2. amps-preamps
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What's going on with Synergistic Research fuses?

I live in California and a couple of weeks ago we had strange lightning storms that started the many fires burning in the State.  It also fried the fuse in my Pass XA30.5.  I got the amp second hand and it came with a SR Blue fuse.  I called Pass and they recommended a very cheap fuse which I ordered and installed.  Because I was curious, I took the SR sticker off the old burnt out fuse and found that it was a very cheap SIBA brand fuse underneath.  It is clear that SR is either not making the ceramic casing for this fuse or using the SIBA fuse and then doing stuff to it.  At the very worst, it's just slapping a sticker on it and charging a ton more

The thing is, I'm pretty sure I could hear a difference for the worse when I installed the cheap glass fuse post lightning storm.  Could it be that SR is modifying an existing fuse to make it sound better?  Maybe some more technically minded folks here on the forum could help me understand

thanks!
adam8179

Showing 2 responses by fleschler

fleschler
2,041 posts
 
@spenav  100% agree. 

@lemonhaze  My amp manufacturer who has no tweaks in his home system didn't believe their is a difference either.  We experimented with new and old standard fuses and the SR blues.  He was shocked at the difference.  He went home and installed 5 amp circuit breakers instead of his fuses.  We compared amps with the blue fuses.  Virtually identical (couldn't tell the difference).  Like you, he designed the amp and if the NOS circuit breakers fail, he can rebuild them.   Maybe its the improved contact area or the size of the filament (8 amp SR blue needed for 5 amp fuse spec).

I have a friend who found that the SR blue fuse sounded slightly worse than the standard fuse in his pre-amp.  He doesn't know why.  It could be equipment dependent.  I will be trying his SR blue in the same backup pre-amp that I have and see if it makes a difference in my system.  

I am the beta tester for a cable manufacturer.  Cables sound different.  I've tested 100s of cables.
fleschler
2,041 posts
 

@atmasphere I suspect that based on what I read concerning the EAR 864 preamp, that it has an unregulated power supply.  The result of replacing a Bussman glass fuse with an SR Blue fuse was fundamental and sensational.  I was ready to dump this 17 year old back-up pre-amp which sounded like it had no depth, forward sounding and weird brightness with many but not all recordings turned out to be totally the fault of the cheap fuse.  I had it plugged into high end power cable, Stillpoint Ultra SS footers, Mullard 4004 & RCA cleartop 12AU7.  The SR Blue fuse transformed it into a rival for the EAR 912 (I haven't done the shoot out yet).  The phono is a perfect match for the Dynavector 20X2 L and the line stage made digital recordings sound analog.  This is going through an EAR 890 amp with an SR purple fuse (even with the 890's glass fuse, it sounded very analog-like).  

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