System "fromage" seems cheesy.
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
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
2,978 responses
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Thanks for the positive report, jpspock. The SR fuses can improve the sound coming from some of the best components out there. Wolf--since you are unable to advance your argument beyond, "If I can't hear it, no one else can either, and they are all delusional", you are at a dead end on this thread. As I said, we are not going to change our minds on SR fuses, and we are not going away. Flail on if you must, as this seems to be rewarding to you. |
Hi guys, After reading the SR Black fuse thread and based on your recommendations, I had decided to jump into the SR fuse pool too and try the blacks. I bought them a couple of months ago without any expectations other than pure curiosity. My system is composed of an ARC Ref5SE preamp, ARC Ref75 amp, Classe SSP-800 processor, Modwright modded Oppo 105 + PS9.9 power supply and full loom of Shunyata power conditioners, power cables and interconnects. I put a black fuse in each of my units and they roughly have 100H on them now. I did notice a change in sound due to the fuses and some improvements but at the same time I cannot say that the overall sound was "really" better than with the stock fuses all the time. I did notice more presence but at the same time the system became more analytic and less relaxed on a few records which contradicts some observations shared on these threads. My explanation is that I was going through the breakin process and that things would settle at some point. Unfortunately I'm one of the many audiophiles who have purchased the blacks a few weeks before they introduced the blue ones. Since it seems the blue fuses were taking less time to show their potential, I decided to try them in one equipment at a time. I choose to start with the source and replaced the black fuse in my Modwright PS with a blue fuse. Wow, what a change! I cannot explain it since I only changed one single fuse but the blue fuse is definitely making a drastic improvement on the sound of my system. Much more obvious than the black fuses... I'm an engineer and honestly I'm having a hard time explaining what's going on. Cannot really believe that a small fuse can have such important impact on the performance of my system (more bass, better mid-range, lower noise floor and better timbres). On the other hand, like many here I've said, we have to trust our ears :-). BTW, no placebo effect happening here. Difference is night and day and was confirmed by wife and friends too... Can't wait to test more blue fuses on the rest of the system. Thanks for sharing your discoveries with the rest of us Audiogoners! Guy |
Just make sure that the black fuses you are using are in the correct direction or they will sound off, in this case maybe less relaxed and analytical. The black fuses took 72 hours to break-in for me but the blue sounded just as you said, great initially and gets even better after 20 to 30 hours. Good listening to you! |
@guyl Predictably, you will be attacked by the science obsessed naysayers who will demand measurements to back up your claims about that innocent little blue SR fuse. I mean who the he** are you to hear such improvements from an impossibly inconsequential device? Start measuring now so you are prepared to respond to their objectivist attacks. |
Guy ... When you're done changing over to the BLUE fuses, try replacing the stock ARC tube dampeners with Herbie's tube dampeners. You will need the Ultra Sonic RX-9's for your 6H30 signal tubes. Big improvement to be had there. Here's Herbie's site: http://herbiesaudiolab.net/rx.htm Frank |
I haven't noticed any other thread that is so relentlessly brand specific, and seemingly utilized to promote that specific product with pricing and return reminders along with noting the supposed superiority of the improved and considerably more costly version. Add the boasting of the company founder declaring the sales figures, and you have an utterly unique shill fest. I imagine when the "purple" fuse with alleged superior performance comes out in a year or so we'll get another over the top screed about it's performance…the performance of a fuse. I use plenty of tweaks like good cables, power supply upgrades, and component vibration remedies, and all of these are gladly explained by the designers using logical justification of the design goals…not so here…the fuse hasn't generally been an area in audio design that begged for improvement, and the assumption that already adequate "non magic" fuses seem, to most engineers anyway, to be doing a fine job of not melting or melting is, for that part of a design anyway, a done deal. Claim that something is better regardless of how or why, get a fan base going, and the money just piles up even when actual gear designers mostly ignore what seems irrelevant to them. It's a fuse…that's all. |
