Fact-5 amp rated black SR fuses in my large mono tube amps blew on turn-on, replaced with 6 amp fuses. which also blew immediately. Amps are rated at 5 amps. Replaced with SR recommended 8 amp fuses. Works fine for about 500 hours, replaced with blue SR fuses which are now working about 50 hours without incident. That’s the proof that fuses do blow when one’s equipment is unusual in design with huge turn-on capacitor demands, beyond typical modern equipment.
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
Before I can consider SR fuses, trust issues with Synergistic Research as a company has to be addressed. It’s hard for me to take them seriously after being exposed to one of thier greasy con flim-flam demos. If they’re a serious well-intentioned manufacturer why are they running scam demos at audio shows? |
Geogehifi 12-22-2017Hi George, I suspect the 1 amp fuses (for which "official clearance" has been obtained to substitute fuses rated as high as 1.6 amps) are for the DC rails, not for the speaker outputs. Yesterday PS stated as follows: My mono amps are sturdy vintage MFA which have been recently highly-upgraded by one of the original designers. Each amp employs a quartet of either 6550’s or KT-88’s.Obviously amplifiers meeting that description can supply much more than 1 ampere to the speakers. While the DC rail currents would be considerably smaller than the output currents since the output transformers would step up the current supplied by the output tubes, while stepping down the voltage. Best regards, -- Al |
ps288 posts12-22-2017 12:09pmJust in: I have received "official clearance" to use as high as 1.6A fast blow fuses in the signal path of my amps. Learning as I go. More later. Yes in the signal path is fine for the manufacture of the amp to say this, as it's a danger to the speakers not the amp. I thought you were upping the rating of the fuse in the mains of the amp, this they won't consent to. BTW: Which amp manufacturer put fuses in the speaker output, very interested to know this?? Cheers George |
Received a blue fuse and Telos stickers at the same time from the Cable Company. I applied the stickers first, inside a cd player. A tweezer is supplied, to pry the stickers off the plastic they are adhered to. You want to apply pressure so that the bottom of the sticker is moved, and then use the tweezer to move it to its final placement, carefully. Simply tap down on the top of the sticker when in place. Pretty simple, and quick. In an hour I started hearing an improvement. 24 hours later, the SQ is much better. I would say that this enhancement can rival a fuse upgrade, in many systems. I am going to upgrade the player's SR black fuse to the blue, so I wanted to do the stickers first. I think they do offer sonic benefits, and are another option that is worthwhile to put in place, considering their unique features and resulting SQ in relation to their cost. |
Hi George, To clarify, I am considering the possibility of increasing the value of the 1amp fuse slightly to perhaps 1.25A. The 10A mains fuses will remain the same The rationale I'm getting is that standard fuses have a wider tolerance, perhaps 10%, but if I understand correctly, the tolerances of most tweak fuses are narrower. As I said, I am not an engineer or tech-head. :) Just trying to make a fine stereo system a bit finer. |
The seller of the SR fuses did suggest going up a value from 1A after I reported the failure of one. No don’t do it this is total BS, without confirmation from the manufacturer of the amp If I can safely go up in value from the 1A fuses I will consider it. . Amps stock fuses are specified to blow just above the amps max spec’d current draw, as to minimise any damage to the amp it self, should anything untoward draw more, the fuse should blow. Any manufacturer will say no to this 1A upgrade, as it’s no longer going to protect your equipment like the original spec’ed fuse would. If the manufacture "hypothetically" said yes and you have proof of that, then he is liable to fix it free of charge + shipping if the amp blows and the 1A higher fuse didn’t protect it.. Cheers George |
@almarg "Regarding PS’s questions, I suspect from the wording of his posts as well as the rating of the fuse that he is referring to a DC rail fuse, rather than a mains fuse. Which means that inrush current at turn-on probably won’t be much of a concern, if any. However it sounds like he is considering going from a 1 amp stock fuse to a 1.25 amp HiFi Tuning fuse, and I have no idea whether the rationale I cited above for going up a rating or two in the case of SR fuses would be applicable to HFT fuses. On the other hand, though, intuitively it doesn’t sound like much of a difference to me, so IMO it is a reasonable course of action." Thank you sir for your comments. And thanks to everyone else as well. The seller of the SR fuses did suggest going up a value from 1A after I reported the failure of one. My mono amps are sturdy vintage MFA which have been recently highly-upgraded by one of the original designers. Each amp employs a quartet of either 6550’s or KT-88’s. They have a 10A fast-blow mains fuse and the 1A fast blow I mentioned. I follow a careful procedure when powering up my system. First, turn on MFA preamp with mute switches in mute position. I wait a couple of minutes. I then flip the power toggle switch on each amp from off to on. I wait a few more minutes, and then flip the other toggle switch from standby to operate, waiting until power tubes have warmed up for a few minutes, and then flip the preamp mute switches to -O DB. I tested all the tubes in the amp in which the 1A SR20 fuse blew to make sure none had shorted out. Testing included the small tubes as well. All tubes tested fine. As mentioned I do prefer the sound with the audiophile fuses, and will give the matter more thought. If I can safely go up in value from the 1A fuses I will consider it. I have requested an opinion from the amp designer. I’m merely a music lover and not electrically, technically knowledgeable. :) |
FWIW I took my red fuse out of my pre-amp mainly so as not to have to be concerned about uncertainties in the specs that matter and determine if a fuse does its job correctly (ie blow when it should). If I heard any difference at all in the sound between the stock fuse in the Audio Research pre-amp (very well built to start with, not "cheap") and the red fuse, it was so subtle as to not practically matter compared to making sure my device is safeguarded and operating properly. I swapped fuses many times up front in the interest of determining any differences in how they "sound". |
