reason they liked it (apart from the fact that is was awesome) was that it was available with several heads so that reviewers could conveniently change heads for cartridge performance comparisons. I epoxied mine to prevent vibrations at the point of connection to the arm. My Linn Sondek was one of the early ones. The bearings were so precise it would cause problems in the summer when the temperature rose. To prevent this I used a very fine oil to keep things running smoothly. I really loved the LINN Sondek. and was a bit of an expert on setting it up. However at a later date I made a policy to throw away any- thing I owned that was not used in the previous 2 years. I made no exception with the Linn and put it in the garbage. In retrospect it was an unwise decision.
Your mentioning the Well Tempered Turn table (WTT) brings back memories. I own that (the original classic model, early 1990s) and the Linn Sondek LP 12, the WTT was easily the better turn table. The Linn was a very good table with proper set up but the WTT was truly special IMO.I owned it for many years and finally sold it to a friend who literally begged me to sell it to him.
In hindsight I should have probably kept it as it would’ve been a superb mate with my terrific Yamamoto YDA DAC. Both cut from the same natural sounding cloth that just gets the tone,harmonics and fluidity /flow of music right. Frank here’s a recommendation for you. Lee Konitz, "Live At The Half Note" 1959. It’s very good.
I agree with you on IAR and Peter Moncrieff. I was a real fan and subscribed to his publication for years.
It was Peter who led me to the original Well Tempered Turntable. He loved it and continually raved about it. Too bad he didn't hear it with all of the mods and tweaks that can be done to it. I've had mine since it first came out.
I bought the arm, new in the box, from an engineer who bought it directly from Bill Firebaugh after Bill demonstrated it at the engineer's audio society meeting. Then, I subsequently bought the bare table from a WT dealer. Total outlay was $1,900. That was the best buy I've ever made in the audio hobby.
Thanks to Peter Moncrieff I will never need another table for the rest of my life. I've been told by really credible sources that to get better than what I have now, I'd have to exceed $50,000 for a new table.
I've searched the web over and over for Peter's Well Tempered review. Not attainable.
On the Von Gaylord IC's. I have one pair of balanced between my preamp and amp and an RCA pair between the turntable and phono stage. They are the Von Gaylord "Return of The Legend" IC's. $1,995 for a meter pair. I was so impressed by them that I now have the Von Gaylord speaker cables as well.
When I refer to my system as a "Magic Music Machine," the Von Gaylord cables are a big reason. Ray Leung, the designer, is truly a genius ... and he knows the sound of music too. I heard his system this past year at the Newport Show .. .and was so taken by how accurate and musical the sound was that I had to try the cables. Not looking back at this point. No need.
The Von Gaylord cables are very compatible and synergistic (no pun intended) with the Synergistic Research power cords too. Great combo. For those who say cables don't make a difference, I'd say ... get the wax out of yer ears.
" I remember whenBowers and Wilkenson (The well known English loudspeaker manufacturer B&W ) marketed their DM 4 loudspeaker decades ago. It was built under license owned by the BBC. This bookshelf loudspeaker had not only a bass/midrange driver but also a "Super Tweeter" that handled the range from above 13 Khz. There was an outcry from members of the audio community who maintained that since human hearing goes up to only about 19Khz, there was no need for a super tweeter. But keen listeners welcomed the super tweeter and claimed that its benefits extended not only to the mid-range, and horror of horrors "THE BASS". Today this is a well known phenomenon and super tweeters are now routinely used with tremendous success."
You might not remember the Ultra Tweeters but if you are alarmed by or put off by marketing jargon this might be the ticket. The Ultra Tweeters operate at frequencies above 1 GigaHertz only, I.e., they have no output in the audio spectrum. Yet, with the Ultra Tweeters in the room there was considerably better high frequency response with more air and overall dimensionality. They attached to the regular speaker posts and could be placed anywhere that was convenient since they didn't have to be time aligned.
Wolf, I am just as frustrated with Synergistic Research as you and many audiophiles are. The language used to describe cables made with a few strands of wire is really difficult to deal with. At least twice in the last 5 years I decided not to ever deal with them again.
However, since I am a member of the cable company, which provides their products on loan for a small fee, I continue to deal with them if their products prove to be good value when auditioned.
