Here’s the AH site: http://www.audio-horizons.com/pages/fuse.htmlI recently purchased the AH Platinum Ref fuse for my AR Ref 3 preamp. I do agree the preamp sounds superb with this fuse! But... it also sounds superb with the fuse that came in it - which may not be the stock fuse - it doesn’t look like a standard fuse with just a wire, but has a more complex element in it (it is glass, so I can see the element). And... I must say I’m at a bit of a loss to report the AH fuse is "much better" in any respect. I’m a bit inclined to think that many with such investments in their fuses "want to hear" significant improvements over their stock fuses - and that there is significant "placebo" effect with fuses as with cables. But... hey... "to each his own." |
Keith,
I know your Krells require multiple fuses and cost can add up rapidly. Do you have a component that may require only 1 or 2 fuses? If so this would offer the opportunity to directly compare the SR Black and Beeswax fuses. Otherwise relying on others opinions can be tricky and with obvious limits. What's better in one component or to a different set of ears may not match your needs.
Charles. |
^^^ I agree David.
I have two more Black fuses to go. One in the phono and one in the amp. Two Red fuses in there now.
The system at this point is FAR in excess of where I thought it could ever be prior to putting in the first SR Red fuse which I chronicled at the beginning of this thread.
I'm so pleased that so many have taken up the challenge and tried the SR fuses. Its fun to share the experience.
After installing the SR power cords, and as they break in, I can really hear what these fuses are capable of. Everything you described above is my experience as well. As far as bass goes, its as though I've added a fine quality sub woofer to the system. |
Of course what we need is a comparison of the Beeswax fuse to the Synergistic Research "BLACK "fuse. Then ideally the effect of multiple Beeswax fuses in one system.
My three systems are now 100% SR "BLACK" fused and each system has over 150+ hours of playing time. The fuses were installed in stages and with each installation the sound improved. A combination of Black and RED fuses was tried and it was certainly better than stock fuses, but an all "BLACK" fuse system sounded better each time.
The music flows with less perceived effort. Imaging is improved. Soundstage depth increased with decay of notes being longer in duration. Their is more felt emotion to the music. Solo guitar and voice (both male and female) are more alive and moving.
To those reading this thread- Give your innerself a present. Buy a Synergistic Research BLACK fuse. If you do not like it of do not think it is worth it, send it back.
You do not even have to "Regift" the fuse to get your money back!
David Pritchard |
Hi gwalt, your impressions of the sound of the beeswax fuse sounds like the difference of good tube sound vs some solid state comparison, you said beauty and weight to the sound, what is your assessment of the sound staging differences between the sr-red's and beeswax fuses? , thankyou. |
Ouch Audiolabyrinth with 4 fuses to deal with. I only have 1 Beeswax in my system and it is 4A slow blow but if I had a 1A I would sure let someone try it as it is burned in. I will likely be adding more next to the dac with the one at a time principal. This method takes patience but it is how I like to build my sound with precision. It is a bummer with the return policy of the Beeswax but all I can say is that it brought everything this thread has mentioned of the Black with the dead backgrounds, staging, extension, resolution, with the exception of having more beauty and weight to the music. The post above from Mapman on the 80/20 rule is dead on and as I said above don't just think there are not other great choices out there. However, because of return policy and number of fuses your faced with a decision based on that. AH does have a return policy and that choice should also be in the mix and you could ask Jerry at AM if with 4 fuses any exception exists? So far however I am sticking with the Beeswax after allowing sufficient burn in. If it works the same on the next trial component then I will be in more of a comfort zone. |
Hi gwalt, great post, thankyou, I just might get in touch with you about the beeswax fuses, sadly, I do not see any glass fuses in my Vincent cd-s7 tube/sold state hybrid digital player, however, my modified krell 700cx has 4 1-amp fast blow fuses inside of it, I suppose their may be other types of fuses other than glass? , the digital player has a furutech gtx-rhodium outlet on it with a 3ft. $5,500.00 taralab's cobalt power cord with oyaida termination's, the player sounds incredible to me for what it is, would be nice to play with fuses with it since it is direct connected to the Krell with no preamplifier. |
Any speculation what would make a fuse take so long to break in?
I have no clue. |
wstam:
The label direction on the Synergistic research fuses do indicate the direction the fuses were treated. Current flowed from the capital "S" of Synergistic towards the "R" in the second word Research.
