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?
Hi Frank, I've listened to 2 Jo Stafford CDs, "Ballad Of The Blues" and "Jo+Jazz". I find the latter to be the better of the two both musically and recording quality. She's terrific with these first rate musicians. Ben Webster, Johnny Hodges, Conte Condoli, Jimmy Rowles etc. This is very nice! Charles
Glad you like Jo Stafford. She was an important American song stylist who was very popular during the big band era of the 1940’s. My Mom loved Jo Stafford’s music. I used to listen to her very early in the mornings on my Mom’s 78 record player when I was a kid around seven years old.
I agree ... from a pure jazz point of view, JO + Jazz is the better album. I have both the CD and the LP.
Look for a "care package" in your mailbox on Saturday, Charles. I included "Ballad of The Blues" from the LP. Some surface noise, but the comparison with the CD should be interesting. Some surprises also included ... like Audrey Morris. :-)
Yes Jetter, those are the old stock Mullard EL34s. I haven't tried any new stock EL34s as of yet but may for another Dynaco I'm waiting for Grover to modify.
What a long thread ! But not as bad as cable argument threads.
I just tried a Synergistic Black fuse in the custom power supply for a MAC Mini. The P.S. is made by Mojo Audio, the fuse is 2 amp slo-blo.
I gave the Black fuse about 3 days inside the unit, with two on off cycles. Compared it to an AMR fuse and the stock non audiophile fuse.
The AMR was worse sounding than the stock fuse, and the Black is better sounding. In what ways ?
The AMR was too murky sounding, not as clear and vivid as the other two. This fuse only sounds good in one of my components, but does the murky thing, or roll-off in other components.
The Black fuse relieves some brightness and glare that the stock fuse has, otherwise the stock fuse is pretty good.
I got curious about the Black fuse after trying a Synergistic Atmosphere 1 cord on this MAC Mini power supply. It bettered about five other cords I have here.
I'm not about to rush out and buy more Black fuses, but now I know what they do. Hopefully the profit made by Synergistic Research from these fuses will go to R&D and good pay to the employees.
Nyame…without my "unwanted" posts this thread might spiral out of control in a maelstrom of mindless agreement…although Atmasphere and Georgehifi and a few (enlightened) others do have my back it would seem (not in a creepy way), being a "mean spirited bitter old man" works for me. And thanks for the hopeful and compassionate thoughts…that means a lot...*sniff*...
^^^ And for anyone other than the casual observer it can be seen that "The Enlightened Ones" have just about ruined the entire country ... at least the free one we used to live in.
Frank I realize this is your thread and I have enjoyed it immensely but I would ask you very respectfully to please refrain from political commentary. More than ever these days audio is an escape for me. Thank you.
I like this thread when it speaks about fuses ( reds, blacks, Audio magic and all'of them) and what they do or don't on our systems, but I hate the debate : itcan't work from people who never tried them but constantly comes back in this thread trying to turn the ones who heard differences ridicules and call them woodoed again and again and again. They can't be usefull part of a discussion speaking of something they never listen. What is their goal ? Hundreds of messages from people who heard benefits. One person didn't, but always coming back in the discussion discrediting the hundreds who heard for convincing them they can't have heard because Him didn't... Is that serious ? what's the goal ? Trying to exist ? Wolf and GearLofi vs the rest of the world ? when Pasteur presented the discovery of microbes in the Medical Academy in Paris 150 years ago the whole audience was full of supposed eminent professors full of their self importance and was screaming accusing him as a charlatan, they said The little beast can't eat the big one and many other mockery.
I' like to hear more from people who listened the fuses in their systems or compared the different ones, and less from people who didn't listen any fuse. If someone tried them and heard no changes in his system : ok this is an interesting info too, but if this man comes in the thread again and again for convincing the whole world the fuse don't do anything there is something nocive. He just can't imagine his finding is only valid for his ears in his system ??? Kack of humility !!! Why should all the other people be wrong, stupids or uner influence ? The only way we can continue this thraed is to completely ignore the Trolls like Wolf (as I previously I believe him when he says he hears nothing...and georgebadfi who didn't tried the fuse). If we all stop answering them and completely ignore them they will stop exist in this thread.
Barba papa, I'm not for any form of censorship but ignoring repetitive pablum is advisable. Its futility is pretty plain to observe, many, many satisfied fuse users and new users still continue posting their happy discovery. That was the very reason Frank began this terrific thread, spread the good news of a fine audio system tweak. I'd say he succeeded 😊😊 Folks reading this thread are obviously capable of deciding for themselves despite the self-proclaimed saviors. Charles
Especially when it comes to fuse voodoo, all the advocators are doing is changing an old fuse out for new, this can be done with the same new 10c fuse, no need to spend $100+ for some voodoo one.
Just change out your old fuse for the same new, as they do deteriorate with repetitive switch on/off surges over time, just look what happens in the time lapse pics over a few months to the same fuse, when new on the left, few months old on the right after repetitive switch on's.