I have been trying to figure out why the overblown language and here is my current thoughts. The products that synergistic research manufacture are basically simple and relatively easy to make, if you know how. I believe SR is reluctant to fully explain exactly what basic materials are used and how the cables and other products are made. Why? Because SR spend a lot of money, using basic trial and error, to develop their products. They probably believe if they let everyone know exactly how to make their products they would be unable to make the same amount of profit as they now do. This of course is just conjecture on my part.
I used to be employed in a company who refused to provide what they regarded as Company secrets to any of their customers. Requests by customers who requested information not in the instrument manuals were simply told That their manufacturing process is "Proprietary" and this was standard in the industry.
It is precisely because you have your dremmel tool ready and waiting to copy their products that I suspect SR behaves as it does. I really can't blame them. The other aspect of the SR quandry is that they are always looking for new materials and technologies to maintain market share. Many of their new technologies are not understood by most audiophiles. How can a few dots placed on walls affect bass frequencies? There are people whose opinions I trust have tried these little dots and have been impressed by them. I will eventually audition them
I remember whenBowers and Wilkenson (The well known English loudspeaker manufacturer B&W ) marketed their DM 4 loudspeaker decades ago. It was built under license owned by the BBC. This bookshelf loudspeaker had not only a bass/midrange driver but also a "Super Tweeter" that handled the range from above 13 Khz. There was an outcry from members of the audio community who maintained that since human hearing goes up to only about 19Khz, there was no need for a super tweeter. But keen listeners welcomed the super tweeter and claimed that its benefits extended not only to the mid-range, and horror of horrors "THE BASS". Today this is a well known phenomenon and super tweeters are now routinely used with tremendous success.
nyname if you really care my posts are all here for you to read and determine if any are insightful or not. Why would you need me to tell you which ones are substantive or insightful? So you can tell me they are not? Only you can determine what adds value or not for you.
If you have specific questions or things you want to discuss just ask. I'll be happy to respond.
Thanks. Now this is an example of an insightful post. Got it Mapman?
The greatest audiophile I know of, is Peter Moncrief and he reviewed the Chinchilla a long time ago in his quarterly magazine IAR. I learned so much from this great man. In fact he is why I purchased my McCormack preamp and my Odyssey khartao extreme power amp. He taught me about the value of passive components (caps, resisters, diodes, wire and so on. My son now builds his own tube traps from information made available by Peter Moncrief. Sometime around 1985 I was among a group of audiophiles who decided to build a preamp designed by Professor Marshall Leak of the Georgea Institute of technology. Although each of us was building the same circuit as published in Audio magazine we used different parts from a range of manufactures. Because I subscribed to IAR, then called an "under ground" mag I was aware of the best sounding film capacitors ("wonder caps" ), the best sounding resistors ("resista" resistors from Germany] and Signal transformers from the USA. preamps.
He was a great fan of McCormack products and described the Mccormack preamp as a solid state preamp that even tube lovers could love. He also said similar good things about the Odyssey power amp of the day. He loved the Von Gaylord Chinchilla interconnect so much that he rated it above all other interconnects regardless of price. I will not purchase any cable without a prior audition, but if this option is available I will certainly give it an audition. Have you been able to audition the current Chinchilla? If so perhaps you could write a few words on what you heard.
On the IC replacement later this year; I'd highly recommend that you also audition one from Von Gaylord Audio. A one meter pair is right there at your budget limit. Fantastic products. Very neutral, musical and tonally correct.
In an earlier post of even date I asked you to post opinions you have posted in this thread that is substantive or insightful. Here is your response:
"I have been an "audiophile" for 40 years myself and have found little
value in genral in very expensive tweaks marketed specifically to
audiophiles compared to other comparable high quality products."
You are unable to refer to any of your earlier posts that meets this basic requirement.I am now obliged to ask "why do you post on this thread?
Because I am a contributor to this thread dealing with a product marketed by Synergistic Research, I have decided to list some of my equipment so that readers can see the extent of my involvement with Synergistic Research. I am doing this because I believe (I might be wrong) there a lot of the
skepticism attached to many products marketed by Synergistic Research.