I do install them with a best guess of how the current flows in the equipment, but then I always reverse direction and relisten. I do not use a multimeter to assertain the direction of electrical flow. Especially at the main fuse location the difference is not subtle.
David Pritchard |
Hi Audiolabyrinth: Sorry for the late response as I have not been watching thread for quite some time. I have not had any experience with the Black vs. Beeswax but only the RED vs. Beeswax. I sold the RED while I could as a result of the sonic attributes of the Beeswax. The new owner of the RED has had some success so all things differ as you know already. I guess after the RED with limited success I moved away from the Black but I still wanted something to compare. I have the Beeswax installed in my VAC preamp. where the RED sounded thin in comparison. I have since tried a Audio Horizons fuse in the same position with great success. It certainly is directional also. The Beeswax might be marginally better in the preamp. but you will need to put at least 150 hours on it or more to allow it to fully develop. I have heard a couple say they experienced improvement of the Beeswax out to 300 hours. In my case, the Beeswax is the one to beat but there is no trial period as SR has 30 days and AH has a 15 day return. AM claims there is too much labor installing Beeswax into the fuse to allow returns and they have to drill a small hole in the end of the fuse and syringe in the Beeswax along with another electrical process. The idea of all of these fuses is to reduce noise vibration in the signal path and it has become quite a game in how that is accomplished. Again I have not tried the Black for comparison but may as time permits but the Beeswax is just so musical so I have figured why bother for now. SR will no doubt have something beating the Black in the near future anyway. Since there are certainly some great options out there I took it upon myself to just experiment with one component that feeds the system and I have not regretted that move. If you would like my experience with purchase options on the Beeswax to save some money just shoot me an email at gwalters@charterwest.com.
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Would an external fuse holder with a battery ac oss the leads to get an amp or two across suffice? Household alkaline batteries would at best only last a few hours when supplying that much current, and in many cases less than an hour. Also, you would need to have a resistor in series, to limit the current to an amount that is appropriate for the rating of the particular fuse, taking into account the internal resistance of the particular battery. What might be reasonable to consider is using an AC-powered power supply, providing some reasonably low output voltage, wired to a suitable fuseholder in series with an appropriately chosen resistor. In the case of a rail fuse (that would be conducting DC within a component) a power supply providing DC on its output should obviously be chosen. In the case of a mains fuse, though, in the absence of a detailed technical understanding of what changes occur during the breakin process that are audibly significant (or even of how these fuses work their magic) I have no idea as to whether it would be best for the output of that supply to be low voltage AC or low voltage DC, or if it would make any difference either way. Regards, -- Al |
I my case, the clear winner is fuse seemingly reversed from current flow, such that incoming current sees the R side of the fuse. |
I have the Reds in my Amp, phono and DAC. I am cooking the Blacks now.
Someone has asked earlier in this thread but I don't see any answer: is the SR label on the fuses indicating direction? i.e. they are not randomly pasted.
For those who can observe the effect of the direction, do you notice any relation with the direction of the label? Do the label follow the direction of the current flow?
Just wonder if we can use the label (if it is indicating a direction) to determine the direction of inserting the fuses instead of just trying....
Thanks. |
Hey folks
i was wondering how hard it would be to do the burn in of a fuse outside of the expensive equipment? Many of us use tubes which have limited life and it seems a shame to waste some tube life on fuse burn in. In addition, burning in fuses outside the gear would allow for a better test of what the fuses can do because your first impression will be the best the fuse can do.
Would an external fuse holder with a battery ac oss the leads to get an amp or two across suffice?
adam |
I had a chance to flip by the Blacks in my DAC/Pre yesterday afternoon and had a night-time session after they’d settled in for a few hours. They’re now at about 170 hours total.
Wow. It was like the system had bolted awake after a nap. In this new orientation I’ll echo what some others have observed: _really low_ noise floor and black background. I was stunned to be able to follow cymbal decays for seconds longer than I ever thought possible. Soundstage is pushed wider and brought 3-4 feet closer to provide a more front-row presentation, as if things are suddenly more close-mic’ed and revealing a little less of the room acoustic of the studio. Transient speed is fast, fast, fast. Bass has great heft and also great texture. The system is far more lively but not in a fatiguing way.
