Charles1dad, you know I’m in the musical camp as well, I’ve listened to component's that cost as much as a house that did nothing for me at all, I’ve got more musical pleasure from modded 2,000.000 speaker’s than 50,000.000 speaker’s, the merry go round is always a hit or miss, sometimes, cost has nothing to do with what can make an individual Happy.
Synergistic Red Fuse ...
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?
Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?
4,839 responses Add your response
^^^ No coating noted on the end caps. I left the CD player with the two BLACK fuses on "repeat" overnight. Just started listening about 30 minutes ago. Things are really starting to smooth out now. I'm liking what I'm hearing. So far, the BLACKS, compared with the RED's, are giving me a lower noise floor, more transparency and a more upfront presentation. I noticed on one orchestral piece of really beautiful music ... Bach's "Air on a G String," that on the massed violins I could detect the individual players more distinctly. No "cringe factor" on the strings, if you know what I mean. Nice. Also, voice is becoming real again. Nice. I'm a classical and Spanish guitar freak and know the instrument very well. The transparency of the system is letting me hear around the strings and sense the wood of the guitar. Same with cellos and acoustic bass. Nice. The sound stage is wall to wall, but still lacks the front to back layering of the RED's. Don't get me wrong, the BLACKS are improving in that area too. I'm keeping the CD player on "repeat" all day and tonight too. I figure this should bring me to about the 50 hour mark on the break-in procedure. So far, so good. Stay tuned ... |
The wrong direction sounded somehow wrong, rarher poor sounding. In my case, soft, unfocussed and lacking clarity just to mention some. The correct direction snaps everything and show what the sound of the fuse does. imho, a normal fuse is not as appearent, but does sound clearer in the correct orientation. Googling Graphene, guessing it is coated on the endcaps, is a nano carbon structure and is a super conductor. hmmm, it is some kind of breakthrough material, but not much was revealed in the marketing literature of the Black fuse. Maybe those who have the Black fuse in hand should looked at the endcaps to see if there is a coating. My guess is that the fusable element could not be graphene material as there is no industry standard testing or approving such a material I would make an educated guess. |
Thanks for all the posts. I have the Reds in my preamp and amps and they were a definite leap over the Hi-fi tuning. Question:. Is it during or after the "break-in" period that one would reverse the fuse and see if it makes an improvement? If you do reverse it, how long do you listen to see if it does? |
Aolmrd1241, What you wrote makes perfect sense. However I can attest to the fact that the Red fuse does improve with additional hours of use, I just can't explain how or why. Keith if it turns out that the Red is the more musical and the Black is the more audiophile oriented, I'll choose the Red. I await further impressions from Oregonpapa who I believe is on the same wavelength as me in this regard. I just prefer audio products that induce focus on the music/emotion rather than focus on the sounday in isolation. The Reds in my system do the former. Charles, |
If Quantum Tunneling [2,000,000 volts of electricity used to condition the fuse and end caps] is used in the manufacturing process of these fuses...how could any long term user burn-in affect break in ? I would think with that much voltage, they would already be broken in,all things considered . I mean,that’s a lot of voltage to run through the fuse,which I believe is the reason that SR uses that technic to begin with.. i.e. to condition the components of the fuse. |
Oregonpapa, Have you tried reversing the direction of the fuse before leaving it to burn in? I would guess you have it im the correct direction given the big jump in clarity you are experiencing over the Red fuse. I gather from your observations, that indeed, the black is more resolute sound over the Red fuse and guess you have your system pretty much dialed in. I often encounter a tweak or hardware change which is a clear step up but somehow get nagging feelings something is not quite right. More often than not, I "Always" have to balance the it out a bit, by maybe shifting footers or room treatment tweek, e.g HFT’s to get things to my liking in the way, flow, emotion, smoothness, grainlessness aspects click back into focus of how I "like" it. Nowadays, I prefer that something added does give a smaller incremental difference as opposed to a larger difference as this is more likely to work and not leaving me too impressed and eventually scratching my head why I not longer can have longer listen periods, totally relaxed. sometimes it can be too much of a good thing! Good that things are getting better with more burning. |
