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.
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.
Why is Audiogon full of SO many angry people of late? Never used to be this way, sure there were always differences of opinion, thats part of the appeal but downright rudeness and obnoxious? The rise of the internet age has unfortunately resulted in way too many "keyboard warriors" who really have nothing much better to do.
Thank you for your recommendation on QSE’s. Will give them a try, are you using them under or on top of your components? QSE’s design philosophy is bit similar to SR’s Tranquility Base but at much lower price point. A close friend of mine using the Tranquility base underneath his DAC and he describes them revolutionary.
Anyone here has tried SR’s UEF Acoustic Panels yet?
I am also using Herbie’s dampers and combination of HiFi Supreme’s and SR Blacks and cannot deny their presence and positive contributions to the overall experience.
the iQSEs are made to put inside components, they have a magnet on the back side. That’s where I put them, near the power transformer, when possible. They also work well on top (again, near the power transformer), if they won’t fit inside, or you don’t feel comfortable opening the component up.
The effect they have, not being in the signal (or power) path, is a little mind boggling, even when you hear it with your own ears. Gives the trolls even more fits than fuses 😉
I know some members are not going to want to hear this at all and I truly cannot explain it as pure science says it should not really occur but..... I obtained a sr black fuse from a member here who had upgraded to a blue fuse. Very decent price and if I heard no difference I could just send it back to him. So it arrived Monday late post and I fitted it to the PS of my Exogal Comet Plus and sat back and listened. Hmm, I thought, might be something there but not much. So I reported back my findings and he suggested I change the direction of the fuse...yeah right I thought! However a short task so no big deal and sat back and listened again today. WTH? No way could just changing the direction make THAT much difference. Checked made sure nobody had slipped some new components in while I was not looking, unfortunately not so only conclusion is that fuse direction IS a big deal after all. The change? Deeper tighter bass, more pronounced soundstage, much better definition on strings...just for starters. Yes there will be naysayers and I was a complete unbeliever on tweaks up to just a year or so ago. But now? I'm sold. Blue fuses next please!
@uberwaltz Congrats. on joining the club of the tweaky loons. Your ears heard what they heard. Period. I'm a member of the same club and have been persistently challenged by the science addicts to provide measurements to prove that I could possibly hear what MY ears can discern. No measurements for that. Period. When the science/measurement addicts come on the attack, just remind them of the unique ear/brain system of each individual listener. Neither they nor their precious measurements can disprove you and what you hear.🙃
hifiman and uberwaltz I don't think, the posters who get a little testy and demand that we have answers to their questions, have realized that we are not scientists yet. Otherwise they would be asking those silly questions on another thread or website. They are kind of funny because they ask basically the same question over and over, and over and over, and you know. So I just think of them as little kids that don't have a better place to hang out. And I do not mean our beloved Almarg, a man who really helps most anyone on this website and always has a kindness in his replies, as do many others. The squeaky kids are ok here though, they do not make me upset. That seems to be their problem and I will let it be their problem not mine. We do have a lot of good posters here and just have to ignore such others the best we can.
Uberwaltz, You don’t have to justify what you hear in your system. Rejoice in the discovery of a tweak that’s increased the enjoyment of listening to music. Nothing else matters. No reason to argue defending your own experience. Charles
@hifiman5 Mucho gracias for the warm welcome to this most esteemed club! The ears have it! I know what I hear and although I truly would like to know the exact how and why, to heck with it tbh, it works for me and that is really all that matters. And its not like I am trying to justify an outrageous expense.....I mean $50 is what I paid, a nights beer and smoke money for some.
@marqmike Yes Al is truly a gent and has imparted many words of wisdom on my behalf.
And as to the naysayers? Honestly their loss if they truly cannot hear a difference and again that is up to them and no hard feelings on,my side at all and I wish every one of them well. But PLEASE do not presume to tell me that I cannot be hearing what I know I am hearing!
Charles You are absolutely correct and I have no intention or interest in arguing with anybody here at all. Just sharing my very positive experience. I am not sure if it is a case of some cannot hear or just will not hear any difference. As an engineer if I hunkered down, researched and put this rusty grey matter to use I likely could come up with a number of reasons based in science and theory of just why a change of fuse or direction of fuse could NEVER cause an audible change. But the facts remain that they did, in my system to my ears and that is it for me.
@uberwaltz, Welcome to the club. I was a firm believer in after market fuses but not of the directional camp. It took about two years for me to simply try the other direction and there was a definite and obvious difference.
I told myself that I didn't care what others felt and would not get involved in a pie fight with the naysayers but, I did. Don't do as I did and simply post and reply to those who appreciate what this is all about. Enjoy.
nonoise, Good advice you offered. As far as the directional characteristics I’m in the same boat as you. On 3 separate occasions in my system and 2 occasions in a friend’s system (very different components from mine) change of fuse direction was simply undeniably present.