Power Cables: Home made (4) Audience (2) High Diamond (1)
Interconnect Cables: Audioquest "Chetah" High Diamond "Platinum"
Loudspeaker: Synergistic Research "Element Copper"
Grounding Block: Synergistic Research
Fuses: Synergistic Research - "RED" 4 Synergistic Research - "BLACK" 3
It is not my policy to use cable looms from any single manufacturer. I will audition cables from three credible manufacturers and Purchase the one that gives the best results at that particular location. For example, I am will probably purchase an interconnect later this year to replace the 10 year Audioquest Cheetah between my Sony SACD Player and my McCormack LD 2 preamp. My budget is to not exceed $2000. I will audition Audioquest 'Wind", Synergistic Research "Atmosphere level 3" and also another Wywires "Platinum" interconnect.
Speaking of the Black Fuse, and some concrete information, this is for grasshopper:
"The Synergistic Research BLACK Quantum Fuse is by far Synergistic's highest performance fuse to date. Introducing Synergistic Research BLACK featuring a patent pending UEF coating and Graphene with 8 million times the conductive density of copper.
In addition to the new material Graphene used and the UEF coating the BLACK Fuses are treated with 2 Million volts of electricity in a process SR calls Quantum Tunneling that alters the conductor at a molecular level for optimum performance."
Yes, Wolfie claims he's tried the Black fuses. Fine. But he also "knows" that the HFT room treatments don't work. He hasn't experienced them in his system though. That's the amazing hearing acumen I was referring to. Geeze, he's even been to the Chinese factory where they're made and he's inspected the drill press used to make the darned things. I'm tellin' ya ... the guy's not only a genius but a world traveler to boot. Amazing, no?
"I have been an "audiophile" for 40 years myself and have found little value in genral in very expensive tweaks marketed specifically to audiophiles compared to other comparable high quality products."
There it is! "I’ve been an audiophile for 40 years and...." Another dime for me.
Mapman also wrote,
"I tend to look towards pro audio companies for my tweaks, not "high end audio" as represented on this site."
Geez, Pro Audio has tweaks?! Like what, pray tell? Say it isn’t so. This explains a lot. ;-)
nyname, OK here is a brief summary of where I stand on the topic of SR fuses.
I tried a donated Red Fuse and heard little if any difference.
I do not think all fuses are created equal.
I also tend to agree with Wolf’s assessment of SR and its marketing strategy in general.
I have been an "audiophile" for 40 years myself and have found little value in genral in very expensive tweaks marketed specifically to audiophiles compared to other comparable high quality products. I tend to look towards pro audio companies for my tweaks, not "high end audio" as represented on this site.
For amps, speakers, and other more technically complex devices, I may and have.
I have heard vendors in person reference threads on this site to promote their products and even refer to specific threads as theirs despite denials by participants of having any association. So I am more skeptical than I might be otherwise that some threads here are not used as free advertising. I'm not saying this one is but its not a stretch to think some might form that opinion.
"There is much to be learned from the many opinions expressed in this
thread despite there being still virtually no concrete information about
the products in question."
Concrete information can be gained by experienced audiophiles who have over many years perfected the art of listening.
Please make reference to opinions you have expressed on this thread that are of substance or insightful. I have not paid particular attention to your posts.
Wolf has indicated multiple times to various degrees of detail that he did experience the Black Fuse.
The science behind fuses has also been covered pretty extensively in this thread by Almarg, Atmasphere and others who most would regard as highly expert electrical engineers.
So lots of things beyond mere opinion for a reader to soak in here in order to draw their own conclusions.
If you notice, I addressed my last post to both you and Wolfie. A variety of opinions are welcome here as they should be. What I reject are the personal attacks and I will defend against them. Remember Labtec's last post? Nuff said there,.
With that said, if you guys can come up with any "scientific" reasons why these tweaks don't work, have at it.
I'd be especially interested in hearing Wolfie's explanation of how he obtained the magic powers to hear what some of these tweaks do without ever experiencing them. Man, talk about super hearing. The guy's simply amazing. :-)
This s not CNN or Fox News. I don’t see participating in a balanced discussion as negative. Everyone has their opinions and the facts supporting some of the claims made are scarce.. The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.
The only times I see this discussion going negative is when individuals are attacked personally for expressing their opinion or experience.
If we all stay away from that we can probably all live happily ever after with or without the fuses.
I'll chime in here, but first, why all of the negative input? If the SR products don't work for you, for whatever reason (assuming that you've actually tried them), let it go already. For the rest of us, we have created what amounts to magic music machines.