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The Furutechs beat the HiFi Tuning by a lot, the SR 20's beat the Furutechs by a little. Now, I have the SR Reds installed, and they are far and away so superior to the SR 20's.." . And there is a new SR Black that is probably light years better then Red. The guy just lost his mind... out of proportion. It all depends on a system and even more on the preferences of it's owner. Cables, fuses and everything else.. hah ... far and away superior... yea... |
Charles ... Once the RED's were broken in, I didn't want to leave the house. Every CD in the collection became a revelation. I'm going to include a Curtis Counce's "Carl's Blues" CD in the listening session tonight in your honor. :-) wolf-garcia ... Be assured ... as it usually does during listening sessions at my place, it became quite "mystical" last night. Maybe it was the single malt Scotch and the blue bulb in the floor lamp. |
Hi Oregonpapa, Thanks for the initial listening impressions. I agree with David and believe more burn in time is required. Overall musical flow, ease and organic vibe is what works for me. If the Black eventually exceeds the Red fuse in this regard that will be truly noteworthy The Reds get me well immersed into the musical groove. Charles,. |
justubes2 ... Yes, you've nailed it. The presentation is more forward with added detail. Audiophile effects as you described. The CD player is on "repeat" from this morning until tonight's listening session. Stay tuned. david ... I've yet to hear an improvement or tweak that involves wire that doesn't need a break in period. My audiophile buddy Robert, who came over last night, made an interesting observation about the fuse change. He said that it reminded him of his first listen to the AT ART-9 when it was new ... "Forward, bright and not relaxed." That ART-9 today, with around 200 hours on it, is an amazing cartridge. A giant killer. In spite of the initial shortcomings I hear with the BLACK fuses, I'm not worried in the least. The RED fuses were very similar when they were new also, then from one listening session to the next one ... they just opened up in a magnificent way. I'm expecting these BLACK fuses to to the same ... but eventually surpassing the RED fuses in musicality and involvement. I hear their promise already ... as I described in a previous post regarding the Rachmaninoff piano competition at the L.A. Phil. The attacks on the piano are already better as is the transparency. Now all we need is a more relaxed and a more flowing presentation. Even if the BLACK's are any improvement over the RED's, the difference in price would be worth it for sure. Amazing products. |
Oregonpapa: Very nice real time report. The Synergistic Research products with UEF technology, take 100 hrs for the UEF to synergise with a system. So we should anticipate a longer break in period. Your report reminds me to install the fuses first on my headphone system and leave it on for 5 days before listening. Break in is a fascinating and often frustrating process. This is why the 30 day Synergistic Research return policy is so important. There is for me simply no worry about these fuses. They will go in the system- get a lot of hours on them.Then their direction changed once to see if that is an improvement and then removed and compared to the REDS. My wife Jean is a world class cook with her Viking oven. I do not open the oven door and take a taste test of her fabulous roast turkey every hour or her indescribably good pecan pie while it is in the oven. I patiently wait in the kitchen with our two Corggi dogs until it is time to enjoy. |
Did you feel that there is an improvement more in an audiophile way, but lacking involvement > over the Red fuse? Being more detailed and hearing more from the black fuse usually shift instruments closer or seemingly closer due to the new clarity, does staging become more forward? Camping to hear your further great reports, Oregonpapa. |
Well, my audiophile guest kind of hit the nail on the head. He said that he heard the hardness in the highs and also described the sound in comparison with the RED fuses as "pinched." Also commented that the system had lost its effortless musical flow ... and that the system sounded as though it "was working." With that said, I'm still hearing a lot of promise in these BLACK fuses. The're not even close to breaking in, so time will tell. The RED fuses continued improving for a couple of weeks before they really were at their best. Stay tuned ... tomorrow is another day. |