I can’t explain why and frankly not bothered by this inability to explain it. I’m just very happy with the end result of improved sound and leave it at that. BTW for those who have tried and hear no improvement with the fuses, I believe them. I see no reason to question their hearing ability or quality of their systems. Just different outcomes, nothing new about that in regard to audio listening endeavors. I can appreciate experienced listeners who have opposite results from mine. Charles
Some retailers of high end gear I’ve spoken with in the past two weeks told me when I asked, about use of upgraded fuses in their equipment. One VAC dealer said he used HiFi Tuning but upgraded to Furutech in his VAC amps but sells them with the original manufacturers ceramic basic fuse. They recommended them as they often do NOS tubes after purchase.
I’ve had Herbies tube dampeners for over 15 years. When I used an EAR 864 pre-amp, they were absolutely essential in the phono stage to get the most out of the 12AX7s, stock or NOS. Even the stock tubes sounded acceptable where non-dampened tubes sounded unacceptable to hear.
I recently made a second, wildly effective upgrade in my system equivalent to going from stock to Blue SR fuses. Grover Huffman RCA interconnects have changed from really good to outstandingly good. The combo is spectacular. My system has increased resolution, maintaining the same tonal balance, punchier, tighter (you can feel it) deep bass, gorgeous highs, greater dynamic swings and so much more open. I always thought the Ames brothers couldn’t be separated in Blend and the Beat RCA Living Stereo, and some of their other recordings. Now each of them has their own stage in the studio. Orchestral strings now wrap around the speakers as they do in life in well recorded music. The music is a more forward sounding and the pace of the music draws you into it. It’s difficult to ignore the music and do something else while its playing.
Mr. Huffman’s wiring is a labor of love, hand built and low cost, relatively speaking compared to the blue fuse. It takes him two hours to make an IC pair at $400/1 meter. So, if you really want to double you pleasure of the SR Blue fuse, try a pair of his cables between your pre-amp and amp. http://www.groverhuffman.com/empress-1 Disclaimer, I am a friend of his but I have to pay for all the cables he makes, A/C, speaker wire and ICs. Sorry if I got off track here, but the combo is twice as good as just adding the SR blue fuse. Money back guarantee as the fuse, although warning, it takes 24 hours minimum break-in time before you can hear the bass or the benefits. Just hook them up to a tuner and let it play (without sound, just hooked up and on) for a day. I leave it in for three days.to make sure they are ready for play.
Marqmike & Uberwaltz, thanks very much for the kind words. And Uberwaltz, between your new turntable/cartridge combo and the improved DAC performance it sounds like you’ll be discovering a lot about your recordings that you didn’t know existed. Enjoy!
"Manhattan Moods" with McCoy Tyner on piano and Bobby Hutcherson on vibraphone arrived from Ebay today. Just finished listening to the whole thing. Very nice ... thank you for the recommendation. I've always been a fan of not only vibes, but marimbas as well.
Good morning Frank, You are welcome my friend. In an earlier post I mentioned the recording "Big Bags" . This was recorded in 1961 with Bags (Milt Jackson) in a big band setting. Excellent musicianship, material selection and arrangements. Just a very fine recording.
Given your large music collection you may already own this, if not I believe that you’ll like this very much. Frank as you know Milt was one baaaaad dude on the vibraphone 😊😊 Charles
OK- now I've grown interested and am considering purchasing some of these fuses. Can any of you somehow quantify the improvement of the Blue over the Black? IE: If the Black is a 7.5 with 10 being the best, where would the Blue be? Or, put another way, in percentage, how much better is the Blue compared to the Black? Also, in an all-tube system, with mono amps, where in the chain would the fuses be most effective?
Ps, I can’t answer your first question as I am still using the Black fuses (quite happily) in my system. The 2nd question regarding most effective location for the upgraded fuse is going to be a specific individual scenario. It honestly will vary via system and components. There isn’t any universal "best site" in my opinion. It’s reduced to trial and error. For me it was DAC, Line Stage then power amplifiers. I'm sure there are those who will report the reverse order of mine 😊. Charles
@ps My experience earlier this year was to replace the fuses in my BAT power amp with a pair of sr black and there was an immediate and definite difference, much tighter bass, wider soundstage, lower noise floor, no I would not have believed it if I had not heard it as I was a true sceptic. Then a few days ago I replaced the fuse in the ps of my exogal comet plus dac/preamp with another sr black and this time not much change. BUT i was then advised to try changing the directionality of the fuse, something again I took with a huge pinch of salt. WHOA, say what! I simply could not believe the difference this time!
So overall for me I would say the dac/pre had the largest change but only after I had experimented with fuse direction. So if you bite the bullet be prepared to at least try the idea of changing fuse direction as well. Good luck and report back with your findings if you go that route.
