@Fleschler Do you find the SR Fuses to be directional? Just curious in light of your comment you did not hear directionality in stock fuses.
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
I think the ebb and flow of discussions, where a forum participant feels another member's comments are worthy of response and might be critical of that persons opinions, shouldn't be considered a "personal" comment if that opinion disagrees with his, or anybody else's shared point of view. If a forum participant deems that any disagreement is a personal attack due to their their unimpeachable background and listening skills, that individual might not be suited to participate in a public forum. Many feel that the hyperbole attached to subjectively experienced esoteric tweaks is worthy of discussion, and even though disagreements occur, I imagine most should be able to handle it and not feel personally offended. |
Many feel that the hyperbole attached to subjectively experienced esoteric tweaks is worthy of discussion, and even though disagreements occur, I imagine most should be able to handle it and not feel personally offended.With just a change or two: Many feel that the hyperbole attached to subjectively held beliefs they feel to be beyond reproach due to their basis on the limits of what we know is worthy of discussion, and even though..... It's not one sided, like the picture you paint. There is no high ground of any sort here, only two (or more) sides to all of this, so yes, most shouldn't take it personally. All the best, Nonoise |
A hypothetical question---no snarkiness intended---for those who have heard a significant improvement in sound by installing an "audiophile" fuse in place of a garden variety one: For the absolute best sound possible, it makes sense to consider the possibility that the altogether elimination of a fuse may be expected to result in sound superior to even the best "sounding" fuse (parenthesis for the benefit of those who don’t cotton to such a notion). When I had Ric Schultz "modify" (if you know Ric, you know his mods are far more than mere "mods" ;-) my Audible Illusions Modulus 2 pre-amp, I was given the choice of having the fuse removed from the pre-amp. Being young(er) and opposed to compromise, I elected to have Ric remove it. In the promotional literature for his mod, Ric stated removing the fuse would enable the pre to provide slightly improved sound quality. Having heard the modified Modulus only with the fuse removed, I can’t testify to the truth of that claim. So my question is: Audiophile-grade fuse enthusiasts are obviously very serious about doing whatever is possible to squeeze the maximum potential out of their gear. Does that include throwing caution to the wind by removing the fuses from their electronics? ARC tube power amp owners know (or should know) that the company made the engineering choice to not fuse their output tubes, as they feel fuses in those locations compromise the sound quality of their amps. The penalty for doing so is damage to the amp in the (inevitable) case of a tube going bad. Are there any audiophile fuse proponents willing to go "all the way"? |
FusesJoin Our CommunitySubscribe to Paul's PostsI thought this would add some perspective as it comes from a very talented amp builder. All the best, Nonoise |
And, I’d like to ask if anyone knows whether after this discovery, that lots of amps are now designed with the fuse "in the feedback loop" and as a result, will definitely sound better with a better made fuse. And as a result, has the "manual" that naysayers refer to been updated to reflect this. All the best, Nonoise |
Thanks for posting. My take away is he doesn’t know. One wonders if he’s still looking. That’s what we used to call a CYA. 😬 ”With the clarity of hindsight there are many explanations of why this mattered, damping factor changes not the least of them. The point of the story is simple. Fuses matter. But why should they matter in the AC circuit? I don’t have a great answer handy. But we’ll look some more tomorrow.” |
ARC tube power amp owners know (or should know) that the company made the engineering choice to not fuse their output tubes Most good audio amps don’t fuse in this location or on the power rails save for a few PA amps I've seen. But all ARC amps have fused mains, just like any other manufacturers. Today it is starting to become common practice to do away with your everyday fuse and holder and also circuit breakers, because of the cost of these. And in their place many now are starting to use SMD (surface mount device) fuses which are around 2-3mm long and soldered in. These are saving manufacturers around 80% of the cost of using fuses/holders and circuit breakers. (sorry no snake oil ones of these, yet?) http://www.mouser.com/pdfdocs/TEConnectivitysurfacemountfuses.pdf Cheers George |
