The New Synergistic Research Purple Fuses

@nutty : you are welcome. There a couple of threads here on the Swiss Digital Fuse Box, the longest of which, with a detailed excellent review by its OP is in the link below:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/swiss-digital-fuse-box-what-headroom-sounds-like

@thyname The Swiss Digital Fuse Box looks very impressive,  and reasonably priced. Thanks for recommendation! 

N

@nutty : what a coincidence, I paid a few days ago for a brand spanking new Jay’s Audio CDT3 MK3. It will likely take some time to arrive from China. However, I already inquired and obtained the fuse specifics for it, which as you know, is owner replaceable. I have used SR fuses with good results in the past, with other equipment, Blue, then Orange, then Purple. However, this time around, I will get the Swiss Fuse Box instead, which is in a whole different level with my Innuos ZENith MK3. https://verafiaudiollc.com/products/best-audio-products/swiss-digital-fuse-box-52299809
 

Just as an alternative. But of course, you will be happy with the SR fuses too

Recently purchased the Jay's Audio CDT2-MK3 Transport and I have approximately 120 hours of continuous signal running throught the unit. I'm considering the Synergistic Research Master Fuse for the Jay's. 

N

ghosthouse - I'm glad to hear the SR Purple is working out!  Looking forward to your update on the addition of two more fuses in your system. 

N

Adding to this thread about the SR Purple fuse to relate my experience and say, "Thanks" to a couple of people.

First to Audiogon member, Nutty, who sent me a Purple fuse to try. I was completely skeptical that replacing a stock fuse could make a sonic difference justifying the $200 fuse price. In the distant past, experience with a HiFi Tuning fuse in different gear found it might have made a difference but, if real and not imagined, it was subtle. I didn’t really even want the SR Purple fuse that Nutty was offering or the bother fr installing it - but eventually I did. It went into an Auralic Aries G1 music server.

I was not expecting to hear any difference (especially given the reported long break in time) but immediately noticed a change in the sound. It was not subtle. The presentation seemed to come forward a bit and bass got a little stronger; there was more fullness to the sound. Separation of layered instruments increased. There was a slight bit more treble energy though not harsh or overly bright. Ultimately, however, the biggest change was that music became more engaging and enjoyable. I thought this would fade as the effect of "the new" wore off. So far, this hasn’t been the case. The length of listening sessions has increased.

I thought enough of the benefits from the one SR Purple fuse that after a month or so I ordered two more fuses: a Purple for a Hegel H390 integrated and an (old stock) Orange for a TEAC CD-3000. Both were purchased from VH Audio. Chris VenHaus is pleasure to do business with - knowledgable, honest, responsive and with reasonable prices. Placed the order yesterday. Chris sent shipping confirmation an hour or two later...amazingly fast.

Thanks again to both Nutty and Chris V.

I did and had them right all along. The current flow is from the S to R, which I measured. The other way around sounded not right. Thin and bright with no ease of flow. But you can always give it a try. 

@-wolff- Thanks for your reply! "too smooth, smeared, veiled the details "This is how I feel right now. The smoothness gives me the feeling that the "contrast" of the sound has gone. Nevertheless, indeed, the soundstage space is better. I used Hifituning Supreme copper, which conquered the drawbacks of the Purple. But it did not offer as much information as Purple and was a bit stuttered in the mid-bass range. I am now doubting whether I should change the fuse back or just give it more time or change direction. Have you ever changed the direction?

@weisi The Purple has improved. I had 3 of them in different components. 2x Farad Super3 LPS and a Auralic Altair G1 streamer.

I’ve been switching the 3 Purple’s too smooth, smeared, veiled the details and bloated the bass in my setup and preferred the 3 originals, which I couldn’t believe. I had faith in the sound signature of the Purple’s, it’s warmer midrange and bigger soundstage and fuller voices, and switched them up a bit. Eventually I ended up with a original fuse in 1 LPS, 1 Purple in the other LPS and a original in the streamer.

