Synergistic Red Fuse ...
Al, you are such a fence sitter/pacifier, "you need to come out". We non voodooists, all know this fuse stuff is at best, bunch of psychological BS, especially with statements like. "What? you don’t think this is a viable solution to getting the last bit of the corners of the sound stage:" Cheers George |
Jafreeman, as I've said at various times during the course of the thread I don't question or even doubt the many positive experiences that have been reported with these fuses. I say that due to both the high degree of consistency of those reports, and to the considerable respect I have for the credibility of many of those providing the reports. However for the reason I stated in my previous post I do consider the "explanations" that have been cited to not rise above the level of unproven and arguably dubious hypotheses. And one reason I attach significance to the lack of a confidence-inspiring explanation is that it lessens the predictability of whether a particular tweak will benefit a particular component in a particular system. And one reason I attach significance to a reduction in predictability, despite the existence of return privileges, is that as Wolf and Mapman have pointed out assessment of a tweak involves an investment of time even if it doesn't involve an investment of money. Best regards, -- Al |
I think everyone has to find their own path. Pied Piper geoffkait will be happy to lead anyone in need and with some time and money to waste on their hands. You never know....maybe he’s on to something! His hot rod products could end up saving someone tons of money. Until the "Last Tweak" syndrome kicks in of course. Like fuses and a lot of high end audio, only one way to find out. |
Al, are the fuse claims and explanations as much hypotheses as they are empirically driven--that is, a decision based on experience and without further evidence? Those of us without your background are basing our fuse upgrading on experience rather than significant data as proof. We are hearing new clarity as we progress through the various fuse offerings. My one foray into DIY audio has been to build several power cords using Furutech materials, i.e., their OOC copper wire. My results in clarity and sound stage have been spectacular. Furutech has a good explanation of their copper, found with search words "tough pitch copper, furutech, OOC". This page makes good sense to me, and it leads me to believe there isn't a lot of high-purity, low-grain copper used by manufacturers, leaving a lot of room for improvement, just as stock fuses do. |
mapman ... What? you don't think this is a viable solution to getting the last bit of the corners of the sound stage: "The Frog Jump in Water Sound Room Acoustics Tweak entails the placement of 4 small plastic containers filled with ordinary water in strategic locations. Price includes four 12x8x6 plastic containers + instructions for use." LMAO! |
Geoff, note that Wolfie referred to a **reasonable** explanation. As I indicated in my post dated 3-25-2016 the explanations that have been cited are hypotheses at best. Unless the specific adverse effects of stock fuses that are claimed to be minimized or eliminated by the SR and other audiophile-oriented fuses are somehow shown to have a reasonable possibility of being great enough in degree to be audibly harmful (and across a broad range of components and systems), it is not unreasonable to consider those hypotheses to be unproven and/or unreasonable. IMO, FWIW. Regards, -- Al |
Wolfman wrote, "Rave on fuse heads! Mass hysteria aside, I suppose I'll simply wait for a reasonable explanation as to WHY a fuse would make what ardent promotors feel is such a huge improvement…somehow, based on the artful (or not so much) dodging of any basic technical question along these lines, I think I'll be waiting a long time." Huh? We've discussed this over and over on this thread. Did you sleep through class a lot in school? Geoff Kait |
"
You are such a cynic." Hmm, am I? Well, in that case let's just all buy one of Geoff's hot rodded portable cd players and call it a day. Won't run you much more than black fuse. :^) http://www.machinadynamica.com/index.html |