All this from the direction a fuse is turned. Who woulda figured? ;-)
Will come back with observations after another couple of sessions. |
Hi gwalt, what is your assessment of impressions between the audio magic beeswax fuses vs synergistic research sr-black fuses? |
Bill,
You are absolutely right, the many variables involved make it impossible to declare an universal winner. No single fuse will be the preference for every listener and all system configurations. The best that can occur is developing a list of of top tier fuses based on consensus of many listeners. For example the Beeswax and SR Black surely have different sonic presentations. Depending on the circumstances one will be a better fit than the other. Gwalt has both of these fuses, and I'm interested in his impressions in the context of his own system.
Charles, |
Audiolabyrinth, I had the same thought on wanting a good comparison between the AM beeswax and Black fuses, but given the variability in responses to the blacks, and the apparent sensitivity differences between different pieces of equipment, it is going to be hard to extrapolate one person's experience to my needs or preferences. |
Frank,
"Round Midnight" -and "Body and Soul" (not a Monk composition) have to be the two most covered jazz standards out there. Monk is without a doubt a musical genius, both as a musician and composer. He's written so many titles that have withstood the test of time.
Charles, |
^^^ Charles ...
Have you ever taken an account of how many renditions of "Round Midnight" you have in your collection? Between vocals and instrumentals, I must have a few hundred. I even have a CD by the Turtle Creek string quartet titled "'Round Midnight." Monk was a genius ... and his music lives on. |
Thanks Frank,
Pablo CD transfers are very well accomplished and sound exceptionally good just as their vinyl records. It seems they resisted the urge to muck around with the master tape.
Charles, |
I also would like to read here a head to head comparison of the audio magic beeswax fuses vs the synergistic sr-black fuses before I make a final decision, I've read that the beeswax fuse is organic and rich sounding with transparency. |
Hi gbmcleod, what a wonderful written post you directed to me, thankyou, I learned a lot from what you had to say, btw, furutech has just introduced a new outlet and a few more products, it is the ncf furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's, I've got first hand reports by phone from friends that this is better than the original furutech gtx-rhodium outlet, not a night and day difference, but substantial enough they all converted to useing the new outlet, the usual more natural, realism, better bass and sound staging, pretty much extended frequency response. |
Charles ... This is the one you'd be looking for: http://www.ebay.com/itm/MILT-JACKSON-IN-LONDON-MEMORIES-OF-THELONIOUS-SPHERE-MONK-RECORD-UNPLAYED-/4...gbmcleod ... The bowed bass acquired a more guttural, natural sound with the Black fuses over the Red fuses. I'd say the improvement was in both areas you described ... both in weight and quality. And by the way, the audience takes on a more realistic dimension as well. This recording wasn't a slouch by any means even with the old HiFi Tuning fuses I had before I switched to the SR Reds and then to the SR Blacks. With each fuse change there was just more there there. The rest of the album is terrific as well. I bought a lot of the Pablo records back in the day. They were a dollar more than most other records, but I thought the sound quality was well worth it. When CDs were first introduced, I cleaned up on Pablo cut-outs too. Take care ... |
So, Oregonpapa, did you observe that the bass, with the Quantum Black fuse, had the same "weight" to it - or even more or less weight - or did you simply observe that the bass quality seemed better?
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Frank,
Pablo is a label that's consistently very good with their high quality level musicians. I love jazz bassists who play Con Arco, so beautiful. I'll have to seek out this live recording, you can never own too many Milt Jackson recordings. I have a bunch. Frank what's the title of this recording?
Charles, |
^^^
Wow! Now that's what I call a cogent post. Thanks.
" So, the bass is clearer, but very slightly more lightweight, although I then followed that with the Labelle CD ’Nightbirds’ (you know, the one with Lady Marmalade’s famous ’voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir’ phrase on it). I’d never been impressed with the bass on that CD, yet there was WAY more of it than i was used to..."
I have a recording (Vinyl) on the Pablo label featuring Milt Jackson (vibes), Ray Brown (bass) Monty Alexander (organ) and Mickey Roker drums. Its a live recording of a concert that took place in a London nightclub in 1982. The recording is a tribute to "Monk."
On side one, cut three, Ray Brown is playing a solo using his bow on the bass for the entire side. The tune is "Round Midnight." Its a terrific test of the bass response of any system. I played it several times with broken in SR Red fuses and also with the SR Blacks. Its progressively gotten better with each fuse change. Its to the point now that when Ray Brown hits the very lowest notes, the bass reverberates and projects into the room to the extent that it makes my chest vibrate. Its quite amazing and totally realistic. |
Audiolabryinth, happy to respond.
