The new Synergistic Research BLUE fuses ....
Thank you sir. I can tell a slight improvement since my previous post. I’m listening to J.J. Cale/Eric Clapton "The Road to Escondido" now, the last time I put it on, I couldn’t get through side 1 before taking it off. It really sounds very good now. Instead of listening to a good recording, as before, now I'm listening to them perform in a small club venue. Steve |
So there is now a video comparing the Black & Blue fuses, along with stock & a 4th unnamed fuse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1aAnGEQtFY Can anyone hear any differences between the 4? The 1st one is the worst sounding, but the other 3 are kinda hard to tell apart. |
So a video of the Blue vs Black fuse along with stock & a 4th unnamed fuse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1aAnGEQtFY Can anyone tell the differences? |
So a video of the Blue vs Black fuse along with stock & a 4th unnamed fuse was made... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1aAnGEQtFY Can anyone tell the differences? |
Today I finally got around to swapping the Blue outlet for the Black one currently powering my main system. At 63, this amounted to aerobic exercise with much grunting and sweating, given all the gear and furniture I had to move--not to mention some scary dust bunnies and startled spiders. It has been a while since I was last back there! Despite the new outlet and all the cables I disturbed today, I'm looking forward to tonight's listening session and those throughout the coming week. Since much of my gear is powered 24/7, hopefully I'll quickly get through the initial burn-in. I have to say my system has been sounding so good lately I'm a bit anxious about the change. Also, I have three more SR Blue HC power cords I bought on the three-for-two special waiting for me at the post office so this week will test my self control. I fully intend to try to draw a bead on the differences between the Blue and Black outlets over time and report back before further throwing my system back into temporary chaos. |
inforguy5068
I have both Black and Blue fuses and prefer the blue overall. It was easy to tell which fuses were stock as the difference is so great between 2 & 3 and 1 & 4 (stock). The Black duplex outlet is also very superior to stock outlets including hospital grade Hubbells (then again so are my older Reds). I'm not anxious to install Blue duplex outlets at this time (I'm almost 63 too). The fuse change was especially easy with the Blue fuse sounding better immediately versus the 72 hour break-in period for the Black. Get the Blue fuse and enjoy better music without the wait. |
I replaced the SR Black outlet powering my main system with a Blue outlet three days ago. It sounded good right out of the box and into the wall. My first impression was that it in no way was a step back from the Black. After giving it and all the cables and gear I had to move around several hours to warm up and settle, I noted better detail and texture due to a much quieter background as well as greater air and extension. Drive and pacing seemed improved as well. At 24 hours, I thought things took a bit of a step back, the sound seeming a bit bright and threadbare. I am now over 72 hours in at this point and I am loving what I am hearing. Dynamic contrasts are much more apparent with quicker transients--especially clear on percussion instruments such as congas. Bass has better weight and definition has taken another big step forward. The sound was very relaxed with great clarity and detail. By far the biggest difference I detected between the Blue and the Black outlets was the much blacker background against which instruments and voices were placed. Imaging was improved with the sound-stage being more clearly rendered placing instruments and voices more in their own spaces. Even audience noise and applause was dramatically clearer and more distinct. I don't know how they did it, but the Blue outlet is another big step forward. Next week I will introduce three more SR Blue UEF High Current AC cables into my system as I shift more and more away from earlier generation Nordost AC cables (Brahma and Vishnu). I thought that my first Blue cable was a great addition at a quite reasonable price and with the October special of three for the price of two and a 30 day trail period I'm jumping in with both feet. Geronimo! |
I’m getting great results with an SR Blue fuse in my REL S/5. It bumped a Black fuse into my R-328 to replace a Hi Fi Tuning fuse. Good stuff! (And I am not affiliated in any way with SR or any other audio-related company. I pay cash up-front for everything.) And check out Vanaessa Fernandez’ Levee Breaks album. More good stuff!!! |
Just installed the blue outlet. Right before, I had just finished listening to Richard Thompson "Rumor & Sigh". I put on side two after the outlet install. On "Don't Sit on my Jimmy Hand", what were before faint instrumentations are now brought forth. They are more prevalent and relevant. There is a sense of delicacy in the lighter notes. Yes, this is just the beginning. |
slaw: A very nice description of what the Synergistic Research Blue outlet does for a system. And you are correct - this is just the beginning of the sonic improvements that will occur. It will increase that sense of delicacy and also the harmonic textures will become richer and more complex. I am glad you gave the Blue outlet a try! David Pritchard |
Thomas A few weeks ago I installed an SR Blue duplex outlet and a UEF AC cable to the Nordost QB8 power distributor powering my main system replacing a Shunyata Viper Zitron. I also added an SR Blue fuse to my REL S/5. To summarize, bass took on more detail, weight and texture. Transients became quicker and more powerful. Voices and instruments sound more "in the room" and more clearly occupy their own spaces in the sound stage with an improved sense of "air" around them. There was also more unforced detail as the noise floor was pretty dramatically reduced. Furthermore, a bit of glare I hadn't realized was there was eliminated. Today I added three more SR Blue cables I got on the 3-for-2 deal to replace some Nordost Brahma and Vishnu cables. This required tearing the system apart and disturbing almost everything. At only three hours in, I can only say that the sound is still consistent with the characteristics described above. I'm looking forward to the next days and weeks of musical enjoyment and beyond. Hope this helps. |