Changing fuses awoke my interest and I was curious about other brands and looked into the QSA Yellow fuse. It’s description of sound should benefit my setup and it did. It made the soundstage bigger and had more dynamic, had tighter bass, and was more reveiling the details with more resolution. After trying all possible combinations and to be sure even went back to stock, the ideal combination to my ears was 1 QSA in my streamer and 1 Purple and 1 stock.

@-wolff- I have exactly the same feeling as you. I don't think the direction is wrong in my case.Just want to ask how the situation is now. Is the Purple better than before?

@nutty The SY has an internal fuse, which can be changed.

@-wolff- Sounds to me like you've got the fuse the wrong way around.

I'm still running two SR Purple fuses in my Supernait 3 and Teddy Pardo TeddyCap SE power supply. I just ordered a Schiit Ydggdrasil + DAC but it's fuse is not accessible. Early on I was thinking of removing the Teddy Pardo TeddyCap SE from the system as I felt it was bright. My good friend Yair at Pardo recommended the SR Purple fuses and it paid off! IMHO, everyone using the Purple fuses or any SR fuse knows their worth.

@-wolff- For me, it took about 10 days for the Purple fuse to show it’s true and full potential. I was running the component for almost 10 hours every day. If you’re still not happy, try changing the direction. 

Hi,

I’ve just got 3 SR Purple fuses in my system. I was sceptic but curious enough to try them within a 30 days return policy. And especially now the buy 2 get 3 promotion. 
 

Of course immediately after installing the fuses, I had a listen. There was definitely something going on here. The soundstage was wider and spaciousness was more present. But it sounded thin, lean and with minimal bass performance.

At the 12 hour mark the voices became fuller and warmer. Bass still not deep or expressive. 

Now at the 24 hour mark, the bass started to expand to the lower regions. More weight and powerful. But midrange and bass are a bit flowing into each other’s frequency. A bit to much. They are pressing the higher frequencies out of proportion. Instruments are sounding more real though. But missing that upper sparkle. I’m hoping the highs will get clearer and everything wil open up more. 

Can anyone say anything about the timeline of the burn-in process and sonic differences? 
 

Thanks!

Would have loved to have heard Frank's view on the SR Master.

Someone whose opinion I valued.

A friend of mine has had most iterations of the SR range.

His notes:

SR Red Good improvement in resolution, small improvement in soundstage

SR Blue Less improvement in resolution than Red, more improvement in soundstage than Red

SR Orange Good improvement in resolution, good improvement in soundstage

SR Purple Big improvement in resolution, big improvement in soundstage

Can anyone tell what the differences would be going from a SR Blue fuse to a SR Purple. I want to replace them in my DAC, Preamp, and Amp.

Suggestions for Purple/Master fuses?

Pathos InPol Heritage Integrated 

Innuos Zenith MK3 

My DAVE does not take fuses.  

@jafreeman The SR fuses' high freq are attenuated when inserted the wrong way. I know because I've tried them all both ways. It's not hard to hear. Cymbals sound bad.

I also would like to add that I found using the SR Master/Purple combo to be much better sound quality wise than using the QSA red/black fuse. and at a much cheaper price! The QSA did tighten up the image, but it lost the depth/feeling.

ozzy

Hi Ozzy, I agree--the Purples are much better than Orange.  I put four Purples in my Maggie 3.6R's, and the improvements are stunning.  I have used SR Red, Black, Blue, Orange and now, Purple in my Maggies and AC mains of ARC amps and CD Player and subs--nine places in total. I have always oriented fuses the same way via the writing on the fuse.  A thing I have, though, is that I always put fuses in once, and I can always hear the improvements, so I do not switch them around. I do not want to lose the magic, so I say, "This has to be right."  Some say the wrong way is very noticeably wrong.  I always hear 'noticeably great', so I leave them as is.   Am I just lucky, or is there a degree of improvement with wrong orientation and a much higher degree with the right orientation?  