Okay ... I installed the two new BLACK fuses into the CD player yesterday afternoon. New, right out of the box: My first impressions were not good. While I heard a bit more transparency over the fully broken in RED fuses they replaced, I was faced with ultra highs that had a hard edge and an overall presentation that was less musically involving, and a flattened sound-stage to boot. Wider maybe, but not as three dimensional. Overall sound was boring. Two hours in: Things began to smooth out and become more three dimensional. Still not as musically involving as with the RED's though. I put the CD player on "repeat" and fixed dinner, ate and watched the evening news. Five hours in: Ah, now we start to boogie. The realism is back in spades. The BLACK fuses allow more information to be unleashed from the recordings over the RED's. Tonally, the piano is quite remarkable ... especially the growl of the lower registers. Things are starting to come together, but still, even though more transparent, still not quite as musically involving. I hear the promise of something great around the corner however. This morning: Okay, I'll say it right off ... WOW! I have this private recording on two CD's of a Rachmaninoff piano competition at the L.A. Phil that is amazing. It was burned from the master tape. On the first disc, it starts out with the orchestra tuning up and warming up. The inner detail of the rustling pages, chair creaks, audience coughs and sneezes and musicians whispering to each other were insightful as never before. I could hear the sound of the auditorium as if I had been transported into the venue. Then the music started. The massed strings were gorgeous and very present. Not strident at all. The topping on the ice cream sundae was the sound of the piano. Extremely fast stops and starts, excellent dynamics and tonality. Like the RED's, I could hear the sounds that the piano itself makes ... the wood, the hammers, the petals. Nice. At this point, are the BLACK's as good or better than the RED's? In most ways, a resounding yes. BUT ... there are still some very important things missing. The most important being a lack of musical involvement. Its getting better ... but no Kewpie Doll yet. We've all heard those systems that have transparency in spades ... a sound stage to die for ... dynamics galore ... and yet you're still left wanting, right? That's where the system is at at this point. Great in most ways ... but ... but ... a bit boring. Fast forward ... The CD player has been on repeat all day now. Mr. Golden Ears (Robert) is coming over tonight for a listen. He was completely blown away with the improvements the RED fuses made. Robert is a good sounding board. He hears like a bat and is a tough critic and cynical as hell. We'll see. Stay tuned for an update either late tonight or early tomorrow. In the meantime ... Happy listening ... |
Marqmike, I've only had them since Jan 11. I would agree that they are changing, but I've listened to so many different albums that I'm mainly just repeatedly surprised by what is revealed. I've thought of getting some more for my Benchmark DAC, but I'll echo what someone else said, "Do I want more of what these are doing?" I'll exchange for the Black if there's consensus it's better. Thanks for compliment. It still feels odd to wax poetic over a fuse. |
Electroslacker Nice report on the 'reds'. How long have you had them in? Mine went through noticeable about 50hr run in time before my system felt stabilized. At first 7-10hrs it had more perceived detail, next at the 10-30hrs it seemed the tonal balance moved all over quite often. At 30-50hrs it proceeded to move toward more tonally coherent sound, more natural sound, quieter background, can see into the sound stage farther. And in the end it sounds like I upgraded the whole system a significant amount. |
I know the interest has shifted to the Black being the new Red, but I’ll conclude my listening impressions of the Red. This has been one of the most curious experiences of my listening life. On one side, there’s a sense of reporting on Unicorns, but on the other is the sense that this is one of the most dramatic and puzzling improvements I’ve heard in swapping “components.” If I had heard this change with a $10K preamp, I would understand why others were paying those prices. In my own limited experience, it is somewhat like comparing the “fatter” sound of the Conrad Johnson preamp I auditioned to a less lush, but truer sound, of the Audio Research LS3, except there are more dimensions of change with the Red, including more percussive impact. I have literally not recognized some tracks until the lyrics kicked in. That should imply some type of distortion, but in fact, the change is always towards the clearer, less congested, and “sounds real.” I still think the Reds render more mid-to-high content, which could sound bright or screechy on some systems, and I’m still not sure about deep electric bass, but my own conclusion is that the Reds open a clearer window to the original recording. After listening to a broad range of recordings, I see the trend that tracks recorded to preserve the actual live sound are rendered with remarkable clarity where voices, instruments, and percussion sound more real. But on tracks where the presented sound is a product formulated in a recording studio, the Reds can dissect this manipulation to reveal the adjustments made at the soundboard. It’s just a fact that a lot of popular recordings were engineered for a sweet spot of basic speakers and a sound demographic, and it seems that manipulation is sometimes not as pleasant when revealed by the Reds. For a single example, on Leo Kottke’s Peculiaroso album, the strings shimmer and Leo’s voice sounds “in the room,” but on some of the more heavily engineered Beatles albums, you hear the adjustments done at the soundboard. There is less of a “wall of sound” homogeneous presentation, and this can occasionally be less pleasant than what we are used to. If the record collection is heavily on the created soundscape side, then a decision is needed on whether you want to hear down to that level. Still amazed and puzzled. Unicorns appear to exist. Looking forward to reliable ears reporting the differences with the Black. |