@ andynotadam Thanks a lot for your detailed report. I had bought top Synergistic Research Power cables 18 years ago at 1.5k$ after home audition. That made DCS Elgar Dac more transparent with improved details. Since then I had used Analysis Audio Power cables which I feel more neutral and balanced. I shall place order for 3-2 deal of Blue power cables. I also look forward to getting good results. Thomas |
@uberwaltz, I’m very familiar with the value of great tweaks. So much so, that I’m more than willing to wait for those tweaks to morph into a better version or the best tweak to appear from another manufacturer. My system sounded great before this tweak. So, my main focus is music. And yes, there’s a lot of great music being released now. Steve |
I hear you Slaw. Likewise on present system sounding good but every tweak I have invested in over last few months after doing a lot of research before spending money, has elevated it a little at a time. I would say one of most profound results is reduction of background hash, most,noticeable on phono input. More air around everything and just basically more depth and feel to the music. And as you rightfully state... It truly all is about the music ! |
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Elizabeth A little 120v never hurt anybody. It's as good as a double espresso in the morning to get you ready for work...lol. Now one leg of 480v.... Ouch that hurts! Still have all my fingers and toes though,none been burnt off by high voltage yet. And yes I work with 480v and even 600v line's at work in my real job. |
I am a happy user of SR Blue fuses and a Black UEF power cords well as a couple of other very good power cords (Cerious Tech Yellow and Archon Audio Blue). I am looking to upgrade my power cords and saw the new SR Blue power cords are available....and on an October 3 for the price of 2 special. I was also considering the Cerious Technology Matrix or the new Audioquest Thunder. I was wondering if anyone has compared the new SR Blues power cord to the SR Black or the Cerious Tech Matrix or Audioquest Thunder? |
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Pass Labs certainly make some wonderful products. The PassX350.5 amplifier does not use fuses but instead uses a circuit breaker. Many of the smaller Pass amps such as my Pass Labs INT-60amp, their headphone amp HP-1, and the First Watt 7 do use fuses which are easily removed (as uberwaltz3 described). I have upgraded these three amps with the Synergistic Research Blue fuses and am very happy with the sonic improvement. The sense of increased soundstage depth and a more relaxed flow to the music makes the Blue fuse worth trying. David Pritchard |
I own a decent solid state integrated. I put in some hi fi tuning fuses that I'd bought on sale and was satisfied with the results. Not dramatically different but noticeably better, though not nearly of the magnitude of improvement resulting from the Nordost Frey 2 power cord. Recently I bought my "last amp" (don't laugh.) A new Cary sli-80 integrated, an all tube unit with all the factory upgrades. After burning it in for over a hundred hours, the first order of business was replacing the abysmal stock Electro Harmonix tubes with nos Amperex, RCA, and Psvane kt120 output tubes. These tubes completely changed the amp for the better. Somehow, the SR Blue fuse caught my eye. Even though I'd exceeded my budget and burned through all my "fun money", I decided to take a chance. Heck, I could always send it back. Shocked, stunned and amazed are adjectives a bit too strong for my reaction but it's safe to say that I'm more than pleasantly surprised. It ticks all the audiophile boxes but I'll particularly mention that activity deep in the soundstage that was previously vague is now clear and easily identified. I've been in the audio hobby for decades, including 12 years in retail (c-j, Airtight, Accuphase, Verity Audio, etc.) I've heard many tweaks. I'm pretty confident in saying that, for me, in my system, this is the most cost effective improvement I'm aware of. |
Please add me to the club I have two power cables supplied by Bryston came as a matched pair for the amps ( caveat, although the same, could measure different. Assume the same ? ). Both plugged into Torus TOT AVR and up to the Headamp GSX Mk2 so at the Amp end could not see the difference when I changed the power connection over. I picked the Blue fuse several times not once did I get it wrong, better sound by far more transparent, clean natural vocals etc. Worth the extra for me. Note this was with a New Fuse not burnt in More to follow as I will try 5 with my main system in a few weeks as these are burning in at the momnet |
At some point this is
probably what I'll end up doing. I was hoping someone already had the change to experiment with both and could share their thoughts. Even though in my system Furutech fuses are perfect and leave nothing to be desired, all the hype surrounding SR Blue really turned on my interest. Both SR and Furutech are getting very favourable opinions from users, but I only found separate reports on each. So at this point I really don't know if I SR Blue would be an upgrade or just a side step for me. |
I have done this experiment! Furutech fuse versus the Synergistic Research Blue fuse. Both are an improvement over stock fuse. The Blue fuse will give you a sense of “more”. More complex harmonics to notes, more 3D soundstage, and more emotion to the music. The Furutech is more analytical, dry, precise. I do think in a system that already has the sonic imprint that a Furutech R outlet imparts, the SR Blue fuse would be an excellent choice. David Pritchard |
I replaced SR Red fuse in my SE 300B amplifier by SR Blue fuse. Before this changing my system sound was extremely well balanced. After installing SR Blue fuse, The sound from scratch was dull. After 1-2 hours, my system started sounding balanced again. But after 10 hours sound became not open, dull and bass heavy. Next 10 hours haven't changed situation dramatically. How many hours of break-in SR Blue fuse need to make my system sound balanced again? Regards, Alex. |