I now have a complete loom of the SR Purple fuses and couldn't be happier. Anyone else have all SR purple fuses?

ozzy

SR Purple buy 2 get 3 offer is back on!

@ajessner Hi, Fast Blow (F) Fuses are usually used for Power Amps and Slow Blow (T) are used for just about everything else.

Take your fuse out and have a look, it's located just below the power cable inlet.

It'll be 20mm long but there are 38mm long fuses too.

If buying a SR Purple fuse go up one level, so an 8A will become 10A.

Are there differences between the slo-blow and the fast-blow? Otherwise it would make sense to always order the slow-flow? I don't know what my amplifier needs (Primare I35).

The wsa Purple fuses are everything a synergistic purple is ,then another level in detail depth of instruments huge sound stage and more  realism , the synergistic purple  are a good fuse but 2 dimensional  compared to the QSA purple ,but at $358 with shipping not cheap.

In are audio club we call it bass ping. No boom and rumble. Just musical bass notes as they should be.

Well I've 6x SR Purple in my system at this point. They make an incredible difference. I recently changed from an icOn 4PRO passive slagleformer pre to Absolute Audio Labs ASL-1Z pre and found a noticeable increase in sibilance in my system despite being better in most other ways so removed the remaining sterling silver power cables from wall to Musical Paradise MP-T1 balanced isolation transformer, and to Soundaware D300REF steeamer and installed Duelund tinned copper power cables to match all my other components. There was a slight reduction in sibilance. So I ordered an SR Purple for the pre and once more the reduction in sibilance to the point it's only reproducing whats in the recording, as it should.

That said I've SR Purple in my Afterdark Trifecta Emperor Double Crown OCXO clock, Soundaware D300REF, Accurate Audio Ultimate D1000 DAC, Absolute Audio Labs SIT-A15 power amp and Queensway QS-10 sub. Performance is just stunning and I won't cover benefits as it's much the same as others have already described in the thread. I have found one difference not mentioned here unless I missed it is one note bass is gone in favour of natural, detailed and tuneful bass which allows you to better hear the instrument producing it. Probably not ideal for those that like doof doof however for me it's a massive improvement. Very impressed with the Purple or I wouldn't be getting more whenever I change components. They make an enormous difference in my humble setup.

@audiosens I just replaced my pre-amp with an EAR 864. It used to sound rather forward and lacked good depth. Also, some recordings sounded great but so many others had that congealed sound. I replaced the cheap ass glass fuse with an SR blue I had lying around but was told by a friend, sounded mediocre (he didn’t use it more than10 minutes).

Immediately, it sounded superior. A little dark but oh, what separation of instruments and big tonality. It got better over 15 hours. Then it became too bright from 15 to 20 hours. I just let the pre-amp stay on for 48 hours more. That was it. Just like in my amps with the SR Black (took 72 hours to sound good), the fuse just needs on-time with no signal and steadily improves/stabilizes. Sounds fantastic.

I intend to replace my EAR 890 amp with the SR purple now. It already sounds great with a cheap ass glass fuse. How much better will it sound with an SR purple (or even a $25 audiophile ceramic fuse like an Acme or Gustard). That’s rhetorical.

Without this fuse upgrade, I was ready to chuck the pre-amp and try an EAR 912.  Wow! what a great improvement from this fuse.

@gbmcleod What direction do you have the fuse for ARC amps? 

As usual, late to the party. Not the Synergistic fuses in general, just the Purple  (People Eater) fuse.

I decided to go with a Purple fuse first and change some other things later. The fuse, like all the earlier generations does the job terrifically well, although I didn’t like the Black all that much (too lean), and got a Blue (found the box today while cleaning up, so it’s around here somewhere!), didn’t cotton to the orange much. But the Purple has a tremendous sense of musicality, while earlier versions were more of the "detailed "and perhaps audiophile virtues in contrast to musical ones.

