Synergistic Red Fuse ...

The sound is still improving in  my system.  I'm not sure if it is the continued break in  of the SR Reds or the Afterburner 8 outlet (which has 160 hours via the Audioharma cooker). Overall effect is increased purity, resolution and just a very beautiful organic character. 

I'm listening to two very familiar and loved recordings "Bluesey  Burrell" and "The Hawks Relaxes". Both feature Kenny Burrell and Coleman Hawkins in a quintet setting, just wonderful. The instrument tone and body are  so right. Burrell's guitar chords are just gorgeous and harmonically rich and fully saturated as they sound live. If the  Black fuses manage to take this further,  oh my! Oregonpapa I'm very grateful for you originating this thread,  these fuses are something quite special. 
Charles, 

Oregonpapa, 
Here's a west coast  jazz recording  I  think you'd enjoy, "You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce ". It features trumpeter Jack Sheldon and tenor saxophonist Harold Land. This is the genuine stuff 😊
Charles, 

mid40sguy69 posts01-20-2016 8:20pmKevin said they would be fairly busy until March. If I sent my Sigma the first week of March it would be less than two weeks turn around.

That's why I'm shipping my SigMKIIa in March.    I run an all tube system in the winter to keep the house warm so can't live without my only pre in the coldest months.  :-)  

Jack Shelton- Great trumpet player and a really funny guy on the old television shows. These wonderful fuses and A/C duplexes allow us to hear so much more detail with correct harmonics, it makes the music connect on such a stronger level.

Even with pre instalation burn in, I have found the A/C duplex takes about a week of being used in a system to reach its final sound. Although a lot of work, I compared the Synergistic Research Teslaplex, Oyaide R1, and the Furotech GTX-R A/C, receptacles in my system. My audio circuit has 5 outlets on one line. My final choice has been 4 Synergistic Research Teslaplex outlets and one Furutech GTX-R outlet. more than one Furutech created a too much situation. Like too much salt on a perfect steak.

The Synergistic Research BLACK fuses are supposed to arrive Friday.
It certainly will be interesting and educational comparing their sonic changes with the RED fuse. Synergistic Research (on their Facebook site) says their fuses can be used together in the same componet. So no need to install all BLACK versus all RED fuses.

David Pritchard

King ....

I'm using an older  Oyaide outlet ... not sure of the model. I bought it at the CES a number of years ago. The distributor was having a two for one sale. I bought two ... one for the stereo system and one for the TV system in the other room.

Charles and davidprtichard ...

I have several copies of that Curtis Counts "bounce" record. It came in several covers over the years. That was on the Contemporary label. Contemporary recordings have amazing sound. They knew how to record music.The Fantasy reissues (Berkeley)  are really well done ... and reasonable in price too. 

I also have that Bluesy Burrell record. Kenny Burrell is pretty much my favorite jazz guitarist.  

How about Clifford Brown? IMO Zee best trumpet player on the planet. Too bad Clifford left us as such an early age. 

Hi Davidpritchard,  my sentiments exactly about the full furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's,  but I fixed that by useing zinc highly magnetized screw's in place of the stainless steel none magnetic screw's,  sksos-steven has just received two ncf furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's for review,  he will be posting his comparisons of the original furutech gtx-rhodium and the ncf on the taralabs thread after they burn in, I'll pass along what he has to say,  if it's a substantial improvement,  I'm buying them. 

Oregonpapa, 
Yep, Contemporary, Prestige, Riverside and Columbia all recorded jazz very well with early stereo in the late 1950s -1960s.Blue Note  had wonderful artists on their label but lagged behind the aforementioned labels in sound recording quality IMO.

Clifford Brown of course is a jazz trumpet icon, one of the absolute best. The thing is that Miles,Thad Jones,Fats Navarro, Chet Baker and Kenny Dorham are among my favorites also. They all are so unique and expressive in their own approach, I admire them for different reasons. 
Charles, 

Oregonpapa:

As you are using an older Oyaide outlet, I do hope you will consider trying a Synergistic Research Teslaplex SE outlet. Since it comes with a 30 day trial, there is not much to lose. In my system there is a significant sonic change between the Oyaide and Teslaplex. I think the change is worth hearing, and then deciding which works better for your system.

Clifford Brown- great music. First purchased LP 1970 - I liked the cover art so I bought it. The great music was a bonus!