I like the Furutech outlets, because they are very smooth. In comparison, the Teslaplex SE has a slightly more forward upper midrange, which, on some Mercury Living Presence CDs, can be a bit intense. My wall outlet is the Furutech, but I swapped out the outlet on the PS Audio Power Plant 300 a year or two ago, and put in a Teslaplex SE. conversely, on vocals, the Teslaplex - to my ears - more readily reveals the gutsiness of Aretha’s voice, as well as other Black singers and even David Clayton-Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears, whose voice you can clearly hear straining at times, which the Furutech does NOT do. The Furutech is more refined, and that’s great but Aretha is NOT a refined singer, she is a bring-it-home sister like I’d hear in church growing up. Hence the Furutech at the wall, and the Teslaplex in the PS Audio. I have another Teslaplex SE, and I might put that in the wall to hear what changes are wrought, but that MIGHT become too edgy. And then again, maybe not, since the new fuse is audibly smoother than the SR20 that was previously in the Arcam. Hmmm... For now, here’s what’s interesting.
When I had the SR20 in the Arcam, the sound, plugged into the Teslaplex, was a bit too harsh for my ears. Brass had an unquestionable edge on almost ANY Mercury CD (and yes, I know they used bright microphones back then, so maybe the Teslaplex was just revealing the ’truth,’ but I don’t think so: it was a little TOO much ’truth’ to my ears. BUT. BUT. As soon as I put in the Quantum Black - from the first CD - I was aware that the harshness was gone. Then, when I read Cymbop’s description of cymbals, I though, ’Now, that’s REALLY interesting, because I have had the opposite effect. The leading transient is less ’hashy’ or white-noise sounding compared to having the SR20 in there (I never put a Red into the Arcam) and as for the dimensionality, read on a couple of sentences. Something else: I noticed that the tension of the music is slightly less than before, almost as if the music is being played at a slightly slower pace. End result? Less impact, and as a corollary, I also noticed that somewhere around the lower parts of the upper bass down into the upper-midbass, the sound is not as physical - or as HP would put it - it has less ’authority’, so I’m with Cymbop on this point. Hence, the lessening of dimensionality, or 'flatness' he discerned.
Since the midbass is what gives instruments their sense of ’solidity’ (that’s why the original WATTs sounded so holographic: the sound was weighted towards the midbass, but you only heard it with a Rowland Coherence preamp, which had a center-of-the-earth gravity from the lower midrange down to the low bass (as Dave Wilson noted in issue 47 of TAS) and then later, around 1988, when he came out with the first generation of the Puppies. Now, any lessening of the midbass WILL make images seem flatter, and I did encounter that with the RCA Living Stereo CD of Dvorak’s New World Symphony, where cut 9 is the beginning of Lt. Kije. The trumpet was less focused and ’present.’ I thought perhaps I’d moved a tube trap (even jarring them off by 1/8" can affect subtle sonics), but I hadn’t. So, the bass is clearer, but very slightly more lightweight, although I then followed that with the Labelle CD ’Nightbirds’ (you know, the one with Lady Marmalade’s famous ’voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir’ phrase on it). I’d never been impressed with the bass on that CD, yet there was WAY more of it than i was used to - and I noticed that the NAD volume setting was at a lower volume, too! Some mysteries, as well as ecstacies, live in the Quantum Black. None of the positive statements I said were wrong, but I also hear the - again - VERY SLIGHT loss of focus on instruments, although the overall presentation is more transparent and immediate, and, along with that low, low, low noise floor, it’s ZOWIE. (And the highs, on my system, were superior to the pre-Quantum era.) It does seem, though, on solo instruments, particularly guitars, that the instruments are more physically there, but on symphonies, there is, perhaps, a bit less image specificity and kick on the bass drums. Again, I think it’s somewhere in the lower part of the upper bass/midbass that the focus and specificity is not as secure as it was when the fuse was only at, say, 20 hours.
The larger picture is that the noise floor is SO much lower, and there is GREATLY reduced grain between you and the music, particularly on voice, both male and female, and more passion IN those voices than before that you might not notice the bass (and who knows, it could be that I have to rearrange the Stillpoint Ultra Mini Risers). BUT, Patti Labelle was unquestionably more forceful sounding on ’What Can I Do For You?’ as were both Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, and their harmonies were more separated (not that the NAD is the MASTER in this regard, but you get my point). I’ve had mine for a week and find it fantastic, but I support Cymbop’s observations.
