Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Jarafreeman,

I know what you My front end has a total of 14 fuses!

Fortunately, Unfortunately they are chip fuses so there is no way 14 Black fuses will ever need to be considered.

On a whim, i have tried connection the transformer output bypassing the fuse and nasty steel pin connectors!

Ah yes, smoother, deeper music flowed from my speakers, a gain in purity, clarity more extended bass and more relaxed highs. What i observed was that the shift for the better also lacked a tiny bit of midbass attack, a focus to the instruments but with  less smear in the staging. This lead to a very relaxed session, staging seems less deep due to the lessen smearing which give an illusion of sightly more ambiance and staging width and depth on certain recordings.

I have since reverted to original going through the nasty steel connections and fuses. Was the player voiced with these parts?

I know i have loss some purity, but felt it the way it was somehow connected with me.

I have come to a stage were i would reject more improvements in the incessant desire to improve .

I have used like 20 furutech fuses early (even before Hifi tuning, Synergistic fuses came around) and change maybe half to Synergistic SR 20 and now with a number of Reds.

With the many others, Hifi-tuning (never liked any of their sonic characteristics. Including another platinum plated fuse with pure silver fuse element,  which, again didn't care for the sonic traits of that material.

What has come out of this exercise is that is that each fuse has a different sonic character. Just like cables, adding a particular brand in imparts its own sonic attributes (a "straight" wire? It just does'nt exist in the Hifi world, there is always a better mousetrap! Everyone seems oto want to build the best Trap nowadays.

These tuned fuses impart more than a direct connection and we "buy" into a particular sonic characteristic, whether it is the best is questionable and hope to best synergise what may be the "best".

There are just too many permutations and different brands of fuses that May lead to a higher level of enlightenment in the way we listen to our systems.

It may be just the flavour that one may prefer from a particular band, including fuses.

I've got about 100 hrs on the black fuse I put in my Lampizator L4 dac and the level of realism is uncanny. I don't know how, why, or what. I'm just along for the ride...

To me, the Red's do not impart a flavor, although there could be a tilt or a bump somewhere in there. Their illusive quality of value is a sense that a choke point has been opened and a fog dispersed. There's a sense of moving into the room that the music is originating from.

Geoff if you know just be nice and share and stop teasing the audiophiles.

Both Red and Black fuses in my DAC blew last night.

Will have to try going up a value.

A fuse is perhaps the least complicated part in electronics.   Except for wires maybe, at least the normal kind.

Fuses conduct electricity normally and blow out at certain designed current levels .  Thats pretty much it.   No two things ever perform exactly alike.   If two fuses perform differently under normal operation, most likely there is a measurable difference in conductivity based on the design and construction.   Or just a better seating and contact with its holder can make a big difference here as mentioned.   

Regarding what makes a fuse directional, I have no clue.  So I would not worry about it at all in the grand scale of things until there is a reason.  Especially with AC current.   There could be differences that can only be determined by trial and error case by case.   If it matters to someone, then by all means have at it.

"Anyone wish to take a stab at other things aftermarket fuses do better than stock fuses? Thimk, thimk!"

I’m thimking, I’m thimking...Umm!!! Drain your wallet... Just had to say it...8^)

macdad, every device is designed to use a particular value fuse in terms of how much current will pass before blowing out.

The risk with audiophiles is forgetting what the primary purpose of a fuse is: to protect the equipment from accidental damage. Its a safety device first, an audiophile tweak second. I’m not sure how much attention teh companies selling fuses based on how they sound pay attention to making sure they work properly to-spec, which is the first most important thing.

If a device requires a certain rating fuse and it blows consistently, then either there is a problem with the device or the fuse. You want to change to a different fuse of the correct rating. Going to a higher rated fuse that passes more current is the wrong thing to do. It could result in damage to your expensive gear. All for a freaking hifi fuse!!!!!

Update ...

Robert (Mr. Golden Ears) came over for the listening session last night. The last time he came over the black fuses in the CD player had at the most 20 hours on them. At that time, he thought the black fuses were a big step back from the red fuses. He found the system bright and unemotional.

Last night the system was sounding exceptional. Here's Robert's comments with the black fuses broken in:

1.  "You haven't had sound this BIG since you had your big Acoustat IV electrostatic panels."

