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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



oregonpapa

Showing 12 responses by parabellum

parabellum
21 posts
 
I recently had my Yamaha CA-1000 amplifier installed audiophile grade fuses all over (2 + 2 on preamp boards, 3 on tone control board and 1 for amp section) and there was an obvious change right away. At first I was wowed by the clarity and tighter bass, but now the amplifier sounds more lean. Tonight I decided to just change the amp fuse for the stock one and the bass came back but with a slightly darker sound. Would the blue fuse bring the best of both worlds? I like a warmer sound to match my Bryston gear. If for one fuse, I may just buy one to try out and see for myself but that would be nice if someone can chime in.
parabellum
21 posts
 
/discopants

I am glad to know that based on your experience that the tones are not affected. I like the warm character of my CA-1000 and I wish it is not affected too much. The added clarity and a deeper bass seem a perfect blend in what I am looking for. I think I will buy one, the 30 days trial is a good incentive.
parabellum
21 posts
 
davidpritchard:

Thanks, sure I will. I find my audiophile grade fuses to add too much clarity to a point where I find it ear fatiguing over an extended period. It brings a lot of other good things on the other hand as the system seems quicker with tighter bass. As some others have reported, I noticed too that I need to dial less the volume knob to get the same sound output from my speakers. My fuses are a brand called Audio Link from Planabox, and they are similar to HiFi Tuning per what I was told. So if people report giant leap in performance between the HiFi Tuning and the SR Blue, then I am even more curious to try it out.

discopants:

Very good and objective write up. I have noticed too often the tech crowd / engineers are the ones who are the most skeptical. They always have the same rhetoric "cables conducts the same electricity so they will all sound the same". When one curious audiophile comes in with claims that cables, fuses, tweaks, etc. improves the sound, they are among the firsts to naysay. I agree with them that the basic principle to carry electricity / signal apply to all electronics but there is just much more than just that and that I cannot understand myself. Only my ears tells me I am no fool. I recently had my CA-1000 modified to remove that '74 original lamp cord and had a proper socket installed so that I can use whatever cable I want, and as soon as I plugged a better power cable, things only got better. I can understand that if you feed an amplifier with better juice, it will have more air to breath. But how and why it affects the sound? I have no idea. Same thing for my Bryston BDA-3. I started with the supplied stock cord and hit play to have a listen. My reaction? Meh.. That's it?? After a few hours, I decided to plug a Shunyata Black Mamba HC/CX and my god what a difference. I cannot explain rationally why it works, but it does. And in the end this is what we all want I think. So for the blue fuse, I just hope they won't be too bright or add too much clarity or kill the bass.

parabellum
21 posts
 
Well, I finally ordered a blue fuse for my amplifier (Yamaha CA-1000). I opted first for the most important one, which is the one on the amplifier portion. If the results are good enough, I will probably buy a set of 4 more fuses for the pre-amplifier twin boards. Cross fingers.. I will report later after I receive and try it out.
parabellum
21 posts
 
Late to the game but last Friday I received my Synergistic Quantum Blue fuse. I only ordered the main fuse to see what changes it would bring (or not) for my Yamaha CA-1000... And changes it brought. Compared to my Audio Link fuses (local brand in Qc similar to HiFi Tuning) which affected to tonality of the amplifier and made it more lean sounding, the blue fuse did not change the tonality of the CA-1000 at all. It still is a sweet and warm sounding amplifier. There is an increase in bass weight and instruments are even more life like. I could also perceive a decrease in noise during silent passages. There is more fullness to the music reminding me of my past Mc setup. I noticed also that the highs are more natural, a bit less strident. Essentially, it does not remove anything of the good from the amplifier, but only add up some even better qualities. This is not the night and day difference I was expecting/hoping but since I only changed one, this is normal I think. Still, the improvements it brings are appreciated. I think I will slowly change all the 7 remaining fuses, a 4 set for the pre-amp and a 3 set for the tone control board. I plan to keep my amplifier for a while (say, I will give it to my son in 10 years once he reaches his teen.) so I am fine tuning it up.
parabellum
21 posts
 
Edsky,

What you experienced also happened in my amplifier upon installing the fuse. I listened for 1 or 2 hours and let it as is. The next day, I didn’t waste time and just reversed the fuse in the fuse holder and everything went just perfect. I guess it is because I reversed it but I wasn’t sure since that I also leave my amplifier (and whole setup) on 24/7.

I also noticed that before my system could be on the edgy side since my speakers (Totem Mani-2 Signature) requires very good electronics to avoid that problem but after two weeks of "24/7 on" and about 4 hours of actual listening per day, the edginess seems to be gone. and this is with only 1 fuse. I have two amp boards with 2 fuses each, and the tone board that has 3. I am very curious now to know what would be the improvements if I change them all. My amplifier is vintage so the actual fuses are, most likely, vintage as well. So far, so good.
parabellum
21 posts
 
Oregonpapa & davidpritchard,

In your experience, which component would benefit the most from the SR Blue, my Bryston BDA-3 DAC or my Bryston BDA-2 digital player, if I have to choose one to upgrade first? Both have 2 small fuses 5x20 in each. My assumption would be the component closest to the source but I am not sure.
parabellum
21 posts
 
@oregonpapa 

Changing out the rest of your fuses for the SR Blue fuses will take your system to a new level.

Frank

Thanks! Yes, that is part of the plan now that I had a taste of what the Blue can do. I only have one installed yet (7 remaining) and yet the improvements it brings are substantial enough for me to swing for an home run. Can't wait to hear with all of them installed.
parabellum
21 posts
 
Quick question here. I know that the blue are directional, but, are they the same direction in regard to the label on the fuse? I mean, do SR slaps the sticker on the fuse in any direction regardless of the audible direction?

Sounds silly but I will have to install 7 more on my amplifier. It will be one hell of a puzzle to install them all correctly if SR didn't pay attention how they label their fuses and only telling people to "reverse" them if they don't sound quite right.
parabellum
21 posts
 
@thecarpathian & @geoffkait 

Great advice and thanks. I will do as you suggested. Makes more sense to do it this way. Once done and settled, I will take pictures of the installed fuses and label them if I ever have to remove/change them.
parabellum
21 posts
 
Thank you for the clarification Mr. Denney. This is coherent with what I was thinking in the beginning.

I starting installing the Blue fuse in the pre-amplifier portion of my integrated and they are rated 5A 250V. I have read that it is better to install a fuse with a notch above the rated value (this was told by my tech with its AudioLink fuses) but I am not sure about the Blue. So I have installed one 6.3A 500V in one of the sockets (I have four to populate). I wonder if this is safe or should I stick with the original rating of 5A. This is a vintage Yamaha CA-1000 circa 1974.
parabellum
21 posts
 
@sorlowski 

Your findings are pretty much in line with mines. Actually, I have first installed a Blue one for the main fuse (the one you can change at the back of the amplifier) about 4 months ago and it made a change very similar to what you experienced. See my earlier posts.

Ever since I became a believer that not only a fuse can change to sonic character of a given component, but that furthermore it can make it sound even better. Now convinced that my amplifier still can be improved, I decided to slowly change the fuses one by one as funds allow. I have 2 pre-amp board on my integrated and both of them use 2 fuses each. Do the maths, it's costly. But still, I installed another blue in one of the socket and it made a surprising difference. I was skeptical that by changing only one out of four would bring positive results, but hey, it did. The change it brought by inserting a first fuse was a better bass response, sounds is less bloated and cleaner, and the highs are more lifelike. I just can't wait to hear the difference when I insert the remaining 3.
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