Really no mystery here at all. As a modestly talented DIY guy I understand that fuses have always been a bottleneck in terms of sound quality. I learned several years ago to build amplifiers and preamplifiers without them. Use a high quality circuit breaker as your on/off switch and avoid fuses in the all important power supply. All that voltage/current going through a tiny, tiny wire connected with cheap fuse holder clamps does degrade the power supply. Seems straight forward in this particular fuse position. I suppose these aftermarket fuses just limit the power supply less than the common fuse. That makes sense also. Do one better and bypass those cheap fuse connectors and solder both ends. This makes it harder to swap fuses and direction, but it will certainly help the sound quality. In digital gear, I just bypass the fuse altogether with great results as fuses are in fact a bottleneck point in terms of sound quality. Many simply could not live with such a mod and I completely understand. The point is the sound quality of these pieces improves with the fuse bypassed as fuses degrade sound. I do not view fuses as a place where the voodoo claim can possibly reside, at least for the most part. Any fuse manufacturer using technology to improve the passing of voltage, current, and signal through this sound degrading devise is doing good to the component and music that flows out of it. This is no different than upgrading any other component such as a capacitor, resister, rectifier, rca jack, binding post, wire and on and on. No, this is not at all hard to understand. At least to this simple aphile. Goodness, I upgraded the wire and rca jacks in a passive preamp and improved the sound. I think an upgraded fuse would also be a reasonable place to look for upgrades in performance. |
Rave on fuse heads! Mass hysteria aside, I suppose I'll simply wait for a reasonable explanation as to WHY a fuse would make what ardent promotors feel is such a huge improvement…somehow, based on the artful (or not so much) dodging of any basic technical question along these lines, I think I'll be waiting a long time. So far the primary response has been to utterly ignore such questions and gesture wildly in the direction of astonishingly fabulous subjective results with seeming hyperbole like "the Black fuse can double the performance of a well tuned system"…well, a decent ear cleaning may do the same, and the reason is at least explainable. |
This might be a timely article I came across over at High Fidelity. In it, the author points out that all common fuses are welded with nickel elements and that is a bottleneck, or sorts, to good sound. Also, there is a vibrating element that needs to be addressed with the wire in the fuse as current is passed through it. Maybe he’s onto something. All the best, Nonoise |
Moopman wrote, mapman 13,054 posts 03-28-2016 11:48am "Geoff, "Last Tweak Syndrome" is an interesting theory. Who came up with that again?" Three guesses. The first two don’t count. Moopman also wrote, "Its definitely what’s best for business." I’m sure you’re just being paranoid. You know how I eschew tooting my own horn. Geoff Kait Machoman Dramatica |
mapman ... You are such a cynic. *lol* Geoffkait ... Interesting take on "the last tweak." I've found myself asking the question many times after installing a tweak that works: is there anymore that can be had from those digits and grooves? When I first installed the Shatki Holograms, the effect was so profound, I thought that it had to be the end. The system went from a flat-screen presentation to one of 3-D. I've demonstrated this to friends many times by taking them out of the system, then putting them back in. Everyone hears the effects ... everyone. There have been many more improvements subsequent to placing the Holograms into the system, and many of those came before the first experiment with the very first SR Red fuse. As I listen to the system now, it is so good that it suspends disbelief. And ... there is still a Red fuse lurking in my amp waiting to be replaced with another Black fuse. After that, based upon the success gotten from the fuses, there will be more SR tweaks to come. I'm torn as to what to try next. I'm thinking about the XOT Carbon filters for the speaker crossovers, the ECT's for the interior of the electronics or the PHT's for the phono cartridge and the turntable junction box. Maybe David or Charles can help me out here. David ... I'm looking forward to meeting Ted Denny. I want to know what's on the horizon for his company. I've watched a youtube video about a new room treatment SR has using a material that sticks to the walls. I hope they demonstrate it at Newport. Robert and I will be checking in at Newport on Saturday, late morning. I'll give you a call as soon as we're done. Looking forward to meeting you. Anyone else want to meet up? OP |
Charles1dad wrote, "Geof, That’s makes a lot of sense. This is why I and others have written that the higher the audio system’s resolution prowess the greater the impact of the Black fuses. As one addresses distortion and lowers the noise floor in their respective system /components there’s less veiling/limiting of what the Black fuses have to offer. You explain this progressive tweak improvement well IMO. Charles, " Yes, but think of the FUTURE. Think of how you’re going to carry on when you try the next big tweak! And what will that next big tweak be? What will be on everyone’s lips? The other corollary of The Last Tweak Syndrome is that as audiophiles we tend to get carried away with the Last Big Tweak we try and hyper focus on it at the expense of everything else. It's harder to hit a moving target. A rolling stone gathers no moss. The Black fuse can’t be the end of the game, or can it? Lol geoff kait machina dynamica |