2.  "The system has the speed of the best solid state gear and the three dimensional sound of the best tube gear."

3.  "The black fuses have improved the system further than the red fuses did over the stock fuses." 

4.  "It sounds like a new system."

5.  "Amazing!"

6.  "This is the best I've ever heard a trumpet sound in any system."

7.  "When thinking of all the HiFi shows we've been to together over the years, we haven't heard anything this good."

Its been fun being the Guinea Pig for the SR black fuse experiment and upgrades. Now then ... there are three more red fuses to be replaced with the black fuses. Once done ... will I ever be able to leave home? Von's market delivers groceries, right? 

Happy listening fuse freaks ... :-)

Mopman wrote,

"Geoff if you know just be nice and share and stop teasing the audiophiles."

if I know? I thought everyone knew.  Don't you know?

an ordinary man has no means of deliverance.

Mapman, thanks for the tip. The designer of the DAC told me to try a slow blow fuse instead of fast.

"Don’t you know?"

Apparently either you don’t or do and won’t say. So if you do how about answering your own question? Or do you derive some kind of unique pleasure from being a tease?  Not that anyone really cares most likely at this point.  Just saying...

Now, now ... easy guys. This is about fun, remember?? 

Just finished listening to Etta Jones. In the room. In the dang room. 

At this point, I can't think of anything else to say about the fuses. The clarity of the system at this point is astounding. Next fuse goes into the line stage. Can an audio system become frighteningly real?  Just asking ...

I'd suggest that everyone using fuses  (stock or premium) adhere to the values recommended by the manufacturer. I do this and suspect that the vast majority of thread contributors do this as well.  I've had no problems thus far with the premium  fuses by following these guidelines. This encompasses all of my components over a several years period. Equipment protection plus improved sound is fine with me. .

Oregonpapa, 
Thanks for your sharing of listening impressions. I can't wait to receive my Black fuses even though I am thoroughly enjoying the Red fuses currently. If thirty dollars more per fuse leads to the improvement you describe, count me in. What could possibly be more cost effective?  😀😀
Charles, 

Fun with fuses....

Papa, yes, I know what you mean.    Next time I open up my gear I'll have to see what kind of fuses the makers stuck in there.   Hopefully up to par with the other parts.   Or maybe not.

Don’t get your panties in a twist, Mopman. Let’s see, we already covered wire directionality. So what’s left? Well, without straining my noggin too much there’s uh vibration control, RFI/EMI absorption, better metals and or higher purity metals for the wire itself as well as the end caps. It’s not rocket science. We also know that the Red Fuse undergoes quantum tunneling as it were. What else? I’ll leave that to the student.

Oregonpapa, 
Etta  in the room? I hear you! 
I have 2 recommendations of two different Ettas  (Jones and James).

Etta Jones, "Don't Go To Strangers"

Etta James, "Time After Time "
Charles, 

"It’s not rocket science."

I suppose it is whatever one wants to make out of it. Especially if all fuses sound different in each piece of gear and even more so pointing the other way.  Maybe worse....

This has been an exceptionally good thread with much participation, information sharing and most noticeably polite and friendly. I hope that we aren

Sorry for that. What I meant to say is I hope this thread isn't transitioning into a deteriorating squabbling fest. The sharing of information and many individual listening experiences has been  much fun. I would like this  to be maintained if possible.  
Charles, 

Sounds like a good idea!

Charles ...

I have Etta Jones' "Don't Go To Strangers" on vinyl. Amazing recording. 

I have really enjoyed this thread and respect all of you here,  so,  I am asking for you gentleman to chime in on a thread called,  Focal utopia Be nova vs magico q3 speaker's,  see you there. 

I have a small SR T4A RED fuse I would sell very reasonable. Also I have fell in love with the Beeswax fuse in the VAC still under break-in. The SR RED fuse did not work in my VAC preamp. Since this thread is essentially visiting the SR fuses you could reach me for any of the two topics above at gwalters@charterwest.com.

My 2 SR Blacks arrived today, one each for the separate pre and CDP power supplies. Initial impressions aren’t as dire as oregonpapa’s first impressions were. Definitely a blacker background and I can hear quite a bit more detail and better spacing of players.  I just heard a cough I never noticed before in Traffic's "Rock and Roll Stew" and individual instruments are easier to follow.  Sound is more forward and there is some glare/congestion in the upper mids, but not quite as weird as I’ve experienced with fresh tubes or in particular the CDP when it was brand-new and had a very aggressive sound. I should find it quite listenable during break-in.