What was most striking is that, when bringing my ARC amp out of mute, I realized I had the volume 3 clicks down (at a 4 instead of a 7) and yet, I could hear the piccolo playing softly and the air in the flute without any strain (and for someone having hearing loss, that’s quite a feat!). Violins in a section are no longer congealed (any Mercury Living Presence CD show show it, but I used the Boxed Set, Volume 1 and was taken aback at how the violins no longer sounded like one big violin, but many smaller ones. The sounding boards of the violins can be heard, as well as the rest of the orchestra. If one were to send say, a small missile, one could hit the clarinetest quite easily, having found its exact placement. And the low level detail extends to all instruments (acoustic ones),so the entire performance sounds ’played by humans’ instead of just the sound without the people making the sounds. It’s impressive.

As far as directionality, I had one in the right direction, and then, somehow, reinserted in the wrong direction. Now, THAT, I could hear clearly. So, if you put the fuse in one way and listen for a day, go back and listen two days later after your’ve reversed direction. It will have to burn in again for a few hours when you change direction, isn’t that right, Ted?

And voices are quite magical. Separated from each other by the low noise floor, they sound like people doing a duet or a group, without one singer in the group’s contribution being left out while you hear the other three clearly. No, with this fuse, you hear them all!

Excellent!

I have 5 SR Purple fuses in my system, definitely worth it!

Thanks for the feedback ball-wheel! I’ll consider the SR Purple receptical. Currently I'm burning-in two new Shunyata Research power cables. One Delta XC v2 and the new Venom X EF. The Venom X EF is a keeper ! it’s the Delta that I’m not quite sure of yet.

Sie Nutty, I took SR up on their 30 return policy on the purple outlet. I got it on This pass Monday. With the 3 purple fuses in my gear it's great. Just like their fuse with a 5 fold in performance. 

@ballhog - I’m using a QSA violet in my Atoll IN300 and it has made an amazing improvement over the yellow I had in it before. I’d love to try the red because I think that’s were the true magic begins. Not to change the subject but how do you like your Innuos Zen MKIII? Also, how much of a sonic improvement did the violet make in it?

tyray,  Would an audio HiFi Fuse do also in improvement in a CD-Transport ?  If I leave the CD-Transport on Stand-By, would it help for best burnin, or better Constant On Position ?

I used the purple synergistic with my Innuos Zen MKIII and noticed a nice improvement in the sound quality, I then inserted a QSA Violet fuse and the improvement was substantially better. I believe the synergistic is very good but not in the same class as the QSA Violet which is more expensive but operates at a much higher level

Anyone ever wonder how a fuse can be directional given that they’re an incredibly simple device and identical on each end?

I upgraded recently to ARC 160M monoblocks, and set them with two Orange fuses, one that I took from my old GS150, and another that was in the Ref6 pre, where is  now a glorious new Purple fuse). I carefully installed  the two fuses with the same direction they were ( along last  two years aprox) on the previous ARC gear, with the S iinside and near the fuse holder top, and the R deep inside the equipment.

Instead of the wow effect I was expecting ( I know very well the benefits of SR fuses namelly the Orange ones), I got somehow a mechanical, 2D image, sterile and harshness effect. I waited for the system to settle down two days, I checked all raised cables, conections, etc. Everything on order. But no improvement 🤔😔

Not very convinced.., I changed both fuses direction. And unexpectedly, WOW, that's it! 😳. Imediate transformation 😜👌. All life returned. Huge and fullfilled soundstage. Focus. Tridimensionality, Dinamics, No more blandness. An almost unbelieveble transformation. 

In conclusion. Direction matters, a lot. And I also suspect that the fuse signal is reversed built on the 160M if we compare it with the GS150 or Ref6 pre at least.

ball‐wheel - I found the the GTX-D Gold to be lean and lacking drive in the lower frequencies so replaced it with my AV Options Deep-Cryo Hubble receptical. It's much more dynamic, resolving more and musical. 

