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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
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
^^^ Agreed, Lak.

I thought my system was pretty much grain free before I got into the SR fuses. They have transformed my system from top to bottom. The clarity and  textures of instruments are way beyond what I thought possible. On good recordings, the performers are in the room in 3D relief. Massed strings, solo instruments and vocals have such a natural presentation ... it matches the best I've heard except for a few multi-hundred thousand dollar systems. 

Over the 40+ years I've been in the hobby, I've tried a lot of tweaks. Some were effective. Some not so much. Some not at all. The SR Black fuses are the best tweak yet and well worth the money for sure.

The SR Black fuses were more effective than swapping out the KT-120's for KT-150's in the ARC REF-75 amp, or changing out the turntable belt for one from www.originlive.com.   

And by the way, for those reading this who are still into vinyl, I highly recommend upgrading to an originlive turntable belt. Like the SR fuses, Its another amazing upgrade and very cost effective. 

Lak ... Not sure if you're into classical music .. but if you are, wait until you hear bowed strings like cellos and acoustic bass when the fuses finally break in.  A beautiful, organic presentation awaits. :-)

Here's another LP recommendation:  Its a Chris Connor reissue two-LP set. Its in mono, but so good that you'll be saying: "who needs stereo!"  Here's a near mint copy available now on Ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Finest-of-CHRIS-CONNOR-Shrink-NM-2-LP-on-Bethlehem-Records-/322066568288...

Buy it. Throw it on the turntable. You'll think Chris Connor is in the listening room singing to you personally. 

OP
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,236 posts
 
Hi Lak,
Clarity and naturalness summarized the Black fuse effect. I am glad to read that the fuses worked out well in your system although I am not surprised 😊.  Frank I agree regarding bowed string bass(and Cello). Con arco bass is simply beautiful on my jazz recordings.  It was already very good but improved further with insertion of the Black fuses..
Charles, 
joncourage
185 posts
 

Initial project - upgrade stock to SR Black in Ayre AX-5 amp - was a two-parter...

First, replaced half the fuses (mis-informed on quantity so originally ordered only half what was needed and had to place a 2nd order after getting the amp opened up and realizing).

Long story short, before having all SR in the system I was concerned, things just seemed off in a lot of ways. Not worth getting into since it didn't last, but a somewhat interesting lesson in that, it seems important to go "all SR" (or at least, "all the same" whatever that may be).

Once I got all SR fuses (8 total so no trivial investment), and after one change in direction of installation (yes, this seemed to make a difference) things started to turn around.  And with around 70+ hours burn-in, things started improving dramatically.

Now, with substantial hours in and all-SR Black fuses in the amp, here's what my ears hear (forgive my lack of audiophile vocabulary, I'll just describe it as best I can):

- Improved instrument separation, placement, and 3-dimensionality

- Perception of more immediacy and "smack/oomph"

- Lower, tighter, punchier bass

- Overall just a better sense of musicality

- I feel there was a very, very subtle loss of realism in instrument/vocal texture.

The improvements, with possible exception of bass improvements, I would not say are profound, but I would say more than subtle. They are a matter of improving on the already excellent sonic quality of the amp, in nice, noticeable - but not earth-shattering - ways. The change in bass seems the most dramatic.

I'm not an electronics engineer (although I am an engineer by training/trade) so I have little concept why the above would be the case, but I do have pretty good ears and have been a musician for 40 years, pro at times, so I trust that I'm hearing a difference, and that the difference is an improvement overall.

Whether an investment in upgraded fuses is worth it is a pretty individual thing, dependent I imagine on how much your particular system benefits from a specific brand/model of fuse and your budget.  I had a very positive experience with Hifi Tuning Supreme in my last Ayre amp so tried this, and I'm happy with the (in this case rather large) investment.

I've ordered SR Black fuses for my DAC and transport now, and looking forward to hearing what differences they may make.

At some point, I will buy a set of the Hifi Supremes to compare, since I liked what they did in the past.  But for now, I'm quite happy with the difference the SR Black fuses make in my amp.

charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,236 posts
 
Congratulations Jon. Your descriptive writing  ability is  just fine IMO.  My improvements weren't "earth shattering " either,  very noticeable ? Definitely yes!
Charles, 
wolf_garcia
6,631 posts
 
So to sum up, the clarity, texture, sound staging, coherence, scent, otherworldliness, mojo, mass appeal, appeal to those in MA (where I live), bass profundity, basso gonzo delecto, air around instruments, air around your socks, heir apparent, apparent hair loss, and ear wax viscosity can be improved with SRs "fabulous half inch" of zapped wire irrespective of where the electrons came from or where they go after the fuse holder lets go of 'em. And if none of this happens, the fuse could be  backwards or not burned in. If any of this is true, I am absolutely not worthy of such wonderfulness and shall