The Synergistic Research Orange Fuse ... Further thoughts.

^^^ 
jafreeman ...

I am convinced there is no limit to improving the same components in a system---no need to upgrade for over eight years now.  

Exactly.

Even with all of the PPT products in the system, including The Gate, the SR Orange fuses brought things up to a new level. Hard to believe, but there it is. 

Frank

^^^ Amp, line stage, phono stage, and the CD player. Four fuses total.

david_ten ...

"Frank, how did you conduct the comparison? Thanks."

I had the Blue fuses in the system for over two years. I pulled them out and installed the Orange fuses. Then, I listened to the difference.
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New, upgraded fuses appearing on the market for some reason seems to irritate people. Especially people who have never tried them in their system.

Do we hear the same irritations when other manufacturers upgrade their equipment? How about the ARC REF-75 I bought right before the "SE" version came out? Same thing with my ARC CD-7 before the "SE" version came out? I opted to sell the two items and buy the SE versions. Yep, there was a considerable improvement in both cases. Same with fuses.

Time marches on ... as does advancements in technology. If that weren’t true, we would still be driving 1938 Fords and Chevies ... or using buggy whips to drive our carriages.

Frank

david_ten ...

Correct.

 All of my evaluations are based upon what I hear in my own system, no one else's. Over time, I've been fairly consistent in saying that. Same electronics. Same music. Same cabling. The only change made were the fuses.  Out with the old and in with the new.

Frank

david_ten ...

I appreciate your questioning of my methodology in testing the new fuses. You are totally correct in doing so.

1. Yes, aural memory is fickle and tricky. The fuses were stock, right out of the box. Even though they weren’t broken in, they still sounded better than the fully broken-in Blue fuses that have been used for the past two years.

I don’t think your point about aural memory is valid in this case, because I am so familiar with my system. I can clearly hear differences every tweak makes, both for the better or if it degrades the sound. If I were testing fuses on an unfamiliar system, then I think your point would be valid.

2. No a/b comparisons were made. Not necessary. See #1.

3. Same as above.

4. Directionality checked? Yes .. I had to reorient the one in the line-stage. There was an improvement in overall focus. Slight, but better.

5. I did compare the Blue fuses one component at a time. With the Orange fuses, I tried the experiment of loading them all at once, so I could hear their total impact immediately. I was pleasantly surprised. Over time, say 20 hours, they improved quite a bit. Now that some weeks have passed, you’d have to pry them out of the system. I think at this point it would be akin to pulling out a couple of my ribs. :-)

6. See #5,

7. The "Stop It" duplex plugs were completely broken in at the time the fuses were tested. Normally, the "Stop It" duplex plugs need no break-in time at all. Those are the ones presently on the market... fully cured and broken in.

The ones I received from Tim weren’t cured like the ones on the market now. Using the "Stop It" duplex plugs prior to curing, or completely drying throughout from the manufacturing process, I had lost most of the mid-bass and some the lower bass. As soon as they cured, everything came back much better than before. That’s when I reported that they were like "putting ’The Gate’ on steroids." So, by the time the Orange fuse testing began, the "Stop It" duplex plugs had no effect (plus or minus) on the fuse test.

You mentioned that you are invested in SR products. I don’t have a lot of SR products, but the ones I DO have, the improvements afforded by them were immediately apparent. I remember when I put the ten-pack of HFT’s throughout the room as directed. Wow! That wasn’t subtle at all. In fact, in spite of having a lot of expensive room treatments in use (Bass Traps and Shatki Holograms) prior to installing the HFT’s, I had a bear of a time getting my room (raised foundation) under control. The HFT’s had a profound effect and actually completed the room. There was no need for a/b comparisons with the HFT’s ... just as there was no need for a/b comparisons with the new Orange fuses.

If you have SR’s HFT’s was your experience the same as mine?

Take care ...

Frank

uberwaltz ...

I hear you. Someone in another thread, maybe it was you, asked if there was a demand on the secondary market for used after-market fuses. I've never tried to sell them, opting instead to just giving them away to my down-and-out audiophile friends to use in their systems. I also, gave fuses to a couple of naysayers to try out. :-)

By the way, my very first car was a 1936 Chevy coupe. Bought it from my uncle for twelve dollars. He gave me terms ... a dollar a month. At the end of the year, as I was handing him the last dollar, he held up his hand, then reached into his wallet and gave me eleven dollars. When I asked what he was doing, he said ... "I just wanted to see if you would meet the terms and pay me as agreed." He gave me the car for free out of respect for a fifteen-year-old kid's honesty.  :-)

Uncle Burl ... RIP

Frank

^^^
I remember when I swapped out the KT-120 tubes in the REF-75 for the KT-150s. No need for a/b comparisons there at all. Nor was there any need for a/b comparisons in swapping out the SR Blue fuses for the SR Orange fuses. In both cases, the improvement was immediate and very obvious.

Frank

^^^ I've been more than satisfied with ARC. Been a customer since the early 1980s. As stated before, I  no longer chase the upgrade path. Only tweaks for me from now on. 
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My friend Robert gifted me with the 180g reissue of Dave Brubeck's "Dave Digs Disney." I played it for the first time tonight. Dead silent vinyl and sounded great. I could have reached out and touched Paul Desmond. 

  https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dave-Brubeck-Quartet-Dave-Digs-Disney-1957-CL1059-6-Eye-MONO-vinyl-is-NM/283617615442?hash=item4208ed5e52:g:mSIAAOSwgfpddqFv

Frank

allenf1963

The fuses are used in your electronics, like amps, line stages, phono stages, and speakers that use fuses like Maggies.

The Orange fuse under discussion here is made by Synergistic Research in Santa Ana, California. The owner and lead designer of SR products is still Ted Denney.

I’ve been on the other sites you mentioned where some members excoriate Ted Denney. He’s actually hated by a few members on those sites.

Those calling Ted Denney’s products "snake oil," for the most part have never tried SR products. They are people who lead narrow, darkened little lives and take pleasure in talking out of their heinies.

These are very destructive people, not just on the audiophile sites, but destructive in general as they wander through life without a positive focus, or a second thought about how much they hurt others ... all for the cause of making themselves feel far more important than they are.

To paraphrase Nikola Tesla ... "If hatred was electricity, they could light up the entire world."

If you were to go back on earlier fuse threads, you’d find that the Orange fuse is the latest SR fuse to hit the market. Prior to the Orange fuse, there are A’gon threads on the SR Red, Black and Blue fuses. Each one was an incremental improvement over the others.

While $160 for a fuse seems expensive, especially I would imagine to someone like yourself who has been out of the hobby for a while, you can be assured they are not snake oil, and that they perform well beyond their price point.

There’s a 30 day trial period with a 100% money-back guarantee. If they do nothing for you, then you’d be out only the cost of return shipping.

www.highendelectronics.com

Hope this helps ...

Frank

lalitk ... 

The man asked the question. I provided the answer. 

By the way, I just bought a private jet with my royalties. See you in Paris. 

Frank

  millercarbon ... +1

Two appropriate Nikola Tesla quotes: 

"If hatred was electricity, they could light the world."   

"I'm not disappointed that they stole my ideas ... I'm disappointed that they have no ideas of their own." 
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audiotunesx ...

Yes, the bass is considerably better. Acoustic bass becomes even more natural and tuneful. Everything is better with the Orange fuse. Percussion takes on a new life as well. 

Frank