I'm upgrading some of my Black fuse to the Blue. Just waiting for my dealer to fill his back-orders. It's interesting that some SR products pop up in high-end non-SR systems.
For example, I recently heard a demo with Linn Klimax, Soulution 520 pre/511 amp, Focal Sopra 3, and Nordost Valhalla 2 cables. SR showed in the form of the Ground Box, Tranquility bases and Blue fuses.
In What's Best forum, I read about this interesting system with -Eera Tentation CD player on Stacore Advanced passive air isolation platform.. -NAT Audio Utopia 2 box pre-amplifier with outboard power supply. -NAT Audio SE2SE 211 SET mono amplifiers. -Zu Definitions Mk. IV (Rev. B) speakers. -Sablon Reserva ICs, speaker cables and Sablon Elite power cords. -Westwick 8kVA balanced power isolation transformer on Stacore isolation platform. -isolated AC line to the room w Oyaides dedicated lines & Furutech duplex outlets. -Entreq ground boxes for all components. -Symposium Isis rack and amp stands. -Synergistic Research Black fuses throughout.
That would be a good trick since, you know, the Cable Cooker is for uh, cables. The Burn In Track off the XLO Test CD might work. Yeah, that’s the ticket! On second thought, the Cable Cooker COULD be made to burn in fuses.
Au contraire mon frère, below is the lowdown. Note that it conditions power cables so mid to high amperage power fuses should be a walk in the park. I suspect Alan has a recommendation for conditioning lower amperage fuses as well. Lots of folks use it for outlets, in-wall Romex, binding posts, and other stuff.
From the FAQ on the website; What type of cables can be conditioned? The Cable Cooker can condition most types of audio/video cabling. The front panel includes RCA, BNC, and XLR connectors, plus 5-way speaker binding posts. These binding posts accept spade terminations, banana terminations, and of course, tinned or bare wire. The Cooker does not have an S-video connector on it, but Radio Shack or other popular commercial suppliers have an RCA-to-S video adaptor that may be used to condition that type of cable. Microphone cables, guitar cables, and some headphone cables can be conditioned as well with the use of a ¼” plug-to-RCA adaptor.
In addition to interconnects, speaker cables, and power cables, the Cable Cooker can accommodate USB cables, Ethernet cables, and coaxial antenna / satellite receiver cables.
So, you’re saying because the Cable Cooker can accommodate power cords it can accommodate fuses? That’s a pretty bold deduction, Sherlock. 🕵🏻♂️ How would the Cable Cooker be able to handle the wide variety of fuse sizes and ratings? Answer at 11.
Bought a Blue Fuse for Primare Pre32. At the end of about 200 hours settled down for some critical listening. Music had more meat on the bones. During burn in time some days things were "WOW" then the next day "What's the hype?" So don't throw in the towel until after a couple hundred hours of burn in. My power amp has 1 external and 7 internal fuses. I thought of replacing 2 of the 7. Has anyone replaced their power amp fuses and if so, what was the outcome? Anyone replace the fuse in their power generator, if yes what were the results (I have a
PerfectWave P5 Power Plant)?
@mewsickbuff Replaced the external fuses in my bat power amp with sr black and the internal fuse of my Exogal ps with sr black. Both instances there was a very profound change. Even more eye opening was that direction of the fuse also made a big difference so do not be afraid to experiment no matter what the nay sayers may state. My power amp has 4 internal fuses and I will likely replace those as well in the near future
Totally amazing (and highly satisfying) realizing that your gear is so much better than when you first unboxed it. So I guess wherever there's a fuse it can be upgraded. Great to know. Though the thought of replacing 6 power amp inner fuses (3 along each side wall) is daunting. I'll start with the 2 on the back plate (1 inside & 1 outside).
@geoffkait I put together a device similar to the linked video below to my burn in for the SR blacks for about a four days. Given what I heard, it seems to have taken the fuse about ~85% of the way there with another jump in performance after it settled in for another 12-15 hours. Hope that helps..
A question for those who have extensive experience with fuses: Am I correct in assuming that the primary or perhaps only place they would make an audible difference is in the signal path? Thanks. Ps
@geoffkait I put together a device similar to the linked video below to my burn in for the SR blacks for about a four days. Given what I heard, it seems to have taken the fuse about ~85% of the way there with another jump in performance after it settled in for another 12-15 hours. Hope that helps.
gltyrian, it is not going to "help" geoff for the simple reason he listens to his music through a battery-powered walkman and doesn't use fuses or cables. He just likes to keep the embers burning in the cable and fuse threads around here.
BTW, here is what the manufacturer of the Cable Cooker has to say about conditioning fuses.