On the stock fuses: All of my ARC equipment came with the stock fuses supplied by the factory. Over time, I changed them out for the HiFi Tuning fuses. That was an improvement and worth the cost of entry.
Then I replaced the HiFi Tuning fuse in the REF-75se ... and that's what originally started this thread from day one. Little by little, all of the HiFi Tuning fuses were changed out with the SR RED fuses. Every fuse change offered a substantial improvement. Again, worth the cost of entry.
A couple of months after completing the system with the RED fuses, SR came out with the BLACK fuses. I tried one. Wow! Night and day over the RED fuses.
Now, with the exception of one fuse in the analog section of my CD player, the entire system sports SR Black fuses. For the difference in cost between the RED and BLACK's. Its well worth the change. I'd do it again in a heart beat.
There is no way I would want to go back to stock fuses, or any of the other fuses mentioned above. Its just no contest.
With every SR product I've tried, from fuses, to HFT's and on to their power cords, its been not just a substantial improvement, but a system changing event. My system today, compared to a year ago is WAY beyond where I ever thought it would go. And believe me, it was no slouch a year ago either.
And by the way, I'm using new top of the line bi-wired speaker cables and a couple of IC's from Von Gaylord Audio that are finally broken in. They are fantastic. The designer, Ray Leung, is a genius. Look for a new thread in the Cable Forum soon to come.
Much has been made of the SR fuses being able to make ANY piece of gear sound better, and SR demonstrated this by using one in a little Bose radio thing and claimed to improve it, so asking me to open my private world with pics of my listening room is just another weak stab at my credibility and privacy which I tend to want to protect (maybe not my credibility as that is subjective, and likely too late for much of this crowd)…I can say that my system obviously uses components I like, tubes and otherwise, and works for my tastes, just like anybody else’s. In my test of the SR black fuses I used my well sorted home system to test the things as I wouldn’t risk my pro gear in a live sound situation since the SR fuses do seem to blow much more easily than other fuses I’ve used. Regarding the little "transducer" gizmos, I’m unlikely to borrow any of those or spend the time (and the $7) it would take to make some for myself, and my life long professional and personal experience of understanding acoustics to some degree informs my opinion (bias?) that these things are just silly. I will say again that the SR business model is brilliant: Simply design items whose technology regarding development and use is never explained in actual technical terms, place them in a market that accepts unproven or rationally and scientifically tested accessories, and charge a boatload of money for this stuff to give it perceived value. Damn…where’s my Dremmel tool...
nyname what "stock" fuses specifically have you compared the SRs to to reach your conclusion that they are always an upgrade?
Yes not all fuses are created equal. I think most everyone on this thread has agreed with that.
Also if you are suggesting that a fuse upgrade (to SR or any for that matter) is always the best advice to give someone who seeks better sound I would say you are not looking at all the possibilities for improvement case by case and putting the cart in front of the horse.
Once all the big factors are addressed and things sound "right", then I would say tweak away from there and if its a fuse upgrade you want next then more power to ya. At that point $100 a fuse may not matter much but I would still suggest trying a high quality product that is not marketed exclusively to audiophiles first if money matters. It does to most people I think but clearly not all.
"Yes and there is probably now someone out there who believes that if
they do not hear a difference with these things it means their system is
not good enough"
That is exactly what I am saying. Not all so called "systems" are good enough. This of course is not a problem if someone is happy with the sound of their system. It becomes a problem only when that someone is giving "advice" on a daily basis to many who are in dire need of sound advice and assistance.
Yes and there is probably now someone out there who believes that if they do not hear a difference with these things it means their system is not good enough. Time for more upgrades in order to not bottleneck the fuse..
This is all nonsense of course that merely obfuscates whatever few actual facts of value might be had. And the believers seem to have no issue with such claims.
Its very good for business though if people buy into it.
" As I, and others have pointed out in a number of past threads, the ability of a system to resolve hardware difference does not necessarily go hand ii hand in hand with musical resolution or its sonic quality."
My response is that the ability of a electronic components to resolve information of all types is always dependent on the quality of their power supplies.y experience is that, in a properly functioning system, any change in the power supply is clearly audible. Some changes are pro-found, others may be more subtle, but they are always audible. The Synergistic Research is a "MAJOR UPGRADE" to the power supplies of all audio amplifiers. In fact " THIS UPGRADE NECESSARILY GO HAND IN HAND WITH MUSICAL RESOLUTION AND SONIC QUALITY"
There is good reason for the popularity of this red fuse thread. It provides a path for audiophiles, with little or no technical skills, to make massive improvements to their system for relatively small outlays. It is my belief that installation of black fuses, at a cost of $120 each, will provide improvements similar to many modifications costing in excess of $1000.