I think we must all accept that there is no perfect component, and even if there is, when it comes to fuses, we have - most of us - had enough experience to realize the fuse is not perfect in every application, and it is a matter of finding the right location where it will show its magic. That magic may not be in every component. The Arcam Fmj 23 , for example, does not have "thunderous" midbass, and this was noted by a colleague who wrote about it in issue 136 of TAS. So, its bass dynamics are not the last word. The Quantum Black, after break in, may be showing that it, too, has great definition in some areas of the bass, rather than sheer quantity of bass. I don’t know: we’ll have to swap stories here on the forum and note the equipment we have, and how that equipment USUALLY sounds in the bass, both -pre and -post Quantum Black.
For all that, it is by far the most instantly striking fuse of all that I’ve used, meaning, it takes NO time to hear what it does. BUT, it does actually seem to be have more midbass when you first put it in than at 100 hours. I’ll check my observations, but that’s how it sounds to my ears.
And DavidPritchard, thanks for clearing that up. |
Gotta point out that no thread is a scientific study. There is typically a bias to some extent. Well meaning people typically tend to happily report good news but hold back on the bad. Not unique to fuse threads at all. So I would say it is wrong to jump to a conclusion that because most people on a thread are happy users, all should or will be. People like products all the time for good reason but not all follow the same path. No two amps or speakers sound the same and will please all for example. Just trying to keep it real. I am happy for those getting good results. If 80% of users are in fact happy and satisfied, I'd say that's pretty good (80/20 rule) |
^^^ audiolover ...
Its odd how during the break in procedure for the fuses the system sounds better overall than before the fuse change ... but its that hard edge on everything that's the frustrating part. So non involving, and like you said .. "hifi like. Its also odd how the fuses come to life in one big expansion of musicality all of a sudden like at around 70 hours or so. My friends who are familiar with my system have heard this for themselves ... to their amazement. Mine too.
Something I've been curious about are those few who have gotten no results, or negative results from the SR fuses. I'm kinda thinking perhaps they have underestimated the amount of break-in time they allowed for the fuses. 70 to 100 hours is longer than it seems. I could be wrong here, but there must be a reason the vast majority rave about the improvements and so few do not. |
Good morning fellow loon...er, audiophiles. :-).
This morning marks about 30 hours on the black fuse. I hate to go back on what I originally said, but this morning the sound that I had when I first put in the fuse just isn't there.
It got me thinking just how sensitive components are to power. Remember, when I put in the fuse, it was about 1am, and I had the best power of the day, I was also listening low, so the pre break-in brightness, actually helped, kinda like creating a loudness curve.
Anyway, I'm feeling like Oregon papa right now with 30 hours. The system sounds hifi. Mind you- it still sounds fantastic. Although, my good friend is coming over tonight for a listening session after I started gushing about the black fuse. Hope I'm not embarrased. Lol.
I look forward for the fuse to be done with puberty and being able to get down to business. There are times when the sound does catch my ear and I look up startled, so that's a good thing. |
Bill, Enjoy those beautiful hills and trails. I look forward to your future listening impressions with these fuses. Charles,
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Hi Frank, If you take into account "all" the responses on this ever growing thread, the positive outcomes have been overwhelming. The negative or minimal improvement outcomes are very small. No audio product/component no matter how highly praised ever gets an 100% positive from everyone, it just never happens. I belie
ve Bill has a good chance of further sonic gains with additional hours placed on his Black fuses. If not, then so be it, I trust Bill's impressions in the context of his own system. Even though he and I use the same Coincident Line Stage and SET amplifiers, sometimes results are just different for whatever reason. I honestly believe my Black fuses continued to improve up to the 150 hour mark. They really click in my system.
Charles, |
Charles, I will be out of town for a few days and hiking this weekend. Its likely to be sometime next week when I hit 60-100 hours. I do hope I will see additional improvement with more hours, but right out of the box I would have called this a good return on investment. Still, its not hard to do better for the money with the right tube, or as I said, a good set of feet. If I realize a similar improvement with each new fuse or pair of fuses, the total improvement would be significant for a $700 investment. That would be money well spent. We will see. I really like what the fuse did qualitatively, but I'd like to see a bit more quantitatively. It is a happy coincidence (no pun intended) that the Franks and Sony both take a pair of the same fuse. I will be surprised if I hear an insufficient improvement to warrant keeping the fuses.
