The New Synergistic Research Purple Fuses

"I now have a collection of SR fuses that are worthless."

Try selling them on A’gon or eBay. I believe you’ll find that they are not worthless.

"This is why I asked the OP exactly what things changed so I could get an idea of what they would do to my system. But all I got was a lot of ..."

I thought this answer was pretty specific: We are talking about moving beyond "etched or darker," and moving into the realm of "real" here. I mean, reach out and touch them, real.

Frank

willgolf I now have a collection of SR fuses that are worthless. I guess they go to my fuse grave.

 

I was afraid of that willgolf. This is why I asked the OP exactly what things changed so I could get an idea what they would do to my system.

But all I got was a lot of

In my system, they are a significant improvement over the SR Orange fuses.

The three SR Purple fuses in my system are fully broken in at this point. They replaced three SR Orange fuses that were being used before.
The sound has never been better.
I compared the SR Orange, the SR Purple, and the QSA Yellow fuses in the system. While very good in the detail department, even better than the SR Orange fuses, the QSA Yellow fuses just didn’t have the musicality of the SR Orange and Purple fuses. We are talking about moving beyond "etched or darker," and moving into the realm of "real" here. I mean, reach out and touch them, real.

To me that’s not the answer I’m looking for. Thanks Andy

@jwmazur

Interesting post.  I now have a collection of SR fuses that are worthless.  I guess they go to my fuse grave.  I understand technology but I can not be switching fuses every 18 months.  That is one of the reasons I like QSA.

So here is a question....if you have multiple different fuses in your system, how do you know which one is really making the impact on your sound?   Let me give you an example.  I have an SR orange in my Music Server, and my DAC and my mono amps and pre-amp.  I went to QSA yellow one component at a time.  After changing the source which was my Lampi Pacific, I did not hear any change.  After a couple of weeks, I added it to the Pre-amp.  Again not much of a change.  I finally added to the monoblocks.  Once I had the same fuse in all of my components did I hear a noticeable difference.  

Based on my experience, I would find it hard to believe, that if you only placed an upgraded fuse in only one component, you would hear a difference.  Now I am also of the opinion that upgraded fuses will help lower-end systems more than high end systems but that is another debate.  

Thoughts?

audiosens >>>

 Would it be risky to apply an electrical contact protector to an SR Violet fuse? 

I've applied TC to all of my fuses except for the three new Purple fuses in current use. I intend to hear the fuses completely broken in and then paste them. Is it risky? I've not heard of any problems with any previous fuses that have had contact enhancers applied, and I certainly haven't had any problems myself. Your choice is up to you. 

Frank

 

Ted - How about giving some kind of credit or discount to those distributors and customers that purchased your black, red, blue, and orange fuses previously?

I understand progress but this product churn is turning many people off.

Oregonpapa, Would it be risky to apply an electrical contact protector to an SR Violet fuse? Since there is already graphene used in this fuse, should we avoid adding more and limit ourselves only to a cleaning and protection product, such as ProGold? I believe that these products should be applied very carefully and without putting on too much and then wiping off the excess? I'd like to get your opinion on this, and if that might alter the original sound?

No matter what the nay sayers say, I know what I've heard when getting SR Black fuses for my amp, then SR Red for my Dac, and then SR Orange for my amp and Dac.

The SR Purple are next for me.

And btw, I don't need saving. My money, my hobby, my ears, my music, my joy.

Which fuse should I buy? I'll order it tonight, put it in and report back in a few weeks. We do lots of blind test but this one will take a bit more planning because the amp will have to be opened up.

You should buy SR purple and the QSA yellow.  I would love to hear your views.

When I was young and playing tournament racquetball there was this one young kid Keith who was always there hours before I got there after work, always there when I went home. Not just playing games, he would practice drills, run the court, and whenever he wasn’t doing any of that he would be searching out and picking the brains of all the best players. He was playing them when he was getting trounced. Badly. Until one day he was the one trouncing them. Easily.

This kid Keith started getting racquets and balls and stuff from manufacturers. Didn’t go to his head. All I ever heard from him was frank evaluations of how the stuff performs.