What is pleasantly surprising so far is the bass, which has better texture, tonality and density - in most break-in cases for me, the bass is just about the last thing to straighten out.

^^^ Well, I did hear the things you're hearing when I first replaced the reds with the blacks p59teitel. But ... I found the presentation somehow just not right. I finally boiled it down to lack of emotional impact. The system sounded HiFi instead of "performers in the room."  It was like that for about 70 hours before it was truly great. I predict that you are in for a real treat. 

Good to hear your positive experiences with the new SR-B fuses. I have 4 coming in next week to replace the AH fuses I have in my amp, CD player and tube power supply.

From what I've read, it's going to be a real treat in terms of transparency, sound-staging and realism which I have in spades already... Will not do too much listening until 70+ hours of continuous burn-in.

^^^The red SR fuses, after the break-in period, were a real revelation over the stock fuses. The black SR fuses were just as much of a revelation over the red fuses as the reds were over the stock fuses. Gotta have patients though. 

Received two more black fuses today to put in a pair of Odyssey Kismet mono blocks at the iec inlet and I'm already getting excited for what's to come. I may do one more black fuse for my Herron preamp before I have a long talk with myself on whether to replace the fuses on the monoblock amp circuit boards. There's four in each amp so you can do the math...I did bite the bullet before and went all red fuses and it was really impressive what they did to the performance. 

But im already getting a taste or insight to what oregonpapa has been experiencing so I'm just going to enjoy it as is for a while....if I can resist temptation.

^^^ All I can say is ... SR had better not come out with the "Purple" fuses anytime soon. *lol*

Ha! I swear SR must have sold their soul because I just don’t get why these are so dang good. It ain’t right I tell ya, it just ain’t right! :)

Today I put a Synergistic Research Black fuse at the main fuse location of the SACD player ( previousyl a RED was in this place). This player is in my dedicated headphone system.

An immediated and striking improvement in the soundstage and the music was more detailed.

If you have a headphone system with Sennheiser 800, Enigmacoustic Dharma, or Audeze headphones, the Synergistic Research headphone cable really interacts fantastically with this BLACK fuse.

So far I have tried the BLACK fuse in the following:
Antelope DAC with its Voltikus power supply
Art Audio PX-25 Tube amp
Emotion Type 45 tube amp
Marantz SA11-S2 SACD player

All have had a major improvement in sound.

David Pritchard 

Hi, i'm waiting for SR black fuses to put in wadia wt 3200 transport and lamm L2 ref preamp.In my dac wadia x 64.4 i have an isoclean fuse.
Do you think better SR black in the dac or in preamp ?Boh,!
Gianni

giannicasciaro6 posts01-31-2016 4:06amHi, i'm waiting for SR black fuses to put in wadia wt 3200 transport and lamm L2 ref preamp.In my dac wadia x 64.4 i have an isoclean fuse.
Do you think better SR black in the dac or in preamp ?Boh,!
Gianni

 
From my experience, it's component dependent.   My tube amp is the most sensitive, then pre ...

m beginning to believe that although these fuses prove advantageous in all locations, Further up front in the signal path is where to start. DAC/CD player and preamp are very impactful locations. I began with one Red fuse in my tubed Line Stage and was utterly impressed with what I heard. It was more significant than I had anticipated. I'll receive my Black fuses in 1 or 2 days. They'll go DAC, Line Stage and then my two mono blocks. Fortunately(cost wise) each component requires only one 3 amp fuse.

Charles,

My Lamm mono block have two fuses on circuit boards,0,125 mA large (T), but SR black aren't in list. I think to change them with Audio Magic fuses.But i have no notice about their sound. 

Hi All,
first post on Agon.
does anybody know which Fuse value goes inside a Levinson 532h?
thanks in advance

Charles1dad,
got a pdf copy of the manual, but that info ain't in there!

lucidear,

You can pull out the existing fuse and the value is stamped on the end caps, you may need a magnifying glass.