Frank, your question to Charles is an excellent one. There is some variability in the reports. Is the variability attributable to variations in equipment, incoming AC quality, ambient EMI/RFI, listener acuity or preference, fuse to fuse differences, or some combination of all of these variables? SR does a good thing by offering a generous return policy, which allows us all to reduce this tweak to an experimental question. |
Talk about giving a mouse a cookie!! I started by placing a Red in a 9.9 Modwright power supply. Nice bump but wasn't really realized until my buddy brought over his 9.9 and it was a significant improvement when comparing side by side. Then a couple Reds in in a Aurender N100s music player. Slight improvement, nothing earth shattering. Then the blacks were introduced so I put one in a Mccormack pre and right around the magic 100 hr mark everything kicked in. So much more body to the music and defined bass. The Kismet Monos have a total of 8 rail fuses so that wasn't going to happen. I tried to score the HiFi Silverstar but they were all sold out so picked up the Golds for 9.95 each. Definite improvement but then one of our fellow Audiogoner's was upgrading his Kismets from the Reds to the Blacks..... I should have his Reds in a few days and all broken in. I got a new Odyssey Candela pre tonight so installed a Black in that, figured may as well break in everything together. Before I took the McCormack out of the chain, I switched the fuse around. I must of had the proper orientation the first time as it took all of 3 minutes to switch it back. You will definitely know when you have it right!! These little tweaks is what makes this hobby so exciting and keeps it fresh. I don't even want to tell you about USB clean up and LPS power supplies..... that's for another day. Enjoy your night, Russ |
^^^ What's surprising to me, Charles, is that with all of the terrific results garnered by most of us here with the SR Red and then the Black fuses, that there are the few who hear no positive results at all. I wonder what the cause of that could be? Are they system dependent ... working in most systems but not in all? |
Hi Bill (Brownsfan), Thanks for reporting your findings. My moment of truth occurred at the 60 hour point and Frank's(Oregonpapa) around 70 hours with the Black fuses. It will be interesting to see if additional hours make a difference in your case. As always you have to call it as you hear it. I appreciate your input. Curious to see where you find the greater impact between your Sony digital or the Frankenstein. Charles, |
Update on my experience. The black has about 40 hours of burn in time in my Coincident Line stage. A few minutes ago, I reversed the direction of the fuse. Degradation of sound quality was immediately obvious, so I had the optimal direction to begin with. I am going to wait a few more days and put the stock fuse back in to get a feel for how much burn in has helped. Preliminarily, I would say this is a worthwhile and cost effective upgrade, but it falls somewhat short of transformative. As a comparator, I just replaced the stock feet on my ModWright Sony HAPZ1 with Edensound bear paws, a $160 upgrade, and enjoyed a much more significant improvement in sound.
The ModWright Sony takes 2 3.15 amp slo blo's, which is also what I would need for my Coincident franks. I will probably order a pair next week and try them in both the Sony and the Franks and evaluate the improvement. It is likely either the Franks or the Sony will benefit. If not, I will send them back and perhaps try the AM beeswax fuses. |
gbmcleod:
I did not make myself clear in discussing A/C wall outlets. Synergistic Research allows the most music thru of the outlets I have evaluated. The Furutech GTX-R gives a bigger soundstage. In my three systems I am using a total 14 Synergistic Research Teslaplex outlets and three Furutech GTX-r outlets.
I agree there is a much bigger improvement going from the SR-20 fuse to Black than going to Red, and a bigger improvement going from RED to BLACK. Black is clearly a better sound than SR-20 or RED.
David Pritchard |
For anyone interested, I made a new post on the SR power cords in the cable forum. All I can say at this point is ... WOW!
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Thankyou Almarg, I value and appreciate your response, cheers. |
Just to confuse matters a bit, I saw some conflicting specifications for fuse size on a Pass Aleph P preamp, so I asked Pass, who provided the correct value, but added, "If you are using after market or fast blow fuses, you will have to go up in value." Seems the answer is the onerous blurry "depends" since the SR Blacks at manufacturers rated fuse values worked fine in a DAC and tube amp. SR should be generous in trade if you played by the rules and they blew. |
Cymbop, what you are describing very much sounds like the fuse is in the wrong direction. I wouldn't wait. I would change direction now, and decide tje right polarity, then reinstall and let it continue to break in and settle back down. The differences in direction are very apparent. I agree with the system being less bright, and it may initially feel less resolving, but ultimately I feel that was artificial brightness from the stock fuses. I am more interested now in listening than before. My imaging has not gone flat. IT WILL NOT SOUND RIGHT IF ITS IN THE WRONG DIRECTION FOR A GIVEN COMPONENT.