oregonpapa: At Newport Beach: I hope you will go to the Synergistic Research room more than once. Listen to the demo, go listen to a lot of other rooms and then revisit the SR room for a relisten. Lots of good things to experience at the headphone area. Give me a call when you get there on my cell phone or leave a contact message via the Hotel Irvine. I hope to meet many of the posters at Newport Beach. David Pritchard |
Geof, That's makes a lot of sense. This is why I and others have written that the higher the audio system's resolution prowess the greater the impact of the Black fuses. As one addresses distortion and lowers the noise floor in their respective system /components there's less veiling/limiting of what the Black fuses have to offer. You explain this progressive tweak improvement well IMO. Charles, |
Let’s do the math. Assume for the moment a good fuse like the Black fuse can double the performance of a well tuned system. Let’s also assume a good fuse might only provide a 10% improvement in a system that is not tweaked and tuned! but right out of the box. This is representative of what I like to call the Last Tweak Syndrome, why folks who have been tuning and tweaking a long time experience much greater results with fuses or any new tweak than those who might be trying a tweak for the first time, or may only have a limited number of tweaks in the system. The Last Tweak Syndrome explains why audiophiles frequently get absolutely off the scale results with the latest thing they do. But the reason is not necessarily that the thing is that much better than an earlier tweak from many years before but because the system is now at a much higher level of performance. Thus the latest tweak is much more audible and much more effective. Because many of the problems with the system - problem that are inherent in any system - that were holding it back had been solved by all the tuning and tweaking that went before. The Last Tweak Syndrome, however, can give the false impression that this is about as good as it’s going to get. What can possibly outdo the Latest Tweak? Have users of Black Fuse felt inclined to try the next big tweak? Probably not. That overwhelming feeling that there’s only 3-5% left until perfection is reached looms large with the last big tweak. Of course that’s not true, it’s only a psychological ceiling. Thus, if one had put in a good fuse BEFORE another tweak, say Shakti Hallographs, he might very well have reached a different conclusion. He might declare Shakti Hallographs the greatest thing ever. The Last Tweak Syndrome also explains why some folks have less than stellar results with fuses or any tweak; there are still too many problems in the system for the device under test to be effective, relatively speaking. It’s swamped out or masked by the noise and distortion. Do the math. No matter how much you have in the end you would have had even more if you had started out with more in the beginning. If you were striving to DOUBLE the performance wouldn’t it be better to double the performance of a system that was at 90% of it’s PEAK performance than if it was only at say 80% of it’s PEAK performance? Geoff Kait machina dynamica advanced audio concepts |
wolf-garcia .... All I'm thinking about at this point is your illogical conclusions in your attempt at being logical and rational. If there is a "hyper promotion vibe" in this thread, its there because of the great things these fuses, especially the Black fuses, have done for the vast majority of those posting here. What you are calling a "hyper promotion vibe," is nothing more than the overwhelming enthusiasm being expressed by appreciative users of these fuses. If you're looking for logic and a basis in reality, here's your logic and basis in reality for you .... 99 out of 100 users say that this product has worked for them. Many have said that the results have been outstanding. These are not Johnny-come-lately audiophiles saying this stuff. On the contrary, most of us posting here have been in the hobby for many years. Over 40 years for me. And, if you would take the time to read this thread from the beginning, you'll discover that we know our music and we know our sound systems. There is no "club." Just a bunch of happy customers spreading the word. And much to my delight, the thread has turned out to be a bunch of guys engaging enjoying a positive camaraderie with newly found friends, all pursuing a common interest, and that is better reproduced music in our homes. Are the fuses expensive? Well that depends upon one's perspective. Personally, for the results obtained in MY system, I'd say they are worth more than the asking price. Now then, they may cost a few pennies to produce ... but that's not the relevant issue here. The issue is, does the end