Today I get to hear the wonderful cello player Zuill Bailey  playing live solo Bach. The auditorium only holds 190 poeple.To me this is Jazz composed in the early 1700's. His CD's are moving!

David Pritchard

^^^ david ...

I've read several reviews on the SR Teslapex. I'll try one after the system is sporting all BLACK fuses. I like to do one tweak at a time just to gauge the improvement for a few weeks at each stage. Weird, I know ... but that's me. 

Thanks for the heads up on Zuill Baily. I love the cello. Its the closest to the human voice. 

Charles ....

It looks as though we have the same record collection. How are you set for Cal Tjader? He's my favorite vibes player. Saw him live at Zardies jazz club in Hollywood when I was in high school.  Beatles who? Elvis who? *lol*

Oregonpapa, 
The size of your collection exceeds mine but we do share similar taste. 
I love the vibraphone.  I don't have much  of Tjader, but a lot of Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Victor Feldman   and Steve Nelson. I heard the youngest Marsalis sibling  (Jason) playing the vibraphone in concert and it was pure musical beauty. What a wonderful sounding instrument. 
Charles, 

charles ... 

Here's a vibraphonist you may like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxpD7_nZ1uI&list=RDdxpD7_nZ1uI#t=50

And a cellist you may like as well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9xmciqBZKc

Looking forward to the postman today. The BLACK fuses may be in today's mail.  

oregonpapa, thx  Lem sounds great.

Hi Oregonpapa, 
OH yes, I like Lem Winchester,  I have an excellent recording of him  with Oliver Nelson called "Nocturne ". Nelson plays both alto and tenor saxophones and I'm sure you'd really enjoy it. The label is Prestige and it's very good. 

Winchester died tragically in his thirties while handling his gun that went off accidentally. 
Charles, 

Oregonpapa:

Absolutely yours is the best approach- one change at a time with time to digest what the change has done. It is easy to rush things and then not be happy with the changes.

Vibraphones- inspired by angels having conversations. Do not forget Gary Burton, and Red Norvo.
The marimba is another wonderful instrument. The warmth of those vibrating blocks of wood sound very good to me.

Hopefully BLACK fuses arrive tomorrow.

David Pritchard

Which fuse should I get for my ref 250 and ref 5se ?  Large 6.3a slow-blow? 

I know the interest has shifted to the Black being the new Red, but I’ll conclude my listening impressions of the Red.

This has been one of the most curious experiences of my listening life. On one side, there’s a sense of reporting on Unicorns, but on the other is the sense that this is one of the most dramatic and puzzling improvements I’ve heard in swapping “components.” If I had heard this change with a $10K preamp, I would understand why others were paying those prices. In my own limited experience, it is somewhat like comparing the “fatter” sound of the Conrad Johnson preamp I auditioned to a less lush, but truer sound, of the Audio Research LS3, except there are more dimensions of change with the Red, including more percussive impact.

I have literally not recognized some tracks until the lyrics kicked in. That should imply some type of distortion, but in fact, the change is always towards the clearer, less congested, and “sounds real.” I still think the Reds render more mid-to-high content, which could sound bright or screechy on some systems, and I’m still not sure about deep electric bass, but my own conclusion is that the Reds open a clearer window to the original recording.

After listening to a broad range of recordings, I see the trend that tracks recorded to preserve the actual live sound are rendered with remarkable clarity where voices, instruments, and percussion sound more real. But on tracks where the presented sound is a product formulated in a recording studio, the Reds can dissect this manipulation to reveal the adjustments made at the soundboard. It’s just a fact that a lot of popular recordings were engineered for a sweet spot of basic speakers and a sound demographic, and it seems that manipulation is sometimes not as pleasant when revealed by the Reds. For a single example, on Leo Kottke’s Peculiaroso album, the strings shimmer and Leo’s voice sounds “in the room,” but on some of the more heavily engineered Beatles albums, you hear the adjustments done at the soundboard. There is less of a “wall of sound” homogeneous presentation, and this can occasionally be less pleasant than what we are used to. If the record collection is heavily on the created soundscape side, then a decision is needed on whether you want to hear down to that level.

Still amazed and puzzled. Unicorns appear to exist. Looking forward to reliable ears reporting the differences with the Black.