wolf do you work for one of my competitors or do you have a conflict of interest that would cause you to relentlessly TROLL people who are sharing their findings regarding a product they like? Because if you are not SHILLING for another company I cannot fathom why you would waste your time fighting people who are sharing their opinions on an opinion discussion forum. So wolf who do you work for? Ted Denney Lead Designer Synergistic Research Inc. |
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Can we stop it with the name calling? Have we lost all ability to respect each other and show basic manners and kindness? Seriously, even the internet should be a place we show civility and self control. If not, l plead with the moderators to continue removing posts and rude posters. This cannot turn into a place of anger and name calling. This site should aim to be better. We get enough of this crudeness in life. Can we please leave it out of our hobby? |
Since the Blue fuse "stomped" the Black fuse, I am surprised nobody is asking for a recall of their poor performing red and black fuses? Frankly, hype of the incredible performance benefits of a fuse is such an insult to real designers that build amps and DACs and the countless electronic engineering companies like AKM, Burr-Brown and Sabre etc. Imagine spending years to research, develop and test a DAC chip that you can sell for $50 only to find that Ted sells $100 fuses from a garage and makes 10 times your margins.... |
+1 Grannyring We as audiophiles in the general population would seem to have refined tastes. Whether they are alike or much different, they are some what more refined. It seems like this would be a place where our discussions, whether we agree or not, would be serveral layers above the norm in sharing our things in this hobby. Unfortunately it seems many themselves are a truism of the old adage 'misery loves company'. In a hobby that is meant to bring pleasure. So it seems some, using whatever disguise, find pleasure coming here to share their misery and hope that others will become miserable also. Thanks to the OP , Grannyring and all the others that are just sharing their experiences and music and not hanging their personal dirty laundry and smells out here in public. |
lostbears Ted. Julian Hirsch truly believe that all amplifiers, all electronic components for that matter, sounded the same. That did not make him right. >>>>Julian Hirsch was not quite so bullet headed. 😃 What he actually said was that amplifiers that measure the same tend to sound the same. He didn’t say all electronic components sound the same. |
Bill (Grannyring), The climate and decorum on Audiogon has changed from when I first began participating here. There were differences of opinion of course but they were done in a respectful manner. I don't find it as enjoyable and hospitable as it once was. It seems to be going in the direction of audio asylum, not desirable in my opinion. Charles |
Charles ... I hope you start posting here on a more regular basis. Your positive input is always welcome. I'm listening to a Paul Gonsalves CD at the moment that I know you would love. Do you have this one? https://www.ebay.com/itm/PAUL-GONSALVES-GETTIN-TOGETHER-JAZZLAND-JLP-9365-LP/192376171196?hash=item2... Frank |
To all ... Let's take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Lets think positive thoughts and let us be happy for the manufacturers who bring us the great products we enjoy so much. These are the innovators in the industry who take the risks, who make the necessary investments and do the marketing. If they become wealthy bringing us what WE want before they make a penny of profit, more power to them. This is capitalism at its finest in action. Remember, Bill Johnson started by modifying Dyna Stereo 70s and grew it into Audio Research, a brand loved around the world, and Bill Gates started in his garage and ended up changing the world. Frank. |
As others have mentioned, state your opinion: "a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge". If you hear a change with a fuse great. If you don’t hear a change with a fuse great. No need to bash others opinions and the other immature stuff going on. I remember when the original Audiogon would banish those that proved that they could not follow directions. +2 Charles1dad and Grannyring |
Bill, I know that you like the vibraphone as much as I as I do. I believe you’ll find this recording very enjoyable, "Wes meets Bags ". Early 1960s Riverside recording of a jazz quintet. Featuring 2 icons , Wes Montgomery on guitar and Milt Jackson (Bags) on vibraphone. Masterful musicians at work. Your wonderful system will surely do it justice 😊. Charles |
I recently purchased the CD of Milt Jackson with the Clayton-Hamilton orchestra called Explosive. This is a relatively recent recording and will definitely test an audio system. It’s dynamic and spacious on a high resolution system, not so good where the system has compression problems (such as the samples through computer speakers).. Similar to Little Band, Big Jazz is a test for an audio system. Here’s the link:https://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Milt-Jackson/dp/B00000I3ZQ/ref=tmm_acd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&... |
