@charles1dad +1!
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
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 |
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. |
+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. |
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.... |
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? |
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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. |
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. |
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 |
@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. |
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! |
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 |
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. |
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Jafreeman…you're claiming to hear improvement from Magic Fuses and since I don't believe (!) that's at all possible, I remain unconvinced. I believe in some things, including that SR fuses are a money making scam (150 bucks for a fuse…man…), and NO fuse can have anything like the profound effects claimed by many here who clearly are trying to get their money's worth. Or something. I can't test for deities, but I can, and did, test the black fuses (before the SR wheels turned to rendering them obsolete…no room for skepticism there!) and well…you know. And terryakhan, note that this thread is an SR hype fest so very little mention is given to other fuse companies, except Littelfuse stuff that I mention often as a well made thing…inexpensive and makes all my gear sound great, because without a fuse…well…you know. |
I like to ask and being a listener/owner of the SR Red and Black fuses, is there any competition ? I do feel and hear the improvements generated by the Red and Black and wondering if any other fuse manufacturer has caught on. I tried the Hi Fi Tuning and the Furutech Blue fuse but can barely hear and feel any improvements as with the SRs. |
Frank, I looked at the picture on your system page. Your rack is very interesting. I like the layered approach you use. It gives me a lot to think about. I will be basically starting over in the new house. Everything will be different than it is now. The first thing I will work on is room acoustics. What I can do really depends on whether I end up with a dedicated listening room or not. I have a Synergistic Research dealer here in Chicago. I might go over there and see if I can borrow some of the High Frequency Transducers and give them a try. Actually I have been very lucky because there are tons of dealers here. So I have had a chance to listen to a lot of stuff. Once I move I won't have any dealers close. The closest Audio Research dealer will be in Atlanta. fleschler, my Audio Research dealer also suggested I try the Stillpoints footers. But there is not enough room right now and still have clearance for ventilation. Once I have a new rack things will be different. Right now my racks are a hodge podge. I got them all on the cheap off of craigslist. The two Zoethecus racks are not the same color which bothers my wife. I have looked at racks like the HRS but they are not cheap and like you I also have a lot of gear. So I really need two four shelf racks or a double rack. I think having a custom rack made may be the most cost effective way to get a quality rack that fits my needs. |
Wolf--clearly, you are confused. As an Atheist, you do not believe in a deity you cannot experience with your senses or emotions--if it isn't there, it just doesn't exist; no evidence to prove its existence. Those who do believe in deities have faith, and there is no point in arguing with faith, as you well know. However, we here who report the sonic benefits of SR fuses do not need faith--we are hearing the sonic improvements. You have not heard them, so you draw the same conclusion about us and our SR fuses as you do about deities. This is a mistake. As a man of logic, you would not conclude that, if you do not hear an improvement, no one else can, either. This is a fallacy, an argument from incredulity or perhaps, false equivalence. Rather, you would question your hearing, your system, your method of testing, the condition you were in, etc. If you had further interest in the matter, perhaps you would try the fuses in a different system to control for variables. Of course, you would not believe others based on the testimony of their experiences, would you? No--that is not how a skeptic interprets the world. However, you may claim special audio knowledge that qualifies you, and you alone, to dismiss the claims of many others as absurd based solely on your unique experience of having not verified their claims. Again, the error of drawing a false conclusion and then proposing a fallacious argument. And so, you seem to be conflating your perspective of skepticism of what is unproven to yourself with others' findings based on their individually unique and, more so, their collective findings of the sonic improvements provided by SR fuses. We are here to help you with that. |
Hey, I, for the life of me, can't imagine why anyone's palate would enjoy coming in contact with grits or scrapple but there are those who enjoy eating those foods. Having lived in the south, I for one like grits, especially in the morning with eggs. Oh and fresh baked biscuits with gravy. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. |
@wolf_garcia If jafreeman or anyone else testifies to hearing a distinct effect by some tweak in their system, with their ears, who are you to tell them they're not hearing that? I'm not looking to fight about it, I just don't understand the reason behind such a stance. Hey, I, for the life of me, can't imagine why anyone's palate would enjoy coming in contact with grits or scrapple but there are those who enjoy eating those foods. |