Marqmike, I've only had them since Jan 11. I would agree that they are changing, but I've listened to so many different albums that I'm mainly just repeatedly surprised by what is revealed.  I've thought of getting some more for my Benchmark DAC, but I'll echo what someone else said, "Do I want more of what these are doing?"  I'll exchange for the Black if there's  consensus it's better.  Thanks for compliment.  It still feels odd to wax poetic over a fuse.

Okay ... I installed the two new BLACK fuses into the CD player yesterday afternoon. 

New, right out of the box:

My first impressions were not good. While I heard a bit more transparency over the fully broken in RED fuses they replaced, I was faced with ultra highs that  had a hard edge and an overall presentation that was less musically involving, and a flattened sound-stage to boot. Wider maybe, but not as three dimensional. Overall sound was boring. 

Two hours in:

Things began to smooth out and become more three dimensional.  Still not as musically involving as with the RED's though. I put the CD player on "repeat" and fixed dinner, ate and watched the evening news. 

Five hours in:

Ah, now we start to boogie. The realism is back in spades. The BLACK fuses allow more information to be unleashed from the recordings over the RED's. Tonally, the piano is quite remarkable ... especially the growl of the lower registers.  Things are starting to come together, but still, even though more transparent, still not quite as musically involving. I hear the promise of something great around the corner however. 

This morning:

Okay, I'll say it right off ... WOW!

I have this private recording on two CD's of a Rachmaninoff piano competition at the L.A. Phil that is amazing. It was burned from the master tape. On the first disc, it starts out with the orchestra tuning up and warming up. The inner detail of the rustling pages, chair creaks, audience coughs and sneezes and musicians whispering to each other were insightful as never before. I could hear the sound of the auditorium as if I had been transported into the venue. Then the music started. The massed strings were gorgeous and very present. Not strident at all.  The topping on the ice cream sundae was the sound of the piano. Extremely fast stops and starts, excellent dynamics and tonality. Like the RED's, I could hear the sounds that the piano itself makes ... the wood, the hammers, the petals. Nice. 

At this point, are the BLACK's as good or better than the RED's? In most ways, a resounding yes. BUT ... there are still some very important things missing. The most important being a lack of musical involvement. Its getting better ... but no Kewpie Doll yet.

We've all heard those systems that have transparency in spades ... a sound stage to die for ... dynamics galore ... and yet you're still left wanting, right? That's where the system is at at this point. Great in most ways ... but ... but ... a bit boring. 

Fast forward ...

The CD player has been on repeat all day now. Mr. Golden Ears (Robert) is coming over tonight for a listen. He was completely blown away with the improvements the RED fuses made. Robert is a good sounding board. He hears like a bat and is a tough critic and cynical as hell. We'll see. Stay tuned for an update either late tonight or early tomorrow. In the meantime ...

Happy listening ... 

Still quite impressive with just over 24 hours of use...Going to try 2 of them in my CD player when the Cable Company gets them in.

Well, my audiophile guest kind of hit the nail on the head. He said that he heard the hardness in the highs and also described the sound in comparison with the RED fuses as "pinched." Also commented that the system had lost its effortless musical flow ... and that the system sounded as though it "was working." 

With that said, I'm still hearing a lot of promise in these BLACK fuses. The're not even close to breaking in, so time will tell. The RED fuses continued improving for a couple of weeks before they really were at their best. 

Stay tuned ... tomorrow is another day. 

oregonpapa;
Thanks for passing on that information.
Very well done!
Hopefully with more break-in the Black will better the Red.
I anxiously wait to hear more...

Did you feel that there is an improvement more in an audiophile way, but lacking involvement > over the Red fuse?

Being more detailed and hearing more from the black fuse usually  shift instruments closer or seemingly closer due to the new clarity, does staging become more forward?

Camping to hear your further great  reports, Oregonpapa.

This comparison reminds me of the disappointment I had with the HiFi Tuning Silver Supremes. For me, they weren't as nice as the Gold series before them, so I moved to the Furutechs, then the SR 20 and now, the Reds-best yet. 

Oregonpapa:
Very nice real time report.

The Synergistic Research products with UEF technology, take 100 hrs for the UEF to synergise with a system. So we should anticipate a longer break in period.

Your report reminds me to install the fuses first on my headphone system and leave it on for 5 days before listening.

Break in is a fascinating and often frustrating process.

This is why the 30 day Synergistic Research return policy is so important. There is for me simply no worry about these fuses. They will go in the system- get a lot of hours on them.Then their direction changed once to see if that is an improvement and then removed and compared to the REDS.