The smarter players would seek him out for whatever tips they could get. A few would complain, but it was easy to tell they were just jealous. I never was. Nobody gave him success. He worked for it. He earned it. And as far as I could tell he never was anything but straight up about what was what.

Like I said, that was when I was young. Since then I’ve gone deep into marine aquaria, rock climbing, cycling, autocross, Porsche, and of course audio. Seen the same sort of thing play out in all of those. With just one difference. With all the other stuff the haters were few and far between. This is the only one where it seems there are as many ignorant malevolent haters full of jealousy as earnest sincerely dedicated audiophiles.

I don’t know if this is due to the public nature of the internet, the policies and people running this site, or something deeper to do with audio.

What I do know is guys like Frank and myself, we are like Keith. We have this crazy drive to create something captivating, magical. Beyond merely good sound. I would put Ted Denney right up there in that same category.

Main difference being he has some kind of crazy special genius hooks him up with ideas he is somehow able to bring into the world. This ain’t no mean feat. In 30+ years the best I have come up with is a rubber band.

Ted is not alone. Others come up with great ideas too. But then you have to build the darn thing, figure out how to sell it, and somehow make enough money to keep building and selling it. All the while with competitors and government doing their level best to put you out of business.

It is easy to write off the haters as mindless zombies. Because to a large extent they are. But even so it is no fun to read, and hard to see how they do anything to move us forward.

I just placed a yellow fuse in my remote and could swear the remote was in the room! Unbelievable

I put a blue in mine, and it took the dog for a walk. Andy

I just placed a yellow fuse in my remote and could swear the remote was in the room! Unbelievable

We also have zero for sale on AG. To my knowledge my company has never sold anything on AG nor do we advertise our products here.

Very odd, oregonpapa gives the impression he gets pre-production SR fuses, and "thinks" himself a "beta tester" for Synergistic Audio, and generates many sales for you. Andy

Last night's listening session was simply amazing. These guys were in the listening room:

 

Nuff said, as Jack Kirby would say.

Andy, SR had nothing to do with this thread being reinstated (again.) We also have zero for sale on AG. To my knowledge my company has never sold anything on AG nor do we advertise our products here. Your link is a compilation value servic based on past AG sales of older used SR gear paid for by AG users, my company has zero to do with this. My guess, AG contributors who are also SR users contacted AG as to why their posts on SR fuses were consistently getting taken down.

Yours in music,

Ted Denney III Lead Designer/CEO Synergistic Research Inc.

Nice going Frank! I wonder if Ted had anything to do with this?

Could have, Audiogon's Blue Book. 

https://www.audiogon.com/bluebook/brands/synergistic-research

Nice going Frank! I wonder if Ted had anything to do with this?

Has anyone had their system in one place for six months with no changes and added a fuse. I can understand there being a huge difference if you changed the fuse and got new speakers, etc. if so, what percent better are we looking at 2-5% 15%? I will also try and report back. 

The Purple fuse threads remind me of the elevator business. Up. Down. Up. Down. :-)

Thanks for putting this one back up.

Frank

People generally don't "hear" fuses because there is simply nothing to hear.  Fuses can't and won't change the sound of any component, which explains why the vast majority of audio geeks and component manufacturers don't care about them. "Facial expressions"...that's actually pretty funny...

millercarbon,

I don’t see how its possible to get a short if more of the fuse is coated. But, I agree that to maintain the little stick on substances on the fuses it probably should not have anything else coated on them.

PS. Frank, millercarbon, I dont think the 2 products are similiar at all.

ozzy

I am in the same situation as Frank with TC everywhere and a tube stash. Been helping someone with their system who if he follows through and sends me his leftovers I might try NPS-1260. Until then, as best I have been able to determine it is a knock-off of an earlier version of TC with the main difference being the carrier. TC was in paste form that dried to a thin inert film. NPS remains oily, and this oil may or may not prove to be a long term problem. 

In any case the active ingredients are similar enough it should work both on physical contact points as well as coated over the outsides of things like fuses. As I have said before many of these fuses have active ingredients added to the outside. The gray blob on Synergistic, the little bits of adhesive on QSA. Coating with NPS or TC work similarly. Just be careful to leave a gap or you may wind up with a short!

ozzy ...

