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The Synergistic Research Orange Fuse ... Further thoughts.

Here are my observations after several weeks of burning in the new SR Orange fuses:

1. The sound has a more relaxed presentation. 

2.  Clarity - There is less grain. I thought I had this beat, but evidently not. 

3.  The soundstage has expanded further and instruments and performers are more well-placed inside the stage. The presentation is a lot more three-dimensional. 

4.  More articulation on voices. Vocals are more organically human in nature. While listening to Kevin Mahogany sing "Skylark," I hung on every note and word in the lyrics. Massed voices, like those heard on the Norman Luboff Choir's "But Beautiful" album, are more delineated. The solo instruments are more present than ever before also.

5.  There is a definite improvement in dynamics. Drum solos place the drummer right there in the room with you. Rim shots, bongos, congas and big bass drums are amazing. So are vibes. Cal Tjader and Victor Feldman ... Welcome to the party. 

6.  There has been a further improvement in tonal accuracy. String instruments have taken on a new dimension.  

7.   Among other improvements, there has been a slight amount of welcome warmth added to the mid-bass. The music, as a result, has become more emotionally involving. A little more tube-like in a very nice way.

8.  More meat on the bones overall. Massed strings are beautiful.  Bach's "Air on a G String" ... simply beautiful.  

9.  Lastley, I can set the volume control lower and get the same volume in sound as before.

Overall ... the new Orange fuse is a real winner in my system. 

Highly recommended. 

Frank

128x128oregonpapa
65 responses Add your response
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
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
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
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
5,480 posts
 
@oregonpapa  Thanks, Frank.  For further clarification:

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.

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

The comparison was to your system with the 4 blue fuses in 4 components versus the orange fuses in the same components (and system)? Memory of the sound of your 'former blue system' versus the "active" new 'orange' one, correct?
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Frank
You mean you DONT drive a 38 Special?
Interesting.

But I might be with 3 easy here as having spent $600 on blue fuses only 15 months ago or so I am not overkeen on blowing $640 to replace.
Maybe I will wait for the purple in another couple years......

Do not misread this, the orange may well be a huge improvement over the blue but not for me right now.

Got a box full of old fuses already......
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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


jay23
210 posts
 
@three_easy_payments
It's more like every other year. The colored outlets are the between years. They color the sound a little differently each gen and those that need the "latest & greatest" bite. 🎣
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,838 posts
 
You're not.
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
These guys seem to come out with a new improved color fuse every year which starts to make me question the whether there are really material improvements being made or it's more driven by a marketing approach to drive sales.  I'm not saying fuses don't offer performance improvements (I use a SR Blue myself) but I'm not feeling any motivation whatsoever to replace the Blue with an Orange.  In general I prefer to see manufacturers stick with an excellent product for a longer cycle and only introduce a newer model when transformational improvements are really being engineered.  How much technical advancement meat is left on the bone to improve a fuse???

In all fairness I have not tried an Orange vs the Blue but the pattern I'm detecting in marketing is sending a caution flag my way.  Perhaps I'm alone in this view.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@oregonpapa   Frank, how did you conduct the comparison? Thanks.
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
^^^ Amp, line stage, phono stage, and the CD player. Four fuses total.

ericsch
752 posts
 
@oregonpapa 
In which components did you use the Orange fuses?
Post removed 
gcdrum
62 posts
 
Mine shipped today. I’ll report on it next week.
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
^^^ 
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
jafreeman's avatar
jafreeman
689 posts
 
After reaching around twenty new sound plateaus with fairly-easy-to-implement improvements in isolation, cables, power cords, fuses, TC past, Omega Mats, tubes, power supply--I am convinced there is no limit to improving the same components in a system---no need to upgrade for over eight years now.  
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