One can google to see that some modders eliminate the soldered in fuse on their mods. OPPPMOD and Clones power supply boards do away with the soldered in fuses as well. Also, I believe OPPOMOD upgrades the fuse as well as part of their work, or it could be Clones (I forget). Frankly, anything that can do away with the fuse, retaining the designers goals, while maintaining safety, would benefit everyone. All the best, Nonoise |
Bdp24 I bypassed my fuses with solid silver 26ga wire for about a month. My amp was about 20 yrs old and I felt it was pretty stable in my system. Anyway it sounded easily noticeably better in every-way. So I got me some SR fuses and they sounded better than the silver wire. I don't know why. But I do not care because me likes it. |
For those that need some different views on fuse "snake oil" in audio, in which he singled out boutique fuses here is a video interview with Dennis Had, founder/owner of Cary Audio when it was on top, also Dentron and Inspire amps. https://youtu.be/xLQsEeBKg1E?t=1791 Cheers George |
I bypassed my fuses with solid silver 26ga wire for about a month. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmyucZa6wD0 Cheers George |
As a group there’s substantial diversity of opinion amongst audio equipment manufacturers and designers. Some recognize the improved sound quality of better fuses and some don’t. Same with capacitors,resistors, wire, vibration control products etc. Opinions are all across the spectrum. I’ve read where some don’t believe in tube rolling and say the chosen stock tube can’t be improved upon. Which again is why people have to listen and make their own judgements concerning audio products. At some point of acquired experience most listeners gain the confidence to trust their ears and not care any longer what others think. Charles |
Geoffkait. I immediately noticed a weird out of phase sound from the first SR black fuses in my amps. Upon reversing their direction, the focus returned between the speakers. Same thing with the blue fuse in both my audio systems. I could tell immediately whether the fuses were in phase or out of phase. Hope that helps |
I could tell immediately whether the fuses were in phase or out of phase. Oh dear!!! Clean up aisle 4. Ask Dennis Had of Cary Audio fame, he’ll set you straight on where and how to insert your fuse.. https://youtu.be/xLQsEeBKg1E?t=1791 Cheers George |
As far as directional goes I had the same thing when putting an sr black in an Exogal Comet plus dac. First attempt it sounded sort of lifeless for want of a better description. Sat and thought, hmm maybe wrong direction is possible. Changed it round and honestly it was night and day. And this was from a fuse I had been given from a fellow member who had upgraded to a sr blue fuse in his Exogal so zero outlay of cash at all! It worked pure and simple and the direction truly made a large difference I could plainly hear |
There you go fusers, knock yourselves out. Filament is in an "S" shape for super sound. And only $10 https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ktYAAOSw6ctaoOEE/s-l1600.jpg Cheers George |
fleschler geoffkait Sorry, two cleanups in aisle 4 Cheers George |
You are 100% mistaken in misrepresenting what I stated concerning alternative fuses. Junky sounding fuses sound junky. They were not designed for audio applications in mind. Maybe the $4 gold or $10 ceramic fuses are superior for audio applications. I haven't tried them. However, for my money, I'm sticking with SR blue fuses. You don't have to like what I like. You cannot say without hearing my audio systems whether they do what I say or not. I wasn't the only one in the room when I tested directionality of SR Blue fuses. The audio engineer who manufactured the amps heard it and decided there was a notable difference. Maybe Bussman and Littlefuses don't sound directional (I only tried directionality on older, used ones) in my equipment but they certainly do for SR black and blue fuses. If you want to hear it, come over to my home and listen for yourself. |
I wasn't the only one in the room when I tested directionality of SR Blue fuses. This is simple to prove, who is this audio engineer and and is company/credentials, also you could get him to comment here, if he'll back up what he told you. Cheers George |
^^^ What makes you think Steve owes you anything at all George? He doesn’t owe you a GD thing. Tens of thousands of SR fuses sold. Tens of thousands of satisfied customers internationally, and yet ... you just KNOW, based upon nothing, that aftermarket fuses are bunk. The only thing that’s bunk here George is your constant attempts to derail good products. Frank |
🐑 georgehifi Somebody wrote: From my experience, buss and littlefuses are unacceptable for audio applications. This kind of comment about mains fuses should be deleted by the mods, as it’s only posted to make the electrically gullible think they have to buy >$100 boutique "snake oil" fuses. Cheers George >>>>Uh, George, now you’re just being silly. First of all the aftermarket fuses sound better than stock fuses. Second, most aftermarket fuses are around $20 so unless your live in a tree house you shouldn’t have too much trouble financing a fuse. Let the inquisition continue! 👺 |