Oregonpapa: Absolutely yours is the best approach- one change at a time with time to digest what the change has done. It is easy to rush things and then not be happy with the changes. Vibraphones- inspired by angels having conversations. Do not forget Gary Burton, and Red Norvo. The marimba is another wonderful instrument. The warmth of those vibrating blocks of wood sound very good to me. Hopefully BLACK fuses arrive tomorrow. David Pritchard |
Hi Oregonpapa, OH yes, I like Lem Winchester, I have an excellent recording of him with Oliver Nelson called "Nocturne ". Nelson plays both alto and tenor saxophones and I'm sure you'd really enjoy it. The label is Prestige and it's very good. Winchester died tragically in his thirties while handling his gun that went off accidentally. Charles, |
charles ... Here's a vibraphonist you may like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxpD7_nZ1uI&list=RDdxpD7_nZ1uI#t=50 And a cellist you may like as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9xmciqBZKc Looking forward to the postman today. The BLACK fuses may be in today's mail. |
Oregonpapa, The size of your collection exceeds mine but we do share similar taste. I love the vibraphone. I don't have much of Tjader, but a lot of Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Victor Feldman and Steve Nelson. I heard the youngest Marsalis sibling (Jason) playing the vibraphone in concert and it was pure musical beauty. What a wonderful sounding instrument. Charles, |
^^^ david ... I've read several reviews on the SR Teslapex. I'll try one after the system is sporting all BLACK fuses. I like to do one tweak at a time just to gauge the improvement for a few weeks at each stage. Weird, I know ... but that's me. Thanks for the heads up on Zuill Baily. I love the cello. Its the closest to the human voice. Charles .... It looks as though we have the same record collection. How are you set for Cal Tjader? He's my favorite vibes player. Saw him live at Zardies jazz club in Hollywood when I was in high school. Beatles who? Elvis who? *lol* |
Oregonpapa: As you are using an older Oyaide outlet, I do hope you will consider trying a Synergistic Research Teslaplex SE outlet. Since it comes with a 30 day trial, there is not much to lose. In my system there is a significant sonic change between the Oyaide and Teslaplex. I think the change is worth hearing, and then deciding which works better for your system. Clifford Brown- great music. First purchased LP 1970 - I liked the cover art so I bought it. The great music was a bonus! Today I get to hear the wonderful cello player Zuill Bailey playing live solo Bach. The auditorium only holds 190 poeple.To me this is Jazz composed in the early 1700's. His CD's are moving! David Pritchard |
Oregonpapa, Yep, Contemporary, Prestige, Riverside and Columbia all recorded jazz very well with early stereo in the late 1950s -1960s.Blue Note had wonderful artists on their label but lagged behind the aforementioned labels in sound recording quality IMO. Clifford Brown of course is a jazz trumpet icon, one of the absolute best. The thing is that Miles,Thad Jones,Fats Navarro, Chet Baker and Kenny Dorham are among my favorites also. They all are so unique and expressive in their own approach, I admire them for different reasons. Charles, |
Hi Davidpritchard, my sentiments exactly about the full furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's, but I fixed that by useing zinc highly magnetized screw's in place of the stainless steel none magnetic screw's, sksos-steven has just received two ncf furutech gtx-rhodium outlet's for review, he will be posting his comparisons of the original furutech gtx-rhodium and the ncf on the taralabs thread after they burn in, I'll pass along what he has to say, if it's a substantial improvement, I'm buying them. |
King .... I'm using an older Oyaide outlet ... not sure of the model. I bought it at the CES a number of years ago. The distributor was having a two for one sale. I bought two ... one for the stereo system and one for the TV system in the other room. Charles and davidprtichard ... I have several copies of that Curtis Counts "bounce" record. It came in several covers over the years. That was on the Contemporary label. Contemporary recordings have amazing sound. They knew how to record music.The Fantasy reissues (Berkeley) are really well done ... and reasonable in price too. I also have that Bluesy Burrell record. Kenny Burrell is pretty much my favorite jazz guitarist. How about Clifford Brown? IMO Zee best trumpet player on the planet. Too bad Clifford left us as such an early age. |