Even my factory fresh ARC amplifier, which came with a factory ceramic fuse was pencil marked from the factory indicating proper orientation of the fuse. Obviously done during its factory sound check. So, it is obviously a real,variable.
let us know when you change direction if your feelings change. I think they will. |
@audiolabyrinth, Keith, although of course I have no specific knowledge of the internal design of your Krell amp, and although you mentioned earlier that Krell's service manager strongly recommended against changing the value of the 1 amp fast blow fuses, IMO changing them to 1.6 amp fast blow SR Blacks is a sensible thing to do. For the following reasons: 1)The failures that were reported earlier, as well as the conversation you mentioned you had with Ted Denney some time ago, suggest that the 1.6 amp SR Black is likely to have a melting point (current squared x time) that is significantly less than the melting point of a 1.6 amp fast blow fuse from one of the major manufacturers of non-audiophile fuses. 2)I agree with your statement of 2-18-16 that: ... most anomalies that could happen will be far greater than these slightly
higher fuse values, so, in general, your equipment investment's will
be fully protected in my opinion. (although you were referring just to ratings of up to 0.25 amps over stock). 3)I would never expect a component manufacturer to approve changing a fuse value, no matter how reasonable doing so might in fact be. IMO. Regards, -- Al |
Here's my data point, which is not at all meant to be a downer or to question the premise of upgraded fuses. It's a silly and delightful hobby that we cherish here, and this thread is a great example of the power of the web to bring us audio nerds together. That said, this is the deepest down a rabbit hole I've ever felt! Definitely feel like I had the best sound in my system's life before the Blacks, and now the magic's gone. (And I didn't note the direction of the stock fuses before I pulled them out, should I want to go back!)
At ~100 hours on the Blacks I got home and sat down for a listen last night. What I heard was definitely short of the musical engagement and detail retrieval I enjoyed with stock fuses on my PWDII. I did hear a slightly lower noise floor, but the highs in particular were rolled off. Cymbals, for example, just weren't as there as before. Imaging was flatter. My mind wandered.
Great to learn that Audiolover notes big difference with direction. Popping open PWD is trouble enough that I'll probably wait several more days of burn in before I flip them.
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I had written last week that despite the many positive posts on this thread regarding the Black fuses, the number would continue to grow. This has happily been the case unsurprisingly. To the point of being redundant these fuses represent one of the great tweak opportunities available. There are very few upgrades that will yield this level of sound quality improvement for so little cost. I'm just very glad that more people are discovering these fantastic products. Keep in mind that the better the quality of an audio system, the more impactful their effect in my opinioon. It is wonderful to realize that you can noticeably improve your system's performance without having to spend thousands of dollars.
Charles, |
Almarg, if you are around? , this question is directed to you, I studied the offering's of values of the sr-black's fuses for my krell 700cx amplifier that takes 1- amp fast blow fuses × four of them, I really do not want to use the 1-amp value for reasons of possible blowing $520.00 up in my face, the next value is 1.6 , of course my fuse requirement is the big fuses, not the smaller one's, what is your assessment of useing the 1.6 value in place of the 1-amp value? |
Gbmcleod, I read your post, one thing stood out, I could not figure out if you preferred the furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's better than the rest of the compilation of wpo’s-wall power outlet's? |
"I guess the next place would be the source, and pull the furutechs, because I'm sure the blacks would mop the floor with them and would be a better sonic upgrade from going from red to black in the preamp... "
I replaced Furutechs in my CDP and pre-amp with the Blacks. The Furutechs were indeed an improvement over the stock fuses and served me well for a few years. But the Blacks are in another league. |
"Maybe there is something magical these fuses impart."
I suspect you were probably right the first time, that bypassing the stock fuse with pure copper is better than any fuse, with the caveate that you take care to protect the exposed copper wire from local magnetic fields and RFI/EMI and vibration. And that the copper wire is inserted in the correct orientation. |