consumer consider the product to be worth the $120.00 shelled out for the fuse ... and is the seller happy to part with the fuse for $120.00. As long as both parties (buyer and seller) feel they got a fair shake, then that's a fair deal. Its the way free markets work. On you "parting with money" .... So far you haven't spent a dime, nor would you have to if you're not satisfied with the product. That's what the 30 day trial is all about. Okay, at your suggestion I've thought about it ... it is a fuse ... just a fuse. But what if I told you that these fuses have given me more benefit relevant to improving the sound in my system than four Shatki Holograms at $1,500 a pair? Or a bigger improvement than going from KT-120s to KT-150's in my amp at $100.00 each? Or a bigger improvement than upgrading my amp from a RE-75 to a REF-75-SE? Would you believe me? You should, because its true. Please don't confuse anything I've written here as an attempt to get you to try the SR Fuses. What you try and what you don't try is of no interest to me at all at this point. Its very evident that when it comes to the fuses, you are in possession of a mind that is slammed shut. What a shame. You could be getting a hell of a benefit for the outlay of $120.00 for a tweak that if spent elsewhere in your system would COST YOU 20 TIMES AS MUCH. Take care ... |
I do have faith in tweaks that have worked for me, but in order for me even try something It has to pass a logic test with a basis in reality…there's a hyper promotion vibe in this thread that seems purchased, and that permeates and taints the whole thing…the "don't think about it, just send in your MONEY" just ain't enough to get me to part with 20 times what I think fuses should cost so I can join a club. Think about it…FUSES…come on now…think about it…. |
David ... Looking forward to meeting you at Newport. I'm planning on spending considerable time in the SR room. I want to hear all of their new products. Have you had the opportunity to here the effects of the XOT Carbon crossover transducers yet? That's a product I'm really curious about. I'm listening to the David Leisner CD downloaded from Spotify as I write this. Two of my favorite instruments ... guitar & cello. Thanks for the recommendation David. It sounds really good through my Audioengine 2+ powered speakers via my computer. Now I have to get an Audioengine subwoofer to fill things out a bit. *lol* Does it ever end? One of the things I'm really enjoying about this thread is all of the input and suggested material from music lovers posting here. I sincerely believe that love of music is what this hobby is all about. The more we improve our systems, the closer we get to the music. Hope you all had a wonderful Easter ... OP |
Whitestix: Congratulations on the Clayton Shaw speakers. I have heard his products at several audio shows and they are high performing with a much greater sound quality/ cost ratio than many other products I do hope as many as possible readers of this thread will available themselves to one of the upcoming audio shows in your area. Chicago in April, and Newport Beach, California in June. This is a wonderful way to meet the designers - builders -and users of this equipment we consider adding to our systems. I find them extremely educational. Many have good demonstrations of how their products will affect a system's sound. Synergistic Research demonstrates their products in a 30 minute demonstration. It allows you to hear (or not hear ) what and how much a device changes the sound. Nordost and Magnaplan have very good demonstrations. Other rooms are walk in or out at will. Different approaches abound. I still think it was very neat to go to Newport Beach a few years ago and talk one on one with the lead designer of the Sennheiser 800 headphones, which I had just recently bought. Not designed by a German soulless committee in white coats. So go to an audio show! Charles1: Getting nearer to the Type 45 tube shootout: NOS RCA versus EML solid plate. Both tubes at hand but I have to reconfigure the equipment rack to try the EML's which are taller. Maybe I should use Elvis with the RCA's and Frankie Yankovick (polka) with the Czech made EML's! David Pritchard |
Whitesox wrote, "In closing, the fact of the matter that we are all looking for the supreme enjoyment of our musical experiences. Nobody would spend time on this thread if they weren't music lovers and from what I can see, you guys have systems which I be delighted to hear, truly. Man, we are all in search of the absolute sound. My notion is that we have forum in which we can discuss our gear and our devotion to the music that such gear reproduces. That is what it is all about. Still, watch out for anything GK markets. With good will, Mark" if you're pretending to be an audiophile you're doing an excellent job. With good will, GK. |