If you are serious about making a contribution to this thread, I suggest you replace the fuses in the power supply of one of your components, with Synergistic black fuses and POST THE RESULTS IN THIS THREAD.
There are individuals with 3000 or more posts who visit this thread from time to time but in most cases their posts have not been helpful. Some of their posts are inane, but more often merely irrelevant and lacking true substance.
mapman 13,530 posts 07-28-2016 11:51am There is much to be learned from the many opinions expressed in this thread despite there being still virtually no concrete information about the products in question.
Well, none that you’ve been able to find, anyway. What do you mean by concrete information? Are you dismissing Quantum Tunneling treatment, crystal alignment treatment, special alloys for the wire and end caps and non-resonant ceramic body (Red Fuse) as being not concrete enough for you? I don’t even have to mention wire directionality. You’re right, there’s much to be learned, grasshopper. But first you have to find it. Knowledge doesn't come through osmosis.
There is much to be learned from the many opinions expressed in this thread despite there being still virtually no concrete information about the products in question.
The last major improvement I made with SR products was to place ten SR High Frequency Transducers (HFT's) around the room as per the directions. There's no electronic signal going through these little devises, and yet the increase in image solidity, clarity, bass control and overall musicality was not subtle at all. I, and my audiophile friends, heard the overall pleasing effects immediately. The improvement gained is far in excess of the price of the product.
What does Wolfie - our central planner and resident member of the Flexible Principles Bureau have to say about this product? Here, have a look:
"However, SR's business plan is fairly brilliant as charging big bucks for placebo-esque magic products that clearly cost a fraction of their retail cost to manufacture (maybe the drill press used to hollow out the tiny aluminum Electronic Circuit Transducers which should be re-labeled "Aluminum Profit Producers" was expensive, although the Chinese factory that makes 'em likely has plenty of tools around) seems to be working out well…as long as "seekers" have Oregonpapa and others to "tell them how to spend their money" (!) on incredibly vague ethically questionable products, SR will continue on."
So, Wolfie ... tell us when it was that you ordered the HFT's and tried them in your system to gauge the results for yourself in your own listening room in order to compile your ridiculous assessment. Surely you wouldn't just make things up without donning your white lab coat and indulging in scientific A/B blind testing. Or would you?
Also interesting is that you continually rail against profits and prices. That speaks volumes in itself.
"I would not be so quick to allege that the reason someone having many decades of experience as a professional sound engineer and a musician did not hear an improvement after trying these fuses in five different components (amp, preamp, dac, phono stage, subwoofers) over a period of weeks is that his system is inadequate."
The problem with the statement that a person with decades of experience (as a professional) in the audio industry is that it is a Strawman Argument, specifically an appeal to authority. It’s a logical fallacy to assume someone with a lot of experience - even if it’s in the relevant field - is correct in any argument, even in the field in which he claims to be expert. Things are not that simple. If I had a dime for every person who said, I have been an audiophile for 30 years and I know such and such" I’d be a rich man.
As I’ve stated on previous occasions there are actually man perfectly valid reasons why someone, even a so called expert, might not get the results he was looking for with some audiophile tweaks. Not to mention with some cables, CD players, speakers, or room treatments. Not too mention Intelligent Chips, Mpingo discs, Tice Clocks, you know, things that really get skeptics’ juices flowing. System resolution issues is certainly one of the reasons why someone might not get good results, but it’s definitely not the only reason. In addition to all of that I kind of doubt Wolfman would actually be forthcoming if he had had good results with the Black Fuses, you know, given the amount of energy he’s got invested in being Troll #1.
Nyame 7-28-2016 7:09am EDT IF YOU DO NOT HEAR THE BENEFITS [OF THE BLACK FUSES] YOUR SYSTEM IS NOT PERFORMING OPTIMALLY.
As I, Atmasphere, and others have pointed out in a number of past threads, the ability of a system to resolve hardware differences does not necessarily go hand in hand with its musical resolution or its sonic quality.