Scott 

Thanks scott & Charles1dad,

i just bought this amp & had it shipped to my US address, but it needs to be forwarded overseas.
Hence no access to it right now.
if I don't find an answer from an owner here, I'll try contacting a service ctr.,last time though they were not of any help for voltage conversion as they said Levinson won't allow a conversion unless it's done in that country,
trouble is we don't have an authorized ctr. Within a few thousand miles...
I'll see if an owner pops out over here.

with all due respect to ny fellow Goners it is indeed a real result that is happening, not just snake oil or as easy as flipping around a fuse set!

My vote after many trials of such products is the Telos Audio line as well as they're other EXCELLENT product line...

Wig:
If you have the time and patience, put the Black fuse in the CD player first, and put it on continuous replay. After 75 hours, change the direction of the fuse. You may hear a significant difference- I did. One direction just sounds "more right". Then replace your other fuses. Does your CD player only have one fuse? My Marantz SACD player has one main power fuse and also 5 rail fuses!   Currently it has one BLACK (main circuit) and five RED (rail circuits) fuses installed.

I think you will get a great deal of insight in what changes these fuses evoke by placing them in the system in stages.

Another nice benefit of the Synergistic Research 30 day trial.

I received my Black fuses today  and will place them later this afternoon. I'll be  patient  and let the burn-in  progress as recommended  by David and Frank  (Oregonpapa). If they're  only a modest  improvement of the Red fuses I'll be very pleased given the excellence of the Red's in my system. 
Charles, 

Today I added a Synergistic Research Black fuse to the dedicated headphone system's amp. The SACD player's main fuse already has a Black fuse installed. I double checked the sound of the original Red fuse (switching directions to make sure the sound was optimised).

I then put in the Black fuse (already broken in with a 100 hrs of use). Again I listened with the fuse in both directions and one direction was better to me.

I then compared the direction optimised RED to the Black.

The Black did a lot of thing better but...

I then realized there was a degree of dryness to the sound. Especially critical to get this right when listening to headphones. I moved my front footer (Synergistic Research MIG's)  that is under the SACD player towards the front of the player 1/4 inch!  I did not adjust the back two footers. BAM ! The sound now had the emotion, flow, and detail that I so much value. So in my opinion the Black fuse is a more developed fuse than the Red, and the Red fuse makes an ordinary fuse sound terrible.

The change in sound is of a magnitude that one may need to readjust component footers, or change a system's sub woofer settings.

I found today's time and effort was rewarded in a jump in my system's ability to generate musical bliss.

David Pritchard

Its alchemy I tells ya ... downright alchemy! Where's the Wizard?

The  most amazing thing. Who would have ever imagined that stock fuses were degrading the sound to such a degree?  The only drawback I can see at this point is the long break-in period and having to listen to ordinary HiFi until the fuses break in. 

I was just on the phone with a good friend and fellow audiophile who lives out of state trying to describe what these little buggers do. I just wish he were here to hear is for himself. Hope he jumps on the SR black fuse bandwagon. 

Of course everything can be improved.  Cryogenically treated fuses are a step in the right direction as is the use of a contact enhancer on the end caps, e.g., Quicksilver Gold, which unfortunately is out of production.  Exposure of the fuse to magnetic fields can be limited by the prudent use of mu metal around Mr. Fuse. Not to mention replacing the fuse holder with something along the lines of Acme's Silver Plated Fuse Holder.

I had a pleasant listening session at Frank's place over the weekend. I have heard his rig before installing the SR fuses, and I must concur with Frank's assessment of their improved impact on his sound. His sound stage and depth was fabulous before, now it fills the room with sonic bliss of open highs, deep bass, and clear but not etched resolution. Overall, a nice improvement...perhaps I would not claim it to be a component level upgrade, but it does make for significant improvement to make it worth the cost of time and money to utilize. I placed my order for 3 SR blacks for my DAC and pre afterwards. More on my experience once they are installed and broken in.
Thanks Frank for your outstanding hospitality, and introducing me to your amazing music collection.
Enjoy,
Bob

^^^ Hey thanks Bob. I enjoyed the listening session and your company as well. By the way, the Scotch was awesome!  Nothing like wonderful tasting rocket fuel to accompany the music.

I'm looking forward to hearing your system again once your new fuses are broken in. It was fantastic before ... like Venture speakers aren't totally amazing already!  

Take care ...