No, I haven't. I have a couple of tubes of TC left and haven't tried that either. I know that some folks here are using the NPS-1260 and like it a lot. The problem is, I have TC everywhere except for the new fuses. 

Frank

oregonpapa,

Frank, or for that matter anyone,  have you tried the NPS-1260 on the purple fuse?

ozzy

tyray365 posts 09-20-2021 4:39pm

Empirical observation is the basis for scientific learning. Instruments have to be constantly calibrated. The combination of man’s senses (hearing) plus his (or her) brain are one of the most powerful measuring devices on the planet.

With so many hobbies to choose from, I do not understand why people who cannot hear the difference between most things in a stereo choose High End audio as a hobby in the first place. I mean if you can’t trust your own ears, how do you know a pair of Wilson speakers sounds any better than a Bose Wave Radio? Or if human hearing is so insensitive that it can’t discern differences in what it is that makes up a stereo, why spend good money on a high-end stereo in the first place? And what I have the greatest difficulty understanding, is why people who don’t hear differences care about what people think who do hear differences. When did we become a society bent on making those whose opinions are different from ours conform to our way of thinking? It's very odd.

Yours in music,

Ted Denney III Lead designer/CEO, Synergistic Research Inc.

Hi Frank,

Wow, when I first stumbled upon Audiogon I was struck how such nasty comments were coming from middle aged men (which is a misnomer). Or should I say men who are closer to there end times in age and bully others like spoiled children with nothing else better to do.

You would think as we get older we have learned to treat each other with old school courtesies and respect. The same courtesies and respect that we have tried to teach our kids.

Some say you should ignore comments like that. I could not.

That was probably one of the lowest things I’ve seen here yet. Not only will I be buying SR Purp(le) fuse(s), I also will be buying some of Ted’s other products as well. Such as his power cords.

@cleeds +1

I've successfully used Acme, HiFi tuning, and Synergistic fuses. I've got nearly 200 hours on my Synergistic Purple. In my system, in my opinion, to my ears with nearly 40 years in this hobby, the Purple fuse is one of the most cost effective improvements I've experienced. 

It's rank hubris for mijostyn to suggest that I don't know what I'm hearing. And those of you who think that blind ab testing has anything to do with how people actually listen to music, please spare me the tired psycho-babble about self delusion. 

mijostyn ...

Your post was unbelievably insulting to Ted and your fellow A’goners who are enjoying SR fuses.

Mike ... You have a beautiful system. Your Soundlab speakers are among my all-time favorites. All of your components are top-notch. Your woodworking skills are terrific. You have even made a beautiful wood clamp for your turntable.

Now then, that brings up a question about the credibility of your post regarding the efficacy of after-market fuses.

If you can hear the difference between a wood record clamp and the stock one that came with your turntable, but cannot hear the difference between a stock fuse and one of the new SR Purple fuses, it tells me that you have never tried after-market fuses, including the new Purple fuse from SR.

An apology is in order here for Ted and we lowly, unwashed members out here in bumkin-land.

Man up, dude.

Frank

NOTE: always check that your dealer honors the 30-day no-risk money back guarantee and if not, choose a different dealer.

Yes, I should have made it clear that some dealers such as Parts Connexion in Canada does not have a 30-day no-risk money back guarantee on items they sell even if the items bought has a 30-day no-risk money back guarantee from the original manufacture.

Thank you Ted for the clarification.

Actually just having your system turned on, or even the single component you are re-fusing left on (it is always a good idea change only one component fuse at a time until you determine correct fuse directionality) is sufficient in most cases to burn in a fuse, no music necessary. It is paramount however that you first determine correct fuse orientation on a fuse-by-fuse basis before placing in the next fuse in your system and again listening in both directions where the correct directionality should be readily appertains as more air and detail. If switching from a prior SR fuse model like Orange start Purple in the same direction, if it does not sound immediately better in most ways simply reverse the Purple fuse direction. Due to a new conditioning process, purple fuses may not always perfectly mirror the same orientation as prior SR Fuses. After determining the correct directionality for one or more fuses leave your system turned on to speed realization of best performance. 