Hi Frank, I received the "care package " today, 9 CDS! You are indeed my musical brother for sure 😃😃. I’ll begin with the two Milt Jackson recordings tonight as I can’t resist the gorgeous vibraphone. Going out of town the next few days and will resume listening when I return home. I'm curious about the Audrey Morris recording. Sincerely, Charles
How nice to have a buddy like Frank, you get free good music all the time. You can save your money for more fuses:)
Frank, I just want to let you know I recently purchased a pair of Cerious Technologies Graphene speaker cables. I am not ready to write a full review but all I want to say is the effect is bigger than the combinations of 6 SR black fuses, 2 Herbies rings, SR outlet and Audience power chords. No exaggeration! If the fuse is rated at 1, the speaker cables just magnified everything to a 10. I wrote an email to Bob (the owner of Cerious Tech) to let him know that I am keeping his cables after listened to it less than an hour. Just unbelievable.
Allan, Frank is a good person and has excellent taste in music.
Frank, The Jackson recordings "Second Nature" and "Opus deJazz " are just pure beautiful Bebop masterfully played. Lucky Thompson, Hank Jones, Frank Weiss, Kenny Clarke etc. Playing along with him, this is first rate bop and blues. I missed watching the NCAA basketball tournament tonight, could not pull myself away from this music and these marvelous musicians this evening. Charles
You're right. My apologies. While audio is a major passion for me, so too is history and free market economics. Sometimes I lose myself and go off the deep end. Above was a case in point. Again .... sorry.
Charles ...
Glad the CD's got there okay. There's some surprisingly amazing stuff in there. The Christmas jazz CD has highs that extend forever.
Allan ...
Most of what I send to Charles is no longer obtainable ... and some of it never was. :-) When it comes to music appreciation it seems that Charles and I are pretty much on the same page ... so it makes sharing fun.
Frank, IMO Lucky Thompson and Harold Land are two superb Tenor saxophonists who were historically under appreciated. These two men can flat out play! Charles
Those two albums have been in my collection for so many years I can't remember where I got them. I used to take them around to audio stores to use as my references while auditioning equipment. As the system improved over the years, the two albums just kept getting better and better. Still quiet and very playable at this point too. The AT ART-9 really brings out the tenor playing. Some of these old mono recordings can really sound great. Hard to beat good bebop. :-)
Yes, its just amazing the difference good wire makes in a system. All of these improvements and tweaks just seem to be accumulative in nature. Over the past two years I've changed out all of my wires. IC's, PC's and speaker wires. It made for a huge jump in sound quality like you just described. I've read good things about the Cerious Technologies cables.
Frank thanks so much for saying that and totally understood we all get overly passionate at times. And speaking of good wire for me personally just dropped a Jorma Design digital cable between my streamer and dac and wow talk about a wholesale improvement in sound! Folks everything matters, fuses, cables, power supplies, etc.
Oregonpapa- I agree with your politics. But I also agree it’s nice keeping this forum politics free. I’m a bit like you, though: all my interests are intertwined.. so I know what it’s like to want to fold political thoughts into audio conversations. Or audio concepts into a yoga class. It’s work keeping everything separated for everyone!
As for the OP topic, I've yet to try fuses, and I'm sceptical of their effect. But that was also the case for so many other stupid little things I never thought would matter: PCs, SCs, ICs, vibration isolation.. I was sceptical but open minded enough to experiment.
I guess I should try fuses. But my penchant for DIY is problematic in this area. Particularly because I have two bee hives in the backyard and I hear whispers about beeswax...
There have been discussions in this thread regarding the beeswax fuses. I think at least one poster preferred the beeswax over the SR Black fuses. No one who tried the beeswax fuses felt that they got "stung." That may be a different case with a DIY project as you alluded to though. :-)
With a 30 day money back guarantee on the SR Blacks what do you have to lose?
Credibility and money, just change your tired old 10c fuse for the same new one, as they do deteriorate over time with on/off surges, as shown in the pic, even the boutique ones, and clean your fuse clamps.
"Fuse aging by switching loads
The fuse wire gets hot and expands when current flows. At high temperatures, oxidation may happen, which weakens the wire mechanically, and may be electrically, too. Switching on/off a load means the wire is bent each time."
Hi Toddverrone, When Jond wrote "folks everything matters" he isn’t kidding. Granted some accessories or tweaks are more impactful than others and vary according to the particular audio system. I haven’t heard the Beeswax fuse but those who’ve use them say that they’re fantastic.
Why not get one and compare it to a standard 10 cent fuse as George often advocates? If the cheap new fuse is as good then return the more expensive fuse for a refund. If you hear no differences you’ve saved yourself some money. In my system premium quality fuses make a difference just as better wire/cables and tubes do. Your outcome may or may not be the same. Charles
Frank, I enjoyed the two Milt Jackson recordings so much that I played them both again last night in their entirety, just good stuff! Here are a couple of his collaborations I'm certain you'd like.
"Bags And Trane" Milt with John Coltrane.
"Beanbags" Milt with Coleman Hawkins.
