Thanks Frank. I was thinking about trying one to replace the pasted Blue in my amp, and was wondering what I might expect. The fact that stock Orange beat pasted Blue in your system is impressive, and I'm going to place the order after I finish this post.
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
glupson .... I don't have the total amounts, but the grapevine says that over $100,000 worth of the blue fuses were sold to dealers on the weekend of their initial release two years ago. The new SR Orange fuses sold in the first week were over 1000 fuses. I imagine it is at least double that by now. Not too bad for a businessman who started by living in the back of his factory and ate cold sandwiches because that's all he could afford at the time. I find it inspiring, how about you? Frank |
oregonpapa, I find it all backwards. I would think that people start making things in the back of their home, rather than have a factory first and then living in it. I am also puzzled that a person who is adept enough to figure out what will sell could not figure out that many grocery stores have microwave ovens close to the exit and anyone is free to use them. There is a Wholefoods 3.4 miles from Synergistic Research's current address. You cannot be good at everything, I guess. |
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oregonpapa, I do like seeing people succeed in whatever positive they do. Starting production in a garage in the back of an apartment/house is quite common and makes sense. I was surprised that someone would have a factory, no matter how small or unsophisticated, and then move in. It just seemed odd. Still, the story about cold sandwich, as poetically heartbreaking as it may seem, does not earn any points. The only reason to eat cold sandwich in Santa Ana, California is because one wants to eat cold sandwich. Of course, if it had been the only sandwich that week, it would have shown dedication and sacrifice to achieve some goal by saving. I have not been to Synergistic Research current factory. It would be a wasted visit. I would not know the difference from any other production place. I suspect that machines to make fuses would look exactly like machines to bottle Coca-Cola to me. That is my fault, not Synergistic Research’s. Back to actual Blue fuse numbers. If $80 per fuse is a ballpark figure of the dealer’s cost, it would be around 1300 fuses that first weekend. Not all of them could be expected to be sold to final customers that weekend so some stayed in stock. As fuses are quite specific items and market/customers are very specialized and dedicated, it could be expected that a majority of potentially interested buyers would buy them soon after launch. That peak would then be followed by much slower, but steady, demand over time. If initial demand was 1300, could it be that over the following two years it added about 1200, or was it much more. I am really impressed that this thread is two years old with 2850+ posts, confirming very strong emotions that fuses bring (pro et contra). I am curious if the number of posts surpassed the number of fuses. I will never know, but I do wonder if each produced fuse has its own post on this thread. |
glupson ... I think the original factory was a teepee erected in the north woods, and the cold sandwiches were made of squirrel and/or 'possum meat. Not sure if the squirrel/'possum meat was cooked or raw though. By the way, if you check each post in this thread, you'll find that it hasn't all been about fuses. It has taken the place of the local pub that was once the meeting place for audiophiles. Just general conversations, bantering back and forth, name-calling, throwing obnoxious drunks back out through swinging doors ... that type of thing. :-) Frank |
Take it easy Roberttcan’t, let those who do not follow blindly have their say. In the end, aren’t these fuses another tone control? If the sound is not the same as before changing the fuse, has not the tone changed? I know others would rather say "there is more of everything", implying something was missing to start with. Aren't most SR tweaks a form of tone control, in fact most tweaks?. They are fixing a sonic problem? |
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twodolphins ... When I took the tour of the SR factory in Santa Ana, California a year or so ago, I stood right at the work station where the fuses are put together. I, with another A'gon member, scrutinized the location. There's a lot more that goes into the process than just using an ordinary cheap fuse. Should I believe you, or my lying eyes? Frank |
If you look at the blue sticker around the SR Blue fuse, you'll discover it is paper, which you can purchase at Staples. So if you haven't wrapped paper around your fuses you've been ripped off. Sad to say this really is what passes for sound reasoning according to some people. Me, I'm with Frank. I'll believe my lying eyes - and ears - long before the word of some guy with that kind of logic. |
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Well not hard to produce evidence these days if that is the case. Take some pictures of the fuse, put them on Google or some other site with pic sharing functionality, and post the link here, maybe using a blown SR fuse if available so as not to disturb a new ready to rumble one. In fact pics of innards of any blown fancy fuses to see what makes them tick would be of interest. |
geoffkait ... Nope, I didn't ask ... and don't call me Shirley. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- mapman ... I saw no machine for manufacturing fuses in-house. So far, I've not had an SR fuse blow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The only thing being blown in this entire diatribe is the smoke being blown by twodolphins in his above post. Frank |
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Well not hard to produce evidence these days if that is the case. Take some pictures of the SR fuse, put them on Google or some other site with pic sharing functionality, and post the link here, maybe using a blown SR fuse if available so as not to disturb a new ready to rumble one. Maybe the free advertising coupon expired. Hopefully the days of the SR snake oil salesmen are about to expire https://ibb.co/5vhWDbC Cheers George |
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Geoff, really man, time to get some new material. You have lost it since Roberttcan came around and handed you your head, like you have tried to do with everyone else. Face it, time to change your spiel, 20 years of the same schtick on wire directionality, cryogenics and selling springs doesn't impress any of us. |
"...20 years of the same schtick on wire directionality, cryogenics and selling springs doesn’t impress any of us."I disagree. 20 years of persisting on anything is an achievement worth appreciating. 20 years of persisting on nothing is even more commendable. geoffkait has reached Zen state of bunkery. |
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