My wife Jean is a world class cook with her Viking oven. I do not open the oven door and take a taste test of her fabulous roast turkey every hour or her indescribably good pecan pie while it is in the oven.

I patiently wait in the kitchen with our two Corggi dogs until it is time to enjoy.

I think this entire thread is actually a well executed parody of "mystical" high end tweaking, and thusly applaud the efforts of all involved. Well done.

justubes2 ...

Yes, you've nailed it. The presentation is more forward with added detail. Audiophile effects as you described. The CD player is on "repeat" from this morning until tonight's listening session. Stay tuned.

david ... 

I've yet to hear an improvement or tweak that involves wire that doesn't need a break in period. My audiophile buddy Robert, who came over last night, made an interesting observation about the fuse change. He said that it reminded him of his first listen to the AT ART-9 when it was new ... "Forward, bright and not relaxed." That ART-9 today, with around 200 hours on it, is an amazing cartridge. A giant killer.

In spite of the initial shortcomings I hear with the BLACK fuses, I'm not worried in the least. The RED fuses were very similar when they were new also, then from one listening session to the next one ... they just opened up in a magnificent way.

I'm expecting these BLACK fuses to to the same ... but eventually surpassing the RED fuses in musicality and involvement. I hear their promise already ... as I described in a previous post regarding the Rachmaninoff piano competition at the L.A. Phil.    The attacks on the piano are already better as is the transparency. Now all we need is a more relaxed and a more flowing presentation. 

Even if the BLACK's are any improvement over the RED's, the difference in price would be worth it for sure. Amazing products. 

Charles ...

Once the RED's were broken in, I didn't want to leave the house. Every CD in the collection became a revelation. I'm going to include a Curtis Counce's "Carl's Blues" CD in the listening session tonight in your honor. :-)

wolf-garcia ...

Be assured ... as it usually does during listening sessions at my place, it became quite "mystical" last night. Maybe it was the single malt Scotch and the blue bulb in the floor lamp. 

"....... The Furutechs beat the HiFi Tuning by a lot, the SR 20's beat the Furutechs by a little.  Now, I have the SR Reds installed, and they are far and away so superior to the SR 20's.."   .  And there is a new SR Black that is probably light years better then Red.   The guy just lost his mind... out of proportion.
It all depends on a system and even more on the preferences of it's owner.  Cables,  fuses and everything else.. 
hah ... far and away superior...   yea...

Oregonpapa,

Have you tried reversing the direction of the fuse before leaving it to burn in?

I would guess you have it im the correct direction given the big jump in clarity you are experiencing over the Red fuse.

I gather from your observations, that indeed, the black is more resolute sound over the Red fuse and guess you have your system pretty much dialed in.

I often encounter a tweak or hardware change which is a clear step up but somehow get nagging feelings something is not quite right.

More often than not, I "Always" have to balance the it out a bit, by maybe shifting footers or room treatment tweek, e.g HFT’s to get things to my liking in the way, flow, emotion, smoothness, grainlessness aspects click back into focus of how I "like" it.

Nowadays, I prefer that something added does give a smaller incremental difference as opposed to a larger difference as this is more likely to work and not leaving me too impressed and eventually scratching my head why I not longer can have longer listen periods, totally relaxed. sometimes it can be too much of a good thing!

Good that things are getting better with more burning. 

This is quite interesting,  it may turn out that the sr-red's are more musical than the black's,  as the old adage say's, to much of a good thing can turn into an unsatisfying sound.

If Quantum Tunneling [2,000,000 volts of electricity used to condition the fuse and end caps] is used in the manufacturing process of these fuses...how could any long term user burn-in affect break in ?

I would think with that much voltage, they would already be broken in,all things considered . I mean,that’s a lot of voltage to run through the fuse,which I believe is the reason that SR uses that technic to begin with.. i.e. to condition the components of the fuse.

Aolmrd1241,
What you wrote makes perfect sense.  However I can attest to the fact that the Red fuse does improve  with additional  hours of use, I just can't explain how  or why.   