Nutty,, I gave up on the Furutech Rhodium gtx outlet. The bass was good but the high end was just to smeared and brittle. I have a pair of Nola ko speakers. They have 4 tweeters per speaker. I'm using a Cardas outlet now. It has been in use for 6 months and at least a 1,000 hours on it. It's build as good as the Furutech. But it is copper silverplated with a flashing plating Rhodium. All my power cords are the Cabledyne with elGo silverplated plugs installed. This combo is very good with the tube gear and the Nolas. Very natural sounding. 

Hello dcpillai - Chris VenHaus would have better insight on your query,  however to my mind and what I've done in my system is was keep everything consistent. I've gone with all Purple fuses. Think of it as a loom of cables -

Many thanks for the response @nutty. Should you ever discuss extending the use of the purple fuses to subs, please do let me know what Chris says. 

Was also wondering whether there are any components which would benefit from an orange fuse over a purple fuse? I would love a killer soundstage courtesy of the orange + the dynamism of the purple. One thought is orange for the pre and power amplifiers, while all the components utilise purple fuses? Would appreciate your views.

Thanks :-) 

Hello dcpillai - I've consulted with Chris VenHaus of VH Audio and he advocates using them in power conditioning as the effects are cumulative. I've not discussed subs with him. 

N

I have tried one purple fuse on the cable from my wall outlet to my Isotek Evo 3 power conditioner. I am liking the additional details that I hear in music tracks so much so that I have placed an order for purple fuses for the rest of the components in my system, other than my power conditioners and sub-woofers. 

Now thinking about it, was leaving them (the sub-woofer and power conditioners) out a mistake?

Can I check with those that have installed the purple fuses on their systems whether replacing the fuses on sub-woofers and power conditioners will have a discernible and positive impact to the sound of my system?

Thanks!   

Hello ball-wheel -

How is the bass response on the receptacle with the Rhodium plating and are you still using it? I'm very interested in you reply. 

I've got just over 350 hours on the Furutech GTX-D Gold and while I'm not getting a veiled presentation I'm getting quite the opposite. I was anticipating a warm presentation due to the glod plating however I'm finding the high frequencies and resolution to be very good. I have a power cable with Furutech FI-50 Rhodium plugs on my preamp's outboard linear power supply and while it took forever for it to settle in it was well worth it. However the Rhodium did shock my system early on as I feel it's clinical in nature. All of my other power cables are some combination of brass, copper, gold etc. so that's why I went with the GTX-D Gold hoping that there would be synergy. 

I am finding the GTX-D Gold to be lean and lacking drive in the lower frequencies. The bass articulates well however it's not natural sounding or deep as you'd expect from the receptacle. In m system the AV Options Deep-Cryo Hubble receptical has much deeper more natural sounding bass. The AVO Hubble surprisingly has better momentum, much deeper bass, more Dynamics and tacticle percussion. The Hubble could take some cues from the Furutech GTX-D in resolution and clarity. 

Best regards 

N

I have tried the gold Furutech outlet. It gave me a veiled sound compared to their Rhodium plating. But the 3 purple fuses I have in my system are great for the tube gear. 

As of yesterday I have four Synergistic Research Purple fuses in my system. Unfortunately I can't upgrade my Oppo BDP105D ;^(

Supernait 3, Naim nDAC,Teddy Pardo XPS and Teddy Pardo TeddyCap SE. 

The Oranges are very good as well but I prefer the Purples in my system. The Oranges have killer 3D soundstage imaging but the Purple's are more dynamic in my system. 

I also have over 325 hours burn in on the Furutech GTX-D Gold receptical. It has a very consistent and coherent neutral sound. Clean clear extended high frequencies. Also highly recommended. 

I purchased upgrades from Chris VenHaus of VH Audio. Excellent, courteous and knowledgeable customer service. FAST shipping too. 

N

I just received my SR purple today. I’ve installed it in my Pass INT 250 and I must say the reviews are spot on! Much richer sound then I had before. Sound is a lot more natural. I don’t  know how the sound will be after break in, but if there is no change Im happy!