I don't blow fuses. I blow up preamplifiers. Lol I should have known better, but I was pondering what some of the best solid state amplifiers from 20 years ago sound like compared to some of today's best. I started a new thread. Immediately half of the responses are If they measure competently, the amps should sound the same. Ugh. Can't these people hear? Do they listen?? |
Innocent question: How do you know a fuse blows unnecessarily? A fuse blows, any fuse, because the energy, the current, for whatever reason, exceeded the fuse’s capability. It did it’s job. I suspect it would take a lot of effort to get to the bottom of the so called fuse blowing. If memory serves all fuses, stock and aftermarket fuses, have been documented over the years on various fora as having what appears to be “premature failure.” So I tend to doubt it is an SR issue per se. Especially in light of the fact all these horror stories of fuses blowing are quite anecdotal. Going up in rating does carry some risk, you know, since damage to electrical components can occur. |
In the case of SR fuses, my perception has been that the rationale for going up one or two rating increments from stock has simply been that a number of users (at least 8, as I recall) have reported in the Red Fuse thread and other fuse-related threads that SR fuses having stock current ratings blew unnecessarily. While I can only recall one instance in which someone reported that an up-rated SR fuse blew unnecessarily. That suggests, IMO, that the combinations of current and time which would cause an SR fuse to blow are more similar to those of a typical stock fuse having a somewhat lower current rating than they are to a stock fuse having the same current rating. Which is why I had said in the Red Fuse thread that IMO it makes sense to go up one or two ratings. Other opinions differed in some cases, as Nonoise pointed out earlier, and unfortunately there is room for differences of opinion because the detailed technical information that is provided by Littelfuse and Cooper Bussmann defining the blow characteristics of their fuses (nominal melting point in amperes squared x seconds, and graphs of maximum current vs. time) are not provided by SR and most or all other boutique manufacturers. With the warranty concern cited by Uberwaltz also being a consideration. Regarding PS’s questions, I suspect from the wording of his posts as well as the rating of the fuse that he is referring to a DC rail fuse, rather than a mains fuse. Which means that inrush current at turn-on probably won’t be much of a concern, if any. However it sounds like he is considering going from a 1 amp stock fuse to a 1.25 amp HiFi Tuning fuse, and I have no idea whether the rationale I cited above for going up a rating or two in the case of SR fuses would be applicable to HFT fuses. On the other hand, though, intuitively it doesn’t sound like much of a difference to me, so IMO it is a reasonable course of action. Regards, -- Al |
Big amps have big inrush for sure but surely if fuse rating is correct what difference should it make as to who/what fuse it is if it can handle that inrush? Even though I can hear sq differences with SR fuses it is a poor show if they do not behave as the rating on them says compared to an el cheapo Bussman fuse for example! My concern on that would be if i replaced the fuses in a piece that was under factory warranty still with higher rated fuses by SR or similar and then something occurred which caused internal damage to the equipment. I am not sure how closely manufacturers spec out their fuse ratings for protection...would going from 2.5 to 3a say really make any real world difference internally? |
I owned an MGB in college. My buddy owned a Jag about 3 years later. Both were outfitted with Lucas electrical including headlamps and rear lamps. We came to appreciate 2 phrases famous in Britain: 1- Lucas Electrical -otherwise known as the "Prince of Darkness". 2-If Lucas made guns, the world would never be at war. OK back to the thread. |
I went from a 5 amp to an 8 amp fuse due to the size of my amp's storage capacitors. They are huge at 7" X 3" pairs per monoblock. The reason given by SR is that large storage caps cause a greater surge to fill upon startup compared to the typical multi-small storage caps used in most modern equipment. My dyna 70 amp only required a step up from a 3 amp to a 4 amp fuse (although it's storage cap was replaced with one running the entire diagonal length on the bottom). I remember that for my speakers in my video room, only the same small value fast blow fuses were recommended by SR. I'm planning on replacing the video speakers so I didn't bother buying new fuses for them. |
@uberwaltz Thanks, I was not aware of that. I must say that the SR's sounded better than the basic ceramic Schurters. Maybe the Schurters will break in and improve (he wonders hopefully.) :) For those with technical expertise, how significant would a plus .25A value be? Specifically, there are 1.25A Hi-Fi tuning fuses still available. I can figure percentage but not "real world" difference. Thanks. |
"When audiophile fuses blow" I’m sorry to say that one week after installing them in the signal path of my amps, one of the SR fuses died, making an expensive hobby even more expensive. Fuses not under warranty because they are no longer available, having been replaced by the black and now blue. The amp is otherwise fine, btw. I think there’s a lesson here somewhere. :) DIY beeswax perhaps? |
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Just so there’s no confusion “quantum heating” can be construed to mean infrared heat lamps, like the one I ordered today. I have near infrared treatments, light treatments, cryogenics and quantum mechanical dodads in my company’s portfolio. Of course quantum heating could be just slow heating in an oven, which has been discussed on another audio forum. |
I was going to wait 'till the weekend to talk about the Brimar fuses but from the Telos site, the fuses are subjected to: This is similar to what they do to the Brimar fuses, which benefit greatly from it. The difference is the Brimars are cryo'd for 72 hours and the Quantum burn is done for 48 hrs. The infrared, I believe, is used on something else. I saw it mentioned on the site previously but couldn't locate in the time needed to write this. All the best, Nonoise |