Jafreeman…nice try, but if 10,000 people fall for what I know are useless audio tweaks, regardless of what they perceive as astonishing benefits, I'll continue questioning thus stuff. I am admittedly into logic and reason, and your claims that proof of the efficacy of Special and Magic Fuses is due to testimonials from people who've spent "600 bucks for 4 fuses," I can counter that there are clearly many multiples of that number in the audiophile community (including most audio gear designers) that think otherwise. They just aren't posting here. It's also clear from your post that you think Atheism informs my view of this stuff, and although I don't care one bit what anybody feels about that, I am less likely to have anything other than perhaps a clearer mind than any follower of magical nonsense. Also, I'll take criticism of my position all day and never tell anyone to "walk back" anything because hey, that's the Christian way to be. Amen. |
I have so much equipment that I have two stands, both heavy steel with rubber dots holding either 1.25" HDF or 1" glass panels, with top plates of 1" solid granite for the turntable and pre-amp. I use a townsend sink and HDF under my VPI TNT VI which eliminated vibration problems. Under the other equipment, I tried at least a dozen footers, preferring Stillpoints. Most Stillpoints are Ultra-minis with two sets of SSs under the pre-amp/phono and Bryston 20A power transformer. I tried SSs on all equipment but the ultra-minis sounded better on the EAR Acute, Masterlink, two big tube amps, Nakamichi 7A. I also have roller balls with 25 hardness under my VPI speed controller and a Marantz 7T pre-amp. I also use the ultra-minis on my TV cable box, Blue-ray player and pre-amp in the other system. It is not the ideal system for isolation but as Frank says, it took time to get it right. If I started over, I would buy a pair of higher end rack system |
I have been in this for a while. Originally I had a Target rack. I then moved to a Solidsteel rack. Currently I have a pair of Zoethecus racks and matching amp stand. I am thinking of having something custom made out of maple and maybe using the Zoethecus Z block shelves. That way I can choose the distance between shelves to fit my gear. The move from the Solidsteel to the Zoethecus was a real eye opener. When I replaced the amp stand everything sounded smoother, more organic. Remember I have a tube amp. I don't know what affect the rack has on solid state gear. But I have become a true believer in wood over metal except for the turntable. I still like a sand filled metal rack for the turntable. I have a VPI turntable stand filled with sand and a 3" maple slab on top sitting on spikes. . |
lostbears ... Nope, no footers. I haven’t tried them all, but I’ve found that the stock ARC feet are better in my system than all the after market ones I’ve tried. With that said, I have paid a lot of attention to reducing micro vibrations. If you click on my icon, then double click again on the other pictures, you will see exactly what I’ve done. Those platforms under the electronics are custom made. They consist of two very accurately machined pieces of high quality, high density, granite material with a thick layer of dampening material normally used to dampen our military submarines. The custom built equipment rack uses the same thinking, i.e., ... three pieces of quality plywood with the same dampening material sandwiched between each layer and then finished off with attractive material. The whole shebang is spiked through the carpet and into the raised wood floor. It weighs a ton. These are the details that when paid attention to gives our audio systems the "they are in the room" presentation. Everything is cumulative. Check out the platforms under the speakers. The speakers are spiked to the high density maple platforms, and then the platforms are spiked through the carpet into the floor. Same thing for the tops of the speakers. I’ve placed two of the granite platforms on top of the speakers along with lead weights. It has the effect of increasing the mass of the speakers. I’ve done that with all of the floor standers I’ve had in the past with very good results. It really improves the clarity of the presentation. Those two tweaks to the speakers were huge in improving SQ. If I had to do it over again, I’d take a little different approach .... I would concentrate on dampening the room first and getting that right. Instead, I did the room last and was astounded by the improvement it afforded the system. A good start would be a ten pack (at least ten) of SR’s High Frequency Transducers and install as per the provided directions. This is not a subtle improvement ... at least in my system. And they went in after the Shatki Holograms and the other room treatment I did. Highly recommended. https://highend-electronics.com/products/sr-hft-high-frequency-transformer The issue of cost always arises of course, but keep in mind that its taken me over 30 years to make all of these improvements ... a little at a time. And to think ... the tweaking all started with a set of aluminum "Tip Toes" under the speakers. Who knew?? :-) Oh and by the way, that big glass table is no longer in the room. It was very reflective and the bass improved dramatically once it was removed. Also, the speaker cables are now raised off the floor. A tweak here and a tweak there ... :-) Frank |
@jpspock I purchased two of the current production Tung Sol 6550s, cryogenically treated, from Upscale Audio. I have not sought out any NOS options, as of yet. @lak If you desire a significant improvement over your PS Audio Perfectwave transport, you Must check out the new Directstream memory player. The improvement is striking. And last I checked, PS Audio both offers a 30 day in home trial, and a $2K credit towards purchase with trade in of a Perfectwave. |