Keith if it turns out that the Red is the more musical  and the Black is the more audiophile oriented, I'll  choose the Red. I await further impressions from Oregonpapa who I believe is on the same wavelength as me in this regard. I just prefer audio products that  induce focus on the music/emotion rather than focus on the sounday in isolation.  The Reds in my system do the former. 
Charles, 

Thanks for all the posts. I have the Reds in my preamp and amps and they were a definite leap over the Hi-fi tuning. Question:. Is it during or after the "break-in" period that one would reverse the fuse and see if it makes an improvement? If you do reverse it, how long do you listen to see if it does? 

The wrong direction sounded somehow wrong, rarher poor sounding.  In my case, soft, unfocussed and  lacking clarity just to mention some.

The correct direction snaps everything and show what the sound of the fuse does. imho, a normal fuse is not as appearent, but does sound clearer in the correct orientation.

Googling Graphene, guessing it is coated on the endcaps, is a nano carbon structure and is a super conductor.

hmmm, it is some kind of breakthrough material, but not much was revealed in the marketing literature of the Black fuse.

Maybe those who have the Black fuse in hand should looked at the endcaps to see if there is a coating. My guess is that the fusable element could not be graphene material as there is no industry standard testing or approving such a material I would make an educated guess.

^^^ No coating noted on the end caps. 

I left the CD player with the two BLACK fuses on "repeat" overnight. Just started listening about 30 minutes ago. Things are really starting to smooth out now. I'm liking what I'm hearing. 

So far, the BLACKS, compared with the RED's, are giving me a lower noise floor, more transparency and a more upfront presentation.

I noticed on one orchestral piece of really beautiful music ... Bach's "Air on a G String," that on the massed violins I could detect the individual players more distinctly. No "cringe factor" on the strings, if you know what I mean. Nice.  Also, voice is becoming real again. Nice. I'm a classical and Spanish guitar freak and know the instrument very well. The transparency of the system is letting me hear around the strings and sense the wood of the guitar. Same with cellos and acoustic bass. Nice. 

The sound stage is wall to wall, but still lacks the front to back layering of the RED's. Don't get me wrong, the BLACKS are improving in that area too. I'm keeping the CD player on "repeat" all day and tonight too. I figure this should bring me to about the 50 hour mark on the break-in procedure. 

So far, so good.  

Stay tuned ...

Charles1dad, you know I’m in the musical camp as well, I’ve listened to component's  that cost as much as a house that did nothing for me at all, I’ve got more musical pleasure from modded 2,000.000 speaker’s than 50,000.000 speaker’s, the merry go round is always a hit or miss, sometimes, cost has nothing to do with what can make an individual Happy.

Oregonpapa, 
Well the Black fuses are apparently moving in the right direction nice and steady. Time and patience is required for the performance progression. 
These fuses may be on the verge of blooming wide open. Thanks for the updates. 
Charles, 

^^^  Charles ... "blooming wide open" is exactly what the RED fuse did in my system. Interestingly enough, it happened between listening sessions overnight with the system turned off.   I don't understand this phenomenon,  but it has happened on other occasions with equipment or tweaks that are in the break-in period. How can anything continue breaking in when the power is turned off? I've had this experience with cartridges, cables and electronics as well. Not every time ... just some of the time.  Maybe some of our electrical engineers reading this can explain it. Is it just me ... or do molecules continue to align themselves properly without an electrical signal passing through? I failed math in high school ... but had the best dance moves at the prom.  *lol*

Oh, and last night I played that Curtis Counce CD in your honor. There is an extensive drum solo on one  of the cuts that puts the drummer right there in the room. 

Cheers ...

Oregonpapa; " How can anything continue breaking in when the power is turned off?" 
I know memory can be a funny thing and I know this is true in my case. Having said that I am very sure this happened to me twice.
The RED changed in a significant manner while turned off for 20 hours at the forty hour break in point. This is when I knew there was no way that darn fuse was ever coming out of my amp.
The only other time a huge change took place to my gear while turned off was when I installed a Entreq Audio Silver Telus. Connected it to my amp played music for several hours then perhaps 20 hours later started up some music and.... WOW!

