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The new Synergistic Research BLUE fuses ....

New SR BLUE fuse thread ...

I’ve replaced all 5 of the SR BLACK fuses in my system with the new SR BLUE fuses. Cold, out of the box, the BLUE fuses stomped the fully broken-in SR BLACKS in a big way. As good as the SR BLACK fuses were/are, especially in comparison with the SR RED fuses, SR has found another break-through in fuses.

1. Musicality ... The system is totally seamless at this point. Its as if there is no system in the room, only a wall to wall, front to back and floor to ceiling music presentation with true to life tonality from the various instruments.

2. Extension ... I’ve seemed to gain about an octave in low bass response. This has the effect of putting more meat on the bones of the instruments. Highs are very extended, breathing new life into my magic percussion recordings. Vibes, chimes, bells, and triangles positioned in the rear of the orchestra all have improved. I’ve experienced no roll-off of the highs what so ever with the new BLUE fuses. Just a more relaxed natural presentation.

3. Dynamics ... This is a huge improvement over the BLACK fuses. Piano and vibes fans ... this is fantastic.

I have a Japanese audiophile CD of Flamenco music ... the foot stomps on the stage, the hand clapping and the castanets are present like never before. Want to hear natural sounding castanets? Get the BLUE fuses.

4. Mid range ... Ha! Put on your favorite Ben Webster album ... and a pair of adult diapers. Play Chris Connor singing "All About Ronnie," its to die for.

Quick .... someone here HAS to buy this double album. Its a bargain at this price. Audiophile sound, excellent performance by the one and only Chris Connor. Yes, its mono ... but so what? Its so good you won’t miss the stereo effects. If you’re the lucky person who scores this album, please post your results here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRASONIC-CLEAN-The-Finest-Of-CHRIS-CONNOR-Bethlehem-Jazz-1975-NM-UNPLAYED-...

Overall impressions:

Where the RED fuses took about 20 hours to sound their best, and the BLACK fuses took upwards of 200 hours of total break-in, the BLUE fuses sounded really good right out of the box ... and that’s without doing anything about proper directional positioning. Not that the BLUE fuses don’t need breaking in, they do. The improvement continues through week three. Its a gradual break-in thing where each listening session is better than the last.

Everything I described above continues to break new ground in my system as the fuses continue breaking in. Quite honestly, I find it difficult to tear myself away from the system in order to get things done. Its truly been transformed into a magical music machine. With the expenditure of $150.00 and a 30 day return policy there’s really nothing to lose. In my system, its like upgrading to a better pre amp, amp, CD player or phono stage. Highly recommended.

Kudos to Ted Denney and the entire staff at SR. Amazing stuff, guys. :-)

Frank

PS: If you try the SR BLUE fuses, please post your results here. Seems the naysayers, the Debbie Downers and Negative Nellie’s have hijacked the original RED fuse thread. A pox on their houses and their Pioneer receivers.

Frank



128x128oregonpapa

Showing 3 responses by auxinput

auxinput
2,920 posts
 

I may have to try one of these BLUE fuses sometime in my source equipment.  Maybe next year because I already have too much stuff on my project list for now.

That being said, there are several good points mentioned here on both sides.  The fuse is NEVER going to be a magic bullet to make your system sound perfect.  It is a tool/tweak to allow you to tune your system in a direction that you want to go.  On the other hand, yes it is only a 1" length of wire, but that wire can have a significant effect on the sound as the unit pulls in A/C current for its power supply (which has a big effect on overall sonic signature).

In my research/testing, there are several elements that can contribute:

- resistance/slew - this affects how fast the power supply can start to pull in current from A/C when there is a drop is voltage.  This can affect how fast the audio sounds and can also affect leanness in sound.

- electrical resonance - the fuse will have an electrical resonance/vibration as it charges/discharges.  This can affect the harshness of the sound and can also cause sound to be weak/distorted (if there is a lot of resonance).

- metallurgy - this will have an affect the sonic signature just like anything else (such as interconnects).  Silver vs gold vs copper vs rhodium vs brass.  It all has an influence.  For example, a gold plated copper Isoclean fuse can be fine for pulling in large amounts of current, but it may not respond as quickly for tiny/fast changes (which can affect high frequency resolution).  This can translate into a warmer/richer type of sonic signature.  This is probably hand-in-hand with the resistance/slew characteristic above.

auxinput
2,920 posts
 
PADIS are not bright sounding.  I would actually say they are slightly rolled off in the highs and a tiny bit warm when compared to a true Furutech.  The Furutech may be described as lean/bright because it is so revealing, but in my opinion the truly bright fuses are Synergistic SR20 and Hi-Fi Tuning Supreme (because of the silver).
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

@jkuc - per your statements below:

Furutech fuses are rebranded Padis. The only difference Furutech’s are cryo treated (and more expensive :) ). Padis rolled off in highs doesn’t mean it’s not bright.
Furutech: bright, dynamic, detailed, lean. Padis must share "the housesound" . I haven’t tried Padis though.

Furutech fuses are NOT rebranded PADIS fuses. They are not the same thing. It is true that PADIS is the company that manufacturers the Furutech fuses. However, the generic PADIS fuses available on ebay for $25 plus shipping from Germany are NOT the same thing as Furutech fuses. Please see my testing results here:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/padis-vs-furutech-fuses

It could be that one difference are that Furutech fuses are cryo treated. However, I suspect that the Furutech fuses also have a thicker rhodium plating on them. There were definitely some corners cut with the generic PADIS fuses because they do not sound the same at all. The PADIS will share a "house sound" with the Furutech, but the Furutech are significantly better. The audible difference is obvious. The extra $25 you spend on the Furutech is worth it, unless you are on a very tight budget or if you just cannot get yourself to spend that much.

Please do not make statement based on your assumptions unless you have actually tested and listened to these items.

As far as brightness, I have listened to Furutech, PADIS, Hi-Fi Tuning and Synergistic SR20 side by side, swithing out fuses one at a time.  The Furutech fuses are definitely resolving, but I would not call them bright.  The SR20 and Hi-Fi tuning are definitely bright because they push the upper mids and highs.  the PADIS is warm sounding in comparison to these, but very even and natural overall.

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