Just to cite a few examples, a preamplifier having high output impedance will be more revealing of interconnect cable differences than one having low output impedance, everything else being equal, due mainly to its increased sensitivity to cable capacitance. A speaker having low impedance and/or highly capacitive phase angles will be more revealing of amplifier differences than a speaker having more benign impedance characteristics, everything else being equal, because (simply put) it is a more challenging load. Components having **well designed** balanced interfaces will be less revealing of interconnect cable differences than components that are connected single-ended, everything else being equal, for several reasons. None of those differences in sensitivity to hardware necessarily have anything to do with the musical resolution or sonic quality of the components or the system.
Countless other comparable examples could be cited.
I would not be so quick to allege that the reason someone having many decades of experience as a professional sound engineer and a musician did not hear an improvement after trying these fuses in five different components (amp, preamp, dac, phono stage, subwoofers) over a period of weeks is that his system is inadequate.
Oregonpapa 7-27-2016 9:03pm EDT How did you [Wolfie] try the fuse if you didn’t order it?
"I DID test the SR black fuses in my system and wrote about it here [posted on 7-13], finding that they delivered nothing to the sound of my system. This test was a monumental waste of time"
The effects of the Synergistic Research black fuses may be non-existent, subtle or profound. It simple depends on what system factors you have addressed, and to what degree your system is performing. Genuine audiophiles who have addressed issues of power conditioning, high quality cabling, tuned acoustics and isolation of mechanical resonance of components have no difficulties in hearing the benefits.
IF YOU DO NOT HEAR THE BENEFITS [OF THE BLACK FUSES] YOUR SYSTEM IS NOT PERFORMING OPTIMALLY.
Of course there may be other factors holding back your system and obscuring the benefits. If this is the case professional help is advised.If professional assistance do not cure the problem, I am afraid you have to accept the fact that you are simply inept.
One more thing. You stated "they [the SR black fuses] delivered nothing to the sound of my system" This statement is incorrect. The fuses delivered information which your system was unable to convey, BECAUSE IT IS NOT A HIGH RESOLUTION SYSTEM.
There is, however, one statement you made with which I am in complete agreement. "THIS WAS A MONUMENTAL WASTE OF TIME"
OP, you are so right on the increased depth and definition of low strings, any strings. I must play more classical. There are some tweaks that you just get such a kick out of--because they are cheap, or you dreamed it up and did it yourself and it all brings such added value to the gear we may have wanted to replace. The SR fuses are an exceptional value--I'm glad I have followed along to go from the Reds to the Blacks. Whatever is next--I would do it again.
I'm listening to a LOT more cello music than ever before, how about you? Lord, the beauty of that instrument comes through now with such reality, and brings forth so much emotion, I can only imagine what it would sound like on your big Maggies driven by those Mono ARC amps.
On Wolfie's system ... I suspect that he's more into PA systems than music systems. I too, would love to see pictures of his system, his room and the entire setup. Will Wolfie take the challenge? Probably not.
"
Oregonpapa has conveniently forgotten the fact that I DID test the SR black fuses in my system and wrote about it here (posted on 7-13), finding that they delivered absolutely nothing to the sound of my system"
Then he sez this:
"
"I don't order anything from a company that I feel makes up ethically questionable technobabble ad copy ..."
So, either he sticks by his principles or he doesn't. Which is it, Wolfie? How did you try the fuse if you didn't order it? Again, there's a job waiting for you in Washington D.C. Its called the Bureau of Flexible Principles." Very popular in that city these days.
To Jetter ...
I started to fool around with these SR tweaks about a year ago,. I loved the sound of my system before I put the first SR Red fuse in the system that started this thread. In fact, I loved the sound of my system when I was using a modified Dyna 70 and a modified Dyna PAS-3 preamp back in the early 70's. It was a nice musical system.
The quest for me has always been to get closer to the actual performance, with the correct tonality of the instruments being at the forefront of the system.
A year ago, if you would have told me that I had to live with the system "as is" for the rest of my life, I would have been perfectly satisfied. Would I want to go back to that system today? Hell no. Why would I?
What I have developed in my system over the past year, with the help of Synergistic Research and their products, is way beyond what I thought it could be. Do I love the system's sound now? Yep. Will I continue trying to develop it further? Yep. And why not? Its what we audiophiles do.
Quite honestly, I wish I could have everyone who contributed to this thread over the past year over for a listening session ... even Wolfie.
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