With all the reports of break in occurring with all new gear and parts, and especially with the more unexplainable improvements in sound, I believe there are neuronal pathway changes occurring in the primary audio cortex, wherein, along with the other senses, we finally experience and identify with the external environment. Cortical sensory processes are not as well understood as those in the sensory organs, i.e., the ears and eyes.  There must be new synapses forming as we listen to familiar music heard under different circumstances, such as with better acoustics or from a less-distorted playback system.  In my experience, I hear the music more clearly and completely when a new audio device is introduced.  You may say this is because the item is breaking in--settling in. Yes, I agree wholeheartedly--there are profound improvements as a piece settles in, but there must be something else going on at the interpretive end of things, because I, and others, I must assume, are hearing improvements in familiar music that become hardwired, much the same as memory does, only the newest improvement is built upon the last improvement I remember hearing, which is in itself superior to the ones before that. I believe that aural memory is quite accurate in listening to the same system that is undergoing small changes. I do not have a lot of faith in aural recall with A/B testing in an unfamiliar situation--this is not what I am referring to, and I dismiss naysayers who rely on A/B "shock" testing to disprove the efficacy of upscale fuses and cables, etc.  You who listen carefully to your own systems know what I mean here. in conclusion, I believe the more you listen to music you know, the better it sounds--even after something breaks in.  

Jafreeman, i do agree with you. 

If it sounds good, it's good, maybe just a little smoother but not drastic, i have heard the chord cable users saying the cables sound real bad when new and new in excess of 500 hrs in which there is a transformational change. 

The basic characteristic sound show maybe with just a few hours running and at most by the next listening session.

If they sonic character is not immediately appearent, best to leave it to run with no further sessions until 2 to 3 days before reassesing.

I would think the Black cannot sound similar or as smooth as the Red, i associate more clarity with a less smooth or easy listening and more upfront sounding, some tracks actually may start showing more grain as well due to the more revealing character.

I definately found the Reds on the smooth side without any critical listening, itbwas there from the 1st go. I actually felt the SR20 sounds brasher and boulder but not as smooth and balanced sounding.

I most certainly believe in component/accessory break in periods. I have heard this first hand myself over the years,time and time again. In some instances,the break in period would even go in another direction other than the one I was hoping for,before coming back around to where I thought it could/should be.

But,without any reservation, I also believe that a lot of what we hear can be based on how our mind works in tandem within the bounds of mood,and/or,emotion at the time of any given listening session. This mind set may or may not be in synch with our aural expectations. There have been times that my system sounded so wonderful that I thought it could not possibly get any better... Then there were times when I just wanted to toss the whole system into the street,and start anew.

We humans are a fickle bunch for sure,but I guess the bottom line is...whatever works best for you, and your needs, in your system, is ultimately the correct way of going about your audio business. What one feels works...or not... in ones own system, is what matters most...Not something that someone else’s expectation is...according to their own likes, and and dislikes...aurally speaking,of course.

This thread is actually more entertaining than I previously thought…ranging from near platitudinous mysticism, to squirm worthy oddly florid quasi-paternal statements of the obvious…I'm tellin' ya…this stuff should be mined for material supporting a sort of "b team" mass psychosis or early Harvard Lampoon level esoteric parody. I any case, a wonderful thing.

One wonders if there’s any advantage to quantum tunneling say an entire transformer....hmmmmm. Or all of the internal wiring in a preamp. Maybe provide spools of quantum tunneled hook up wire.

I posted some time ago I was using my preamp. for evaluation of high end fuses. I am using a HIFI Tuning Supreme with over one full year of time on it for a starting evaluation. I now have over 125 hours on a RED fuse and must admit in my system it sounds thin and more HIFI than musical. I am going to put more time on it to see if anything changes to make sure it is not a burn in factor. Today I received my order of the AM beeswax fuse to compare. From what I have read it appealed to me to at least try from a music perspective. The point is as discussed along the way in this thread that these fuses are not a lot different from cable tests in that voicing and taste is very critical to one's final satisfaction. There has been a lot about the RED fuse here and so far I have not found its magic and if the BLACK turns out to be at an even higher point of the same then I am glad for all of the information. As in audio YMMV but do take your time and let your ears, mind, and soul do the talking.

^^^ The experience I've had with the RED fuses can be encapsulated in this:  There are NO speakers in the system. In fact ... there is NO system. The music and performers are completely detached from anything and just do their own thing in the room. And very musically so, I might add.

While the BLACK fuses have been an improvement in some areas, most notably transparency, a wider sound stage, and a lower noise floor, its like I'm listening to a stereo system and not a live event. After leaving the CD player on repeat overnight again, this is far less of an annoyance than it was the night before ... more evidence that the two fuses are still breaking in.

Its almost there ... but not quite. The CD player will be in the "repeat"  mode for another 24 hours. Stay tuned ...