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.
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.
If SR released the Purple fuse next month I'd hold off on buying them ... while shaking my head at the same time. Two years from now I'd be expecting it.
Personally I don't want SR or any other manufacturer to stand still, rest on their laurels and get stale. Even though I'd be perfectly happy with the system as it sits, I look forward to my next tweak. How about you?
By the way, right now I'm listening to Willie Nelson's "Phases and Stages." Willie's in the room. :=)
I don't intend to be a "Debbie Downer", or the like, but I do feel the need to report what I've heard.
About six months ago, I purchased an Audio Research Reference 6, and I've found it to communicate an unsurpassed level of presence and three-dimensionality while remaining tonally neutral. Class A all the way -- with only some reservations in the high frequencies: a slight lack of richness and sparkle, most easily heard with piano.
I've found several tweaks, when used together, enhance the high frequencies of the Reference 6: first, a Synergistic Research Black Quantum fuse; and second, a Sain Line Systems Pure Current power cord. Those two tweaks on the power-supply side get you 80% there. As a final note, I swapped in a set of matched, cryogenically treated, low-noise 6H30 tubes from Upscale Audio and an NOS Winged "C" 6550C power tube. Now, class A ++, with no reservations.
Just this past weekend I swapped in a new Synergistic Blue fuse. What I've heard is a mixed bag in my system. Yes, there seems to be a bit more body in the bass and midrange, a little more rosin on the bow, so to speak. I've also heard a lessening of high frequency energy, a softening in the highs. This action contradicts my use of the Synergistic Black fuse in the Ref 6.
I will continue to play with the Blue fuse, but I think, in my system, I prefer the Black fuse.
If you were the manufacturer of a popular product with a solid international dealership network would you release information in advance to the end consumer about a new and better replacement product and stick your faithful dealers with a crap load of old product?
What’s better ... pissing off a few customers that should be expecting upgrades anyway or an entire dealership network? Its called being between a rock and a hard place.
Brace yourselves guys ... the new Purple fuse will be out in a couple of years. :-)
Frank
Guess what? Manufacturers do it all the time. And the dealers hold a sale, and possibly make a smaller profit margin. The dealers should know in advance of the newer product, and can adjust accordingly. Plus, unlike many other examples, the Black fuses are not being phased out, so there is no "old" product.
From my discussion with a Synergistic Research dealer, my understanding was they held a limited stock of the most popular values. Also, when SR holds sales, a further discount is passed on to the dealers. In addition, with this example, there was only a $10 margin difference on the Large Black fuses.
I don't see any issue or tough choice. Do you have any proof of otherwise? And would you be as happy if they theoretically released the "Purple" next month, once your return period ended?
If you were the manufacturer of a popular product with a solid international dealership network would you release information in advance to the end consumer about a new and better replacement product and stick your faithful dealers with a crap load of old product?
What’s better ... pissing off a few customers that should be expecting upgrades anyway or an entire dealership network? Its called being between a rock and a hard place.
Brace yourselves guys ... the new Purple fuse will be out in a couple of years. :-)
@jay23, I kind of agree with your feelings about the last sale that SR had but if one followed the threads here, it was highly probable that SR was coming out with a new fuse, hence the discount. And, that is how SR has done it for the last few versions: discount and then, new product. Some who jumped on it needed the discount and most likely knew it beforehand. With the SR Black fuses, they’ll still enjoy the benefits.
All the best, Nonoise
AFIK, there were no rumblings about a new fuse in August. They have held prior sales on the Black fuses, so there was no certainty of a new version immediately releasing.
joecasey:
That’s true with everything, TVs, computers, cars ... so you want companies release one product cycle and cease?? You can buy end of year 2017 model at discount...
I never made such a statement, and that’s not the case. All of the items you listed have a known product cycle, and information on the new products are released or leaked. These products are offered at a discount, and customers can make an INFORMED decision as to whether to save money, or wait to buy the latest and greatest.
Like I said, it was "slightly disingenuous" of Synergistic Research, as they could have easily stated a new version was upcoming, or leaked such information, so their customers could make an informed decision. Given they do not offer a reasonable upgrade (unlike oregonpapa’s examples) for an almost new product, it serves no one’s interests to piss off their own customers.
As an example, Apple learned their lesson early, and the iPhone 8 and X were both announced at the same time. Did that hurt 8 sales? Probably. But it will also likely result in more X sales, and happier customers that won’t be pissed that the X is released so soon after the 8? Yes. Pissed off customers are more likely to switch to other companies’ products.
Sorry man, I can’t feel sorry for them other than their bad timing. That’s kind of the point of my last post.
We all know that we’re involved in a VERY expensive hobby where upgrades are the name of the game so to speak. These fuses, in the whole scheme of things, aren’t the worst of it.
When I bought my CD7 CD player from ARC ($10,000 retail cost) it was only a few months after I got it that ARC announced the Special Edition upgrade. So, I shipped it back and got the upgrade. Same thing with my ARC Ref-75. Bought it new and a short time later they came out with the SE version using KT 150 tubes. I sold my Ref-75 here on A’gon and bought the SE version. It’s just part of life if one wants to keep up with current technology in the hobby. So no, I don’t feel sorry for the holders of the Black fuses. I’d say either keep them as spares or sell them on Ebay or A’gon and jump on the Blue fuses. From the results I’m getting from the Blue fuses it’s worth taking it in the shorts a bit.