Jack Shelton- Great trumpet player and a really funny guy on the old television shows. These wonderful fuses and A/C duplexes allow us to hear so much more detail with correct harmonics, it makes the music connect on such a stronger level. Even with pre instalation burn in, I have found the A/C duplex takes about a week of being used in a system to reach its final sound. Although a lot of work, I compared the Synergistic Research Teslaplex, Oyaide R1, and the Furotech GTX-R A/C, receptacles in my system. My audio circuit has 5 outlets on one line. My final choice has been 4 Synergistic Research Teslaplex outlets and one Furutech GTX-R outlet. more than one Furutech created a too much situation. Like too much salt on a perfect steak. The Synergistic Research BLACK fuses are supposed to arrive Friday. It certainly will be interesting and educational comparing their sonic changes with the RED fuse. Synergistic Research (on their Facebook site) says their fuses can be used together in the same componet. So no need to install all BLACK versus all RED fuses. David Pritchard |
mid40sguy69 posts01-20-2016 8:20pmKevin said they would be fairly busy until March. If I sent my Sigma the first week of March it would be less than two weeks turn around. That's why I'm shipping my SigMKIIa in March. I run an all tube system in the winter to keep the house warm so can't live without my only pre in the coldest months. :-) |
The sound is still improving in my system. I'm not sure if it is the continued break in of the SR Reds or the Afterburner 8 outlet (which has 160 hours via the Audioharma cooker). Overall effect is increased purity, resolution and just a very beautiful organic character. I'm listening to two very familiar and loved recordings "Bluesey Burrell" and "The Hawks Relaxes". Both feature Kenny Burrell and Coleman Hawkins in a quintet setting, just wonderful. The instrument tone and body are so right. Burrell's guitar chords are just gorgeous and harmonically rich and fully saturated as they sound live. If the Black fuses manage to take this further, oh my! Oregonpapa I'm very grateful for you originating this thread, these fuses are something quite special. Charles, |
Gwalt, What was the turn around time at Vac for SE upgrade? Brent quoted me 2 weeks. BTW, according to Kevin, correct direction installing the fuse in SigMKIIa is looking at the back of the unit putting the fuse into the holder, the arrow should point left-to right. I tried AM initial fuse offering and found mid elevated in SigMKIIa. I much prefer SR RED. mid40sguy68 posts01-18-2016 8:38pmI ordered a BLACK from The Cable Company. Should have it in less than two weeks. This will go into a Modwright Oppo 9.0 power supply. I don't plan to replace the RED in my amp. Will post my thoughts on the BLACK whenever it gets here.. I get all my fuses from theCableCo... The correct direction installing the fuse in PS 9.0 is rear to front according to Dan. I always ask designers for correct installation direction. audiolabyrinth3,729 posts01-18-2016 7:39pmKnghifi, I’ve got some very positive feedback from my friend sksos1, Steven, on the new NCF furutech connectors, he is very impressed, Steven said that the wpo’s have not started shipping from Japan yet, when they do knghifi, I’m buying them from Steven, his company is called, sound of silence, yes, the very same maker of vibraplane air isolation platform’s for audio. I know Steve ... Sound of Silence is ~35 minutes from my home. |
Gwalt: Your approach is certainly the best, but it takes time and effort. The Synergistic Research slow blow fuses are shipping as of today.. I very much look forward to gwalt's observations with the Audio Magic and RED fuses, and also to my reactions comparing these new BLACK fuses to the REDS and the original SR20 fuses. David Pritchard |
Hi Charles: I only have tried HIFI Supremes so far over stock in the Border Patrol. A nice change for sure but I think the SR, AM, AH will beat them out when I get around to trying. The reason I picked the VAC to try some out is because I can hear the flavor change down the line with just one fuse and decide. The RED in the VAC was quieter and more extended (especially bass) over the Supreme. I am now trying the beeswax in the VAC for the RED. BTW I only paid $20 more for the beeswax than the SR Black. I am just trying one at a time to get the balance and since the VAC feeds everything thought it was the place to start. Jerry at AM thought this is the only way to go. I really don't know what I am wanting until some magic appears in my own room but it will be interesting to watch the results on this forum. gwalt |
Knighifi: You won't regret the VAC upgrade to SE but mine took maybe 200 hours of break-in but worth it in the long run. I have ordered the AM beeswax for the VAC to compare to the SR RED in it now. The front end should tell some story on the backend with flavor to balance the system without going nuts with everything. These fuses are bargain flavor balancers and SR sure has changers a plenty. OMG what next? gwalt |