Yours in music,

Ted Denney III Lead Designer/CEO Synergistic Research Inc.

And what’s worrying is 50 to 100 to break in, by that time for me it’s too late to send back for refund if I don’t like it/them, not prepared to take the gamble on that one. Thanks

Andy, Depending on where and how many fuses you want to use, you can put your transport/dac or and old cd player on repeat to play a cd over and over for anywhere up to 24 hours a day which would in no time at all burn in the fuse(s). Just make sure your sytem is on with the volume turned down low when not doing your regular listening.

Hope this helps

andypandy

"Thanks for that very in-depth analysis Frank, but it doesn’t tell me the shift in overhaul tonality if your system becomes more etched or darker, etc."

Andy ... We are talking about moving beyond "etched or darker," and moving into the realm of "real" here. I mean, reach out and touch them, real.

And what’s worrying is 50 to 100 to a break-in, by that time for me it’s too late to send back for a refund if I don’t like it/them, not prepared to take the gamble on that one."

Read the comments in this thread. We are talking about comparing the SR Orange fuses with the SR Purple fuses. The Orange fuses are really good in their own right, and the SR Purple fuses take them to a new level. If you are using stock fuses at this point, you will not be sending the SR Purple fuses back. Like any audio component, they take some time to sound their best, but that, by no means, is saying that they are slackers out of the box.

What are you using for fuses presently? Also, I’d be interested to know what your system consists of, and if you’ve tried any other "tweaks" that have worked for you. Perhaps we can garner some new ideas from you that would help other members here.

Thanks ...

Frank

The Purple really opens up the mids and highs compared to SR’s Orange fuses.

The Orange fuses were a huge improvement over stock fuses, and the Purple brings even more to the table.

M2CW, anyway.

+1 audiosens. You're description of how the SR Purple fuse compares with the Orange and the presentation  you get mirrors mine exactly! Nicely done. I understand about being skeptical of tweeks,  having been burned many times. These are a no brainer, with a money back guarentee. I'm not a Synergistic fanboy by any means, but these purple fuses are the real deal. Good listening. Jeff

If you buy the fuses, give them at least 50-100 hours to break in before making a final judgment.

 

Thanks for that very in depth analysis Frank, but it doesn’t tell me the shift in overhaul tonality, if your system becomes more etched or darker etc.

And what’s worrying is 50 to 100 to break in, by that time for me it’s too late to send back for refund if I don’t like it/them, not prepared to take the gamble on that one. Thanks Andy.

andypandy ...

Thanks for the question, and welcome to the forum.

As my system continues to evolve, there is more body to the music. Take guitars for instance. Not only are the sound of the strings being plucked in evidence, but the sound of the body of the guitar is as well.

On vocals, not only do I hear the voice, but I can also discern the personality of the vocalist, even make out their facial expressions.

Percussion is particularly improved, with more dynamics and realism. For example, it is easy to discern the differences between animal skin drum heads vs acrylic drum heads. The correct woodiness of rim shots is amazing.

The piano is tonally correct including the lower registers. A friend brought over a Ramsey Lewis Trio CD this morning that featured a drummer that was using a cowbell as part of his ensemble. That cowbell was in the room along with the entire drumset. You’d have to hear it to understand.

It is not only the upgrade from the SR Orange fuses to the SR Purple fuses causing this increase in realism, but they certainly have been an important contributing factor to the overall presentation.

Expensive? On the surface, maybe, but in the overall scheme of things, what else will improve a system to this degree for under 200 bucks? I’m using three of the new fuses, so that would set a person back 600 bucks ... still a bargain based upon the results attained.

If you buy the fuses, give them at least 50-100 hours to break in before making a final judgment.

Take care ...

Frank

PS: Here’s the Ramsey Lewis CD I alluded to above:

The sound has never been better.

Hi I’m new to these forums, Frank can you say what in more detail (eg: highs mids lows differences that have never been better), as these are not cheap and it would be good to know which way they will change the tonal balance of my setup. Thanks Andy.

oregonpapa

Thank You for the follow up.

Happy Listening!