While I mostly agree, I feel sorry for those that jumped at the last
sale, if they’re out of the 30 day return window and they want to
upgrade. It’s slightly disingenuous to host a sale to reduce stock -
then release a new product, and discount the Large Black - without
mentioning the new product.
That's true with everything, TVs, computers, cars ... so you want companies release one product cycle and cease?? You can buy end of year 2017 model at discount ...
@jay23, I kind of agree with your feelings about the last sale that SR had but if one followed the threads here, it was highly probable that SR was coming out with a new fuse, hence the discount. And, that is how SR has done it for the last few versions: discount and then, new product. Some who jumped on it needed the discount and most likely knew it beforehand. With the SR Black fuses, they'll still enjoy the benefits.
For those of you who feel "ripped off" keep in mind these two things: first, the BLACK fuses have been on the market for around two years. Second, we live in a country that enjoys a free market economy where competition is fierce. It behooves the producers to continue with R&D, improving their products. This is how a producer stays ahead of their competition. It’s no different for SR and Ted Denney. The positive side is the consumer continues to benefit with the improved products. If you truly feel ripped off, get your head wrapped around the concept that you are involved in a hobby that is continually in the upgrade mode. If you can’t deal with it, either don’t buy the upgrades or find a new hobby.
While I mostly agree, I feel sorry for those that jumped at the last sale, if they’re out of the 30 day return window and they want to upgrade. It’s slightly disingenuous to host a sale to reduce stock - then release a new product, and discount the Large Black - without mentioning the new product.
For those of you who feel "ripped off" keep in mind these two things: first, the BLACK fuses have been on the market for around two years. Second, we live in a country that enjoys a free market economy where competition is fierce. It behooves the producers to continue with R&D, improving their products. This is how a producer stays ahead of their competition. It’s no different for SR and Ted Denney. The positive side is the consumer continues to benefit with the improved products. If you truly feel ripped off, get your head wrapped around the concept that you are involved in a hobby that is continually in the upgrade mode. If you can’t deal with it, either don’t buy the upgrades or find a new hobby.
For the rest of us, we'll gladly pay the price to get closer to the Holy Grail. .. i.e., reproducing live music in our homes.
A couple days ago I told a friend that what my system has excelled at lately is projecting a life, energy and feel that is very similar to what I experience with live music. Switching out the black fuse in my amp for a blue one today, it has taken a big leap further in that direction.
Unless the sound takes an unexpected turn for the worse over the next week or two, I'll be getting two more blues for my CD Transport and DAC.
I found it interesting that in one of the reviews for the Bussman ceramic fuses, the user stated it works better than the one it replaced but how could he get excited about it since it's just a fuse?
There's some cognitive dissonance going on when something better is used and performance is improved and the user just flat out dismisses it because it's not what he "knows" to be so.
This blue fuse is a RIDICULOUS improvement over the already great black one in my amp! I'll try to get myself together and find the words to describe what I'm hearing.
^^^ Its not so much the system ... its all of the things that have been done to maximize the system. Lots of time has been spent on getting the room right and eliminating mico-vibrations, micro arcing and tons of good tweaks that really work. When that low level smear caused by the audio demons is eliminated, one can really appreciate what some of these tweaks do. The new SR BLUE fuse is a case in point.
^^^ I’m getting the same as you with percussion. I had my friend Robert over two nights ago for a listening session. He brought over a classical performance featuring kettle drums. His comment was ... "boy, its nice to hear kettle drums sound like live kettle drums for a change." All drums, from bongos to the big bass drums seem to have that accurate skin tone about them. While listening to a jazz trio for instance where brushes are used on the snare drum, you can actually hear in what direction the drummer is moving the brushes. Rim shots and other big whacks are totally present.
"Seeing into" a performance is exactly it. There are a lot of things that allow a system to perform like this. The SR BLUE fuses contribute a great step toward it.
Wish you were local Nonoise ... I’d like to have you over for a listening session. :-)
Frank, I just checked out Chris Connor and she reminded me so much of Peggy Lee and then I read that Chris always cited Peggy as being such an inspiration to her. Wonderful voice.
What I've noticed a lot is the surreal quality there now is to percussion, be it with stick, brush, hand and the drum, box, or instrument used to receive the blow or strike. I swear it seems like I can tell if an opening is facing or turned away from the mike and subtle movements of the instrument or positioning and changes with hand placements. It seems to be consistent with the room echo and decay manner that accompany it. Talk about "seeing into" a performance.
That added realism you mentioned can become uncanny with the proper attention to detail in our systems.
On the flamenco music ... I’m very familiar with the sound of castanets as my ex was a flamenco dancer as a teenager and she can play the castanets. They are made of a very dense mahogany wood and have their own unique sound. They are dead on correct with the BLUE fuses.
Hey Frank, Even though I'm content to stay with my PADIS fuses, the one thing I'd like to second is the added realism that results when better fuses are used. Your description of the flamingo performance gaining additional doses of realism is pretty much how I'd describe what I'm hearing with my fuses.
This added realism is not to be discounted as only a minor improvement. No cable swap or component upgrade takes this route to sonic bliss. Those improvements happen after the fuse does it work whereas the fuse does it right from the beginning and the improvements are simply magnified right on down the line with each component passing on it's rewards to the next in the chain.
That tired old adage of throwing open the window on a performance certainly applies here. The gains wrought by a fuse go to great lengths to make music more intoxicating, as it were. Like I've stated on other threads, audiophiles move too quickly on to other gear when all they may need is to simply try out that damn fuse.
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