No he doesn't own me a brass razoo, https://www.google.com.au/search?q=a+brass+razoo+definition&oq=a+brass+razoo&aqs=chrome.1.69... but with his comments the gullible non technical members need to be convinced with some sort of credibility, otherwise I'll keep calling BS on it. As it looks very much like shilling. He's has a total of 169 post, the majority of them are backing either you, Synergistic Research Fuses, or Synergistic Research HFT's which are another load of $350 to $500 "snake oil" BS. http://www.synergisticresearch.com/acoustics/passive/hft/ Isn't it a wonder with this sort of background that it makes one think what's going on? And it's not just with him, there are the other non technical recruits of yours that are relatively new members with minimal posts, yet very dogmatic about SR fuses and what it can do to the music, this also makes one wonder what's going on. And Geoff, all ones needs is to look at your website, and they'll know that things are not all what you want them to believe. http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina5.htm I challenge you to get just one known hiend amp manufacturer to back up what you lot say SR fuses can do, to the music and also the direction difference. Cheers George |
Second, most aftermarket fuses are around $20 so unless your live in a tree house you shouldn’t have too much trouble financing a fuse.Geoff, you may need to move to a higher-end tree house. Even the pedestrian SR20 fuses that the faithful here have blown by long ago cost $30. The blacks and blues that most here are discussing cost $120 and $150, respectively. You must be buying your fuses from the guy in the white van with black and blue spray paint on his hands, oh...but wait....your system doesn't use fuses. Speaking of manufacturers, below is an interesting post about aftermarket fuses from earlier this week by a designer-manufacturer of well-regarded DACs, amplifiers, and other electronics, "Depending the type of product we use transformers in a range between 15 and 30 VA. It means that the primary windings are as thin as monkey hair and will have a length of approx. 100 meters. The resistance of this primary copper winding is about 60-90 Ohms so what will be the effect of one centimeter of fuse wire compared to the primary copper wire." |
^^^ So George ... What was your impression of Steve's two systems prior to applying the SR products ... and after applying the SR products? Obviously in order to comment with any credibility at all, when you did the A/B comparisons with Steve's system you took copious notes, did you not? How about sharing your measurements, spread sheets and white papers? You DID take notes, did you not? Frank |
Georgehifi I challenge you to get just one known hiend amp manufacturer to back up what you lot say SR fuses can do, to the music and also the direction difference. >>>>As I’ve previously commented it appears high end amp manufacturers were inadvertently left off the distribution list when the aftermarket fuse and wire directionality memo went out about 20 years. Which coincidently is how long Rip Van Winkle was asleeep. That’s seems pretty obvious even among the amplifier Circuit Meisters and Anti Tweak Science Inquisition Council right here on this forum. Not to mention that’s probably an Appeal to Authority, anyway. Wake up! Wake up and smell the coffee! ☕️ |
@geoffkait -Geoff, I note that you’re fond of the expression ’pseudo skeptic’. Since pseudo means false or fake, and skeptic means one who believes something is probably false or fake, is a pseudo skeptic one who falsely believes that he probably doesn’t believe something? Or that he actually does believe that which he is probably not believing? I’m now going to take an aspirin and lie down... |
Close but no cigar. The reason I oft times use the expression pseudo skeptic is to differentiate those who pretend to be skeptical and curious and investigate or do their due diligence from the real skeptics who really ARE curious, who are intellectually skeptical, not just the knee jerk variety, and who investigate claims themselves rather than demanding somebody else do it for them, you know, presumably waiting to pounce on whatever evidence is presented. It’s mostly just Whack a Mole for the locals and the older set. 🤡 I have more real skepticism in my little little finger than pseudo skeptics have in their whole body. I admit to admiring the moxy and perseverance of some pseudo skeptics who demand proof and repeat the same stale attacks until they are blue in the face. 😰 Can I suggest you lie down, take two placebos and see me in the morning? 😬 |