As you know Coltrane and Hawkins have very different styles of playing the Tenor saxophone. Yet predictably both are wonderful paired with Milt Jackson. In my next life I'd love to be a jazz musician 😊 Charles
Oregonpapa- I agree with your politics. But I also agree it’s nice keeping this forum politics free. I’m a bit like you, though: all my interests are intertwined.. so I know what it’s like to want to fold political thoughts into audio conversations. Or audio concepts into a yoga class. It’s work keeping everything separated for everyone!
I agree everything in life is intertwined. I don't have an issue analogies are used to make a point whether it's politics, sports, food ... IMO, it open minds and excellent way to gain knowledge.
@charles1dad that was exactly my plan.. cheap new fuse, expensive new fuse. I’ve tweaked the crap out of everything else, why not try this? Where would it best be placed? Preamp?
@knghifi indeed. Metaphors and analogies are beautiful. I shift once I have to start explaining everything excessively. Kinda defeats the whole point of a metaphor.
For those considering replacing a stock fuse with an inexpensive new fuse, I suggest purchasing either a Littelfuse or an Eaton/Cooper Bussmann fuse. A good source is industrial distributor Digikey, which has no minimum order requirement or handling fee:
For those considering replacing a stock fuse with an inexpensive new fuse, I suggest purchasing either a Littelfuse or an Eaton/Cooper Bussmann fuse. A good source is industrial distributor Digikey, which has no minimum order requirement or handling fee:
Hello Toddverrone, IMO there's no clear cut answer to where to place an upgrade fuse. This was discussed earlier in this thread and responses were quite varieđ, depends on the component and system. In my experience the most effect with the fuses were, DAC Line Stage Power amplifier Other listeners would reverse that order. Bottom line however is all 3 were positively impacted.
OK I'm getting ready for my Alma mater University of Michigan to play a tough Louisville team in the NCAA basketball tournament. Should be a good one. Charles
Don’t forget everybody, when changing your inexpensive stock fuse with another inexpensive stock fuse be sure to try both directions. Even better, save yourself 2 bucks and try reversing the existing fuse to see if it was in the wrong direction the whole time. What are the odds? I’m guessing 2:1. No goats, no glory.
Jond, It's still strange to me that Maryland is in the Big Ten conference. My mind still associates them with the ACC and particularly for basketball. Charles
Charles you and me both! I really miss the ACC to me its more of a basketball conference. Big Ten is better for football of course but I am a basketball guy all the way.
I see NO difference. The problem is you see a difference!
I have NO interest in ACC sports, tired of pools, March madness ... if you want to discuss sports, please go to another site. Don't you understand audio exists in vacuum? Thank you!
Knghifi, I just as you and Frank follow politics closely and also believe virtually all is intertwined in life. However Jond is right in the sense that sports is far more lighthearted and trivial with little impact on our lives. Political issues profoundly impact our very existence. I follow both for drastically different reasons. Charles
However Jond is right in the sense that sports is far more lighthearted and trivial with little impact on our lives. Political issues profoundly impact our very existence.
charles1dad, it's a matter of ones perspective.
I grew up in New England and very passionate with sports. I played all 4 sports depending on the season. We felt the pain when our local team loses. I still can't get over Patriot lost in 2007.
When I was living in SoCal, it was totally different. I never forgot the time I was moping over a lost and one of my colleague said to me, it's just a game! What???
This is an open forum so if one chooses to participate, accept the fact there will be subjects or discussions you disagreed or not interested it so just ignore it. No one should decide what's appropriate to discuss in an open forum.
And once again like clockwork, comes the topic shift to bury any negatives, once things are questioned about the voodoo fuses.
As almarg mentioned as well, just change your fuse for a well made new one "and clean the clamps". I just used "10c" as a metaphor as an indication that you don’t need to pay >$100 for a voodoo fuse to get a change if your old fuse has deteriorated (pictured). A well made fuse in Australia is also $1-$2 as almarg stated.
Knghifi, As usual you make a good point regarding perspective, and you are right that no one should attempt to dictate the contents of a thread. The reality is a certain segment of the U.S. population were devastated by the presidential election and can’t seem to cope with it. Those are the ones who could likely ruin what’s been a very enjoyable thread. Of course the results made another segment very happy. Really does involve both sides.
George what more to say about stock vs upgrade fuses that hasn’t been repeated 100 times or is it 167 times by now. Frank has long-ago opened up this thread to the topic of music,musicians and recordings and which many here enthusiastically support. Frank has "again" sent me a stash of excellent recordings. Summation, Upgrade premium fuses are voodoo for you. We get it. These same fuses are highly appreciated audio tweaks for the vast majority of posters here.
George if you enjoy jazz there have been many good recommendations. In fact there have been terrific classical music recordings suggested as well. The music is an integral part of this beautiful thread and has elevated the level of interesting subject matter. Charles
Just making sure and will continue to show, to any new fuse recruits that the voodoo fuse proponents are trying to reel in, that they hear what both side of the fence feel for any fuse differences in sound. https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/1406831 Cheers George
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