OK…Ted got me. I've been receiving $500,000 a month from Littelfuse as their fuse market share has gone down by .00003% due to the relentless free marketing service provided by this thread, and they noticed the lovely welcoming vibe I get with my well thought out responses to fabulously inane claims of Blue Fuse efficacy. Once any fuse head reads my well reasoned posts, he or she generally thinks,"Man, that Wolf dude gets it right…where's my Littelfuse…I hope my return policy still stands with Uncle Ted." I suggest Ted try to answer my questions regarding his designs and waste less time on his angry little rants…although why should he explain anything? KA-CHING…"take the bags to the bank Shirly, and get those workers on that Purple Fuse…we've only got 11 months before delivery!" |
@hifiman5 Don't worry I do not want to fight that battle. However, even though we do not need explanations on how these fuses do their magic to appreciate the effect they have on sound, I do believe it would be interesting to know more about how this is achieved. Not only because as an engineer I'm curious about those things but it would surely help in this debate if we could rule out the esoteric aspect of it and discuss over the technical merits. I know a few folks would still have something to say but my bet is that most people reading these threads would like to understand better how it works. Also, although it seems accepted that the blue fuses are better than the blacks, I still don't understand why a single fuse (there are still 3 other black fuses in the system) is having such an impact on the overall sound when 4 black fuses were not providing the same level of improvement. Again, that does not prevent me from sitting down and appreciating the music as recommended by @jpspock which is obviously the most important part but I can't help but looking at this hobby from the electronic perspective too ;-). The fact all of this nice music is coming from electricity, transistors, tubes and chips is amazing. @oregonpapa Thank you Frank for sharing your impressions on fuses, music and other tuning devices. I personally appreciate (and I'm sure I'm not the only one here) you are spending your precious time to the benefit of the audiophile community. Regarding Herbie's tube dampeners, they are already on my list. Thanks again! Guy |
A word of gratitude to a great company, Audio Research. And an expression that there are still outstanding companies and individuals in this world. As documented here, I burned up my Audio Research Reference 6 preamp. I chose to substitute an SED 6550 tube, the tube arced and took out a couple circuit boards and some other components. I had also purchased the unit used, so I fully expected to pay for the repair. I learned today that my preamp has been repaired by Audio Research ** Free of Charge** Thank you. Thank you so much, Audio Research. You have earned a loyal customer. And I will spread the word. |
Blue on order to replace original, general purpose Buss fuse in the driver for the Torus sub. Should receive it this week and then have a serious listen this weekend. I'd previously replaced a similar Buss fuse with one of the SR black ones in the new (to me) Audio Note Soro and to my ears it was worth every cent... or $. |
Hi Fleschler, I agree with your description of the "Explosive" recording, very dynamic and high energy big band setting. Milt Jackson playing brilliantly as usual. It begins with "Bag’s Groove" and just goes onward. This CD fills the room with terrific big band music 😊. Track 6, "The Nearness Of You " is wall to wall beauty. Man, Milt can just flat out play!!! Charles |
From a non-technical, non-engineering, non-scientific, BUT, experiential perspective, I posit that a wee dram or two of decent, if not better, single malt, and/or a hit or two (ONLY where it's legal of course) of some high-quality cannabis, will yield far, far greater audiophile satisfaction, and, at considerably lower pocket book shrinkage, than the most awesomest, rave-flavor-of-the day fuses on the planet- no matter what color they might be. But of course, that's only one man's opinion, And as always, YMMV. |
Latest equipment to show significant improvement when replacing the stock fuse with a Synergistic Research Blue fuse: Pass Labs First Watt F7 amplifier PS Audio Perfect Wave DAC PS Audio Perfect Wave Transport My mother celebrated her 94th birthday today listening to a great sounding audio system that utilizes SR Blue fuses. "The improvement is immediate and not subtle" she told me. I got a meaningful kiss on the cheek from my mother and the joy of sharing her company while listening to great sounding music. A very nice day indeed! DGP |
+1 The combination of SR Blue fuses and Herbie’s UltraSonic Rx tube dampers is amazing in my system also. I’m glad I can enjoy the benefits of both, and don’t have to choose between them. Another product that has provided similar complementary benefits is the Bybee Technologies internal Quantum Signal Enhancer. These three relatively inexpensive tweaks, have raised the level of emotional involvement and musical enjoyment in my system very significantly. I wouldn't want to give up any of them. |
