Synergistic Red Fuse ...


I installed a SR RED Quantum fuse in my ARC REF-3 preamp a few days ago, replacing an older high end fuse. Uhh ... for a hundred bucks, this little baby is well worth the cost. There was an immediate improvement upon installation, but now that its broken in (yes, no kidding), its quite remarkable. A tightening of the focus, a more solid image, and most important of all for my tastes, a deeper appreciation for the organic sound of the instruments. Damn! ... cellos sound great! Much improved attack on pianos. More humanistic on vocals. Bowed bass goes down forever. Next move? .... I'm doing the entire system with these fuses. One at a time though just to gauge the improvement in each piece of equipment. The REF-75se comes next. I'll report the results as the progression takes place. Stay tuned ...

Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?
128x128oregonpapa
The good thing about this thread is that all responses have been welcome. This includes those who have had neutral or a negative outcome with the SR fuses. Overall this group has been very small yet their voices are heard just as they should be. Everyone who has used these fuses and posted their impressions has called it as they heard it. What more can we ask for?

I have no explanation  as to why a few listeners had  less   success and improved sound quality than the vast majority of posters here. I do obviously accept their contrary results, that's how it goes with "any" audio product. .  All we can  offer is our honest listening experiences with these SR fuses. I have gotten significant sonic and musical improvement with these wonderful Black fuses and am very grateful for them.
Charles, 
joncourage ...

No harm, no foul. :-)

Let's just agree to attempt to get the most out of our audio systems by helping each other, along with the other members here, to get closer to that which we love ... music reproduced in our home that is as close to the live performance as we can ... depending upon the depths of our pockets of course, and our willingness to remain open minded to various tweaks, lotions, Voodoo and other weird stuff.

Looking forward to your assessments of the topic at hand ... the SR fuses. 

Take care ...  

Quick update on my previous post.

At the suggestion of a few here I called SR and they were - as predicted - helpful and willing to work with the distributor on my behalf. Replacement fuses have been sent. SR lived up to their reputation.

Thanks to SR for helping to make this right. Their unhesitatingly friendly, supportive attitude and customer-focused service were on point. And I get that given the nature of the product/situation, although I believe it was the right thing to do, their response wasn’t something to take for granted.

Have the last few fuses needed for my system on order, and will post thoughts once fully installed.  Given my experience with other SR products and previous experience upgrading fuses in another Ayre amp, I expect good things.

One thing I wonder is how many people actually take the time to a/b the sound with 2 fuses repeatedly. That is what I tasked myself to do. Gotta admit I feel pretty silly now having spent time doing it and not hearing much of consequence. If I had bought the fuse instead of just testing a loaner for free, I would probably pop it in and just leave it there no matter what since I made the investment and the thing seems to sound fine. Once I did that, as time passed, it would become even harder to clearly associate any changes I hear to just the fuse. Heck I change nothing for months sometimes and things never sound exactly the same to me. Is it me? the system? The fuse? The humidity and barometric pressure? Who knows. As long as it sounds good in general day in and day out, and it makes me want to listen more, I am happy and will not sweat those details.
Al, I have a question, if I may---you recently suggested a fuse experiment whereby a garden-variety fuse could be temporarily replaced with the same fuse, but with a much higher amperage value so as to reduce resistance as the variable in sound quality.  Can you explain just what is used in fuses to create the different amperage ratings that then influence failure at the indicated rating?  From pictures, I have always thought that the filament sizes/widths are increased to achieve the higher ratings in otherwise same-type fuses, and this would to my thinking also indicate a reduction in resistance or, as you stated, more of a straight wire approach.  I ask because I have pushed all of the amperage ratings in my boutique fuses, especially in my Maggie 3.6Rs, in an attempt to move toward a straight wire without having to tear the fuse bank out as some Maggie users do, i.e. the stock ratings for the Maggie tweeter and midrange are 2.5A and 5A, whereas I am using 8A and 16A fuses. This nullifies any protective function of the fuses, but I have not had any problems so far because I am careful with volumes and believe I have a stable power supply. Am I reducing resistance in the final signal path by inserting higher ratings/larger filaments? Thanks for your evaluation, and are you thinking of accepting the SR fuse challenge in one of your own components?