Gents, I contritely apologize for posts suggesting that these pricey fuses make no difference in ones' system. If you like them, then that is what counts. Maybe my aging ears can't discern the improvement you guys hear. I received a pair of Spatial Audio Hologram M4 speakers yesterday and am breaking them in. This is my first foray into OB speakers and I must say that for $2K, they are quite amazing. Have a look at Clayton Shaw's new speakers. In closing, the fact of the matter that we are all looking for the supreme enjoyment of our musical experiences. Nobody would spend time on this thread if they weren't music lovers and from what I can see, you guys have systems which I be delighted to hear, truly. Man, we are all in search of the absolute sound. My notion is that we have forum in which we can discuss our gear and our devotion to the music that such gear reproduces. That is what it is all about. Still, watch out for anything GK markets. With good will, Mark |
whitestix: The Novium Resonator is currently on sale at High End Electronics, Apple Vallet, Ca. Alfred also sells the Synergistic Research Black fuses. He is wonderful to work with. Novoice: I do like and use Marantz products - for me their SACD players are in two systems. Yep. They do like an audiograde fuse. I know you are enjoying the Hi-Fi fuse. I do hope some day you will have an audition of the Synergistic Research Black fuse. I found it to be a worth while listening experiment to compare fuses especially in an amplifier. Some time back the sub topic of WA Chips and audio grade wall A/C outlets was discussed. The Cable Company, New Hope , Pa., has the WA Power Cord Chip at 50% off and the very Good Furutech GTX-D (Gold) wall outlets at $140 (original price $215). The WA Chips can be returned for refund if their rules are followed. I do not think the Furutech product can be returned - I have never seen this this return policy for Furutech outlets. I am listening to David Leisner (guitar) with Zuil Bailey (cello) as I type. This is a fabulous Cd both musically and sonically. To me the balance between the instruments was recorded perfectly. The SR Black fuses really allow one to hear the rich decay of individual notes. Highest Rating! "Arpeeggione" by David Leisner and Zuill Bailey on the Azica label. Charles I am glad the Elrogs are behaving. Tube rolling Elrogs, Psvane-WE's, etc. is also rewarding for my Triode of Japan 845 amp. Not for the weak hearted though. That is why I thank you for your insightful posts. There tubes are expensive and no returns for sonic dissatisfaction! I do hope this thread's participants have a meaningful Easter. I am now on my way to visit with my 92 year old Mother, be reminded of the love see has for me, and YEP-listen to her beautiful music system that has a full complement of Synergistic Research Black fuses. David Pritchard |
Mikirob, As much as I loved the HK C-I that Don fully modded for me, Don Sach's new preamp is much much better and much more simple in design. The heart of the preamp is the octal tubes. It is an unfathomably fine preamp, better than anything I have heard, and Don shared that view. He sells his preamp for about $1800 with a fine custom-made wood base, which allows easy tube rolling. Don is now also selling a KT88-based amp that, in his view, betters the HK-CII, an amp he also fully modded for me. Don has worked on hundreds of tube amps and preamps and has both a great technical background, but also a very acute pair of ears. In 45 years of having good gear, Don's new preamp is the finest piece of gear I have ever heard. If you have great vintage tube gear in need of an rehab, Don can do wonders with it. BTW, Don is the only guy recommended by Jim McShane and nobody has more credibility than Jim McShane in the tube audio space. Cheers, Mark |
I want to echo Whitestix for his praise of Don Sachs restored HK C-1 it is one of the best preamplifier ever, especially for analogue playback. Guys like Sachs, Jim McShane, Jeff Day (Positive Feedback/6 moons) and the like, have state-of-the-art systems, great hearing, know what they are doing when it comes to modding, restoring vintage gear, as well as listening to much of the latest, greatest, modern top shelf stuff. When they make statements of high praise for something like the Harmon Kardon restored C-1, or restored and modded ARC SPC 6B or 6C, or McIntosh MX110z, I wouldn't be so knee jerk dismissive. So, Whitestix, you have a stellar preamp; the Sachs modded HK C-1, that is a Wow! I'm on the hunt for one. Best, Rob |
Hi whitestix, mighty fine speaker's you have, I'm a fan big time of the linkwitz speaker's, however, although I do agree most power cord's are crap, I challenge you to try the taralab's cobalt power cord with oyaida termination's, and the 3 higher model above that, which are the cobalt Reference, Evolution, Evolution Grandmaster power cord's, I have the model mentioned first, I would say that this power cord was one of, if not the most profound improvement to my digital player, and system as a whole, enjoy the music. |
Whitestix, no back-and-forth rock throwing. My posts here have to do with protecting this constructive thread against those who seek to ridicule those of us who use upscale fuses. I asked you to list your system. Perhaps that would explain your lack of results with fuses and cords. It does--your amp cannot play up to the capability of a better fuse or cord. You like the sound--that's good enough for you--and me. I have been fortunate--able to spend a lot more on gear that does benefit from better cords and fuses. My stuff? ARC, Magnepan, Wadia, REL. Nothing exotic, boring choices, but predictable in sound quality, somewhat costly, and I am extending their scope with tweaks that work. I do not endorse any of the crystals, pebbles, discs, blocks, chips, tiny bowls, etc. Oregon--I would like to hear the holograms--they are more than a stack of pebbles in a tray. |
Oregonpapa wrote, "Talking about room treatments ... The four Shatki Holograms I have in the room were a major improvement. Without them, the sound stage collapses. I wouldn’t want to be without them in the system." I’m not very surprised to hear about your success with Shakti Hallographs and I suspect the person, I forget which one, who recently disparaged Shakti Blocks (Shakti Stones) undoubtedly experienced operator error issues since the Shakti Stones are directional and location dependent. There are many reasons why some folks don’t get the full audiophile experience with some tweaks. Operator error happens to be one of them. I was in the room at CES with John Curl and Bob Crump when Mike Van Evers demonstrated his wild wood block contraption which one supposes was the predecessor to the Shakti Hallographs. I also have been using the somewhat similar Mpingo discs since Bob Hope was a Boy Scout. Not to mention tiny little bowl resonators. And Helmholtz resonators. And crystals. They’re all related. Cheers, geoff kait machina dynamica no goats no glory |
Jafreemen posts: Among the pantheon of tweaks, I am highly skeptical of room treatments such as the stick-on chips, blocks, pebbles, discs, boxes and tiny bowls. The idea guys had to go SOMEWHERE with their products though, and since the under-component market was saturated with plinths, cones, bearings, points, racks, rubber cups, etc, it only made sense to move tweaks on top of and around the gear--hours of fascination and wonder for the customer. I would like to try that Novum PMR resonator, though. In choosing external audio tweaks, you have to look for items that either block, dissipate or absorb unwanted energy and sound waves or that clarify or focus the sound that you do want. This often involves items of considerable mass or area. Wolf Garcia, you are in Dire need of some tweak faith. Jerry would have approved. Thanks for listing your gear Whitestix. I'm not one to knock a guy's budget, but when it comes to the lower-priced amps, etc out there, you really DO get what you pay for--not much. Emotiva 5.1--is that a Chinese five-channel for around $600? Genius marketing, those guys. And those speakers--geez, couldn't you get some speakers that don't cross paths? You have to realize that the sound we hear is an energy transfer from the cone excursion to air molecules that then hit our eardrums. The smaller speakers should at least point at you........And yes, GK, the L. Ron Hubbard of audio, has combined a love of science fiction with shrewd observations of the audiophile's willing gullibility to try anything that may bring more audio beauty. You just have to learn how to wade through the BS. Sir, Thanks for your post. We agree and disagree. You suggest that you don't want to disparage lower-price gear, but you proceed to do just that. Don Sach's tube preamp is the best preamp I have had in my system in 45 years, following on the heels of a Luxman, Klyne, Modwright, Belles, CJ, Berning, a fully restored HK C-I, and a few others that I forget. Don's preamp is by far the best. When I auditioned the Linkwitz speakers in Mr LInkwtiz home, he drove them with the same Emotiva amp I use. (Do not diss the Linkwtiz speakers if you have not hear them. They are a quantum leap in speaker technology.) If the Emotiva amp he has in system good is enough for him, it sounds fine to my ears. I paid $350 for the amp. I will admit that a pair of Pass Labs amps might sound better, but they would not fit in my audio rack. I agree that one has to wade through the BS to get to the useful tweaks, none of which you suggested passes my BS meter. But jez, the silly notions you cats seem to devote your energy seems to me a mostly useless diversion from the sheer enjoyment of listening to the music we long to hear. Eddie Higgins in the rotation tonight. PS: Share with us your audio components which so profoundly benefit from the tweaks you find worthy. I am thinking maybe Ayon mono block amps, a Basis TT, Rockports, Wilson, or Raidho speakers. Maybe a pair of the lovely Lansche speakers. Maybe a pair of KEF Blades? Share with us the system you have so we we plebeians can stop wasting your money on foolish tweaks with our modest systems. |
Whitestix, I'm not sure how familiar you are with this thread but music and recording recommendations have been an ongoing feature. By no means are you the only music lover participating here. You'll find some really fine music titles shared in this ever growing thread. The fuses have only enhanced the music listening enjoyment. Stan Getz? Oh yeah. I can recommend some good Sonny Stitt and Daxter Gordon and much more. Frank (Oregonpapa)) can easily do the same. Charles, |
Among the pantheon of tweaks, I am highly skeptical of room treatments such as the stick-on chips, blocks, pebbles, discs, boxes and tiny bowls. The idea guys had to go SOMEWHERE with their products though, and since the under-component market was saturated with plinths, cones, bearings, points, racks, rubber cups, etc, it only made sense to move tweaks on top of and around the gear--hours of fascination and wonder for the customer. I would like to try that Novum PMR resonator, though. In choosing external audio tweaks, you have to look for items that either block, dissipate or absorb unwanted energy and sound waves or that clarify or focus the sound that you do want. This often involves items of considerable mass or area. Wolf Garcia, you are in Dire need of some tweak faith. Jerry would have approved. Thanks for listing your gear Whitestix. I'm not one to knock a guy's budget, but when it comes to the lower-priced amps, etc out there, you really DO get what you pay for--not much. Emotiva 5.1--is that a Chinese five-channel for around $600? Genius marketing, those guys. And those speakers--geez, couldn't you get some speakers that don't cross paths? You have to realize that the sound we hear is an energy transfer from the cone excursion to air molecules that then hit our eardrums. The smaller speakers should at least point at you........And yes, GK, the L. Ron Hubbard of audio, has combined a love of science fiction with shrewd observations of the audiophile's willing gullibility to try anything that may bring more audio beauty. You just have to learn how to wade through the BS. |
I am delighted to hear all the favorable views about tweaks and my only point is to give them a try so long as you can get full refund, which I did with my red fuse. The dealer who sold it to me noted that he had "sold thousands of them few few returns." This audio market is rampant with folks selling tweaks of unfathomably dubious usefulness, one of which is a frequent poster on this thread who makes completely absurd claims, so my best advice for my beloved fellow audiophiles is get a grip on your audio neurosis and just sit back and enjoy the music. I just got a new release of 1976 Stan Getz recording today and it is fantastic. Fuses are the farthest thing from my mind right now.... |
Whitesox wrote, "I guess from the number of folks on this thread who find the fuses, etc. improving their system, I think that is just great. They don’t cost much and if they, like speaker cable elevators, do something to improve the sound of their system, then what the hell, go for it. I do advice you to turn in your "BS filter" to what is being said in an advocacy of these tweaks and understand that folks like GK, who chimes in on this post with baffling assertions coming from the realm of pseudo-electronics, have economic skin in the game to entice you to try the expensive stuff they peddle." Uh, oh, I’m getting a bad feeling. geoff kait machina dynamica advanced audio conceits |
I don't know how this fits in other than to say that soon after I got my Marantz Reference components (after break in), I swapped out the stock fuses for HiFi Tuning fuses and after break in, the sound did improve. It was not on the level of going to Darwin ICs or Zu Audio SCs but there did seem to be a more resolving nature but as I said, not on the level of the cable swaps. It got me closer to a cleaner event and in the end, it's all I ask for in this hobby. I don't want anything that leads to a sideways change, just a cleaner and clearer one. Everything is system dependent as I had to remove some Herbies footers from under my speakers for a tighter and more focused sound, return a SteinMusic speaker match for doing really nothing, remove some Mad Scientist black discs from my amp's speaker output posts for the same reason, and a few others that don't come readily to mind. Heck, even power cords made a bigger difference than the fuses. I know I"m limiting myself to what I've experienced but I'm really quite satisfied with what progress I've made and don't begrudge anyone who claims to have better results. Hats off to anyone who's happy and it'd be nice to see less of a polarized nature to all of this. All the best, Nonoise |