The speaker cable/power cable circuit delivers
1.88A steady-state, so be sure the power line fuses are well above that
capacity. The interconnect circuit delivers 120mA of current, so that's a
much easier level. Either method (or circuit) will provide some
conditioning for the fuses.
I am still curious whether anyone here has actually tried conditioning fuses with this device and, if so, what outcome you perceived.
If I understand correctly from the cable cooker "Learn More" site:
"Playing an interconnect cable in an audio system for one week (168
hours) of continuous use would expose it to the following use value:
168 hours x 0.0002 amperes = CTV of 0.0336
Installing an interconnect on the Cable Cooker for one week results in a CTV of:
168 hours x 0.12 Amperes = CTV of 20.16
This is a value 600 times greater than that obtained under the most ideal of audio system conditions."
Makes me wonder if the regular 200 hours burn-in route (just letting music play through the system) is adequate. Better question, exactly how much use value is necessary for optimal performance?
@mitch2 you catch on quick. Why would I use fuses or cables if I can avoid them? They are obviously weak links in the audio chain. Not to mention increasingly expensive weak links. Not to mention the super long burn in times associated with those things. Same goes for AC power, AC ground, big toxic transformers, big capacitors, power cords and room anomalies. If you enjoy those various distortions and the pain of those long burn in times more power to you.
ps A question for those who have extensive experience with fuses: Am I correct in assuming that the primary or perhaps only place they would make an audible difference is in the signal path?
Probably not prudent to assume anything in this hobby.
My Marantz Sa11S2 SACD player has 6 fuses. I replaced one fuse at a time and also listened with each fuse in both directions. The next fuse was added only after the player had been on continuous play for one week. Each fuse added improved the over all sound. Even the fuse for the laser circuit.
I do think that replacing the fuses in an audio system and upgrading the A/C wall outlets should be the first upgrades one undertakes to improving a system's sound.
And they are one of the few upgrades that come with a 30 day trial and money back if not happy with the sonic change.
I can now pop the lid of Marantz players and PS Audio DAC's faster than a NASCAR pit crew can change a tire.
OK, have it your way. Almost everything. Another rare exception is the new super duper Beeswax fuse from Audio Magic which are only made to order. No waffling. But even the Teleportation Tweak has a 30 day guarantee. More to the point, David Pritchard was trying to make it sound as if SR stuff was the ONLY thing with a 30 day money back guarantee. Which he does frequently. Who knows why? 😛
I believe the reason for the frequent reminder of the money back guarantee is in response to those who frequently harp on the cost of upgrade fuses compared to standard fuses. The often stated point is the 100 to 1 ratio (or higher) price difference and how it represents extreme profit and/or waste of money.
People are reminded that if the fuses do nothing or little in your audio system, no big deal or monetary loss. Simply return the fuses and you’ll get a refund. Takes the risk out of potentially wasting money if you decide to give the fuses a listen. I’ve returned products when I was dissatisfied with them. On my initial encounter with the SR Quantum fuses a few years ago I was prepared to return them if they turned out to be unsatisfactory. They weren't. Charles
Huh? That’s what everyone says about all audio tweaks - they’re too expensive! But the money back guarantee is not protection against the high price. That’s not what it’s for at all. It’s to assure the nervous or suspicious customer that the thing WORKS as advertised or as expected. But he still has to pay for it. He can’t avoid the high price if he wants to keep it.
Yes, but if one decides to keep a particular product they have determined that the price is acceptable given the level of performance it rendered. So no need to return a product as they are satisfied on a cost/performance ratio.
If it fails their perceived value or return on cost quotient, well no problem and they return the "underperforming " product. No money loss. Charles
What kind of horribly designed components gain an octave of bass from better fuses? Did you go from 60 cps to 30, from 30 to 15, or simply from 300 to 150? I repeat: GMAFB!
charles1dad Yes, but if one decides to keep a particular product they have determined that the price is acceptable given the level of performance it rendered. So no need to return a product as they are satisfied on a cost/performance ratio.
If it fails their perceived value or return on cost quotient, well no problem and they return the "underperforming " product. No money loss.
What? Whoa! That’s what I just got through saying, charlesdad. Hel-loo! That’s why almost everyone offers a money back guarantee. What’s up with all the damage control, guys? You guys are winning.
danvignau GMAFB! Do you also use a green Magic Marker on the fuse blade edges?
Huh? Fuses have blades? Besides purple is the correct color for fuse caps, not green. 😈 Which begs the question, of folks complain so much about the high price of aftermarket fuses how come nobody ever tries to make his own super fuses? We already know the basics of what’s involved. How hard could it be? A real DIYer could figure out how to inject beeswax into a fuse. His hard could it be? 🐝
Geoff, You responded to my post with Huh? Thus my attempt to clarify. In any event we're expressing the same message. Damage control? Nope, just trying to communicate cleanly in an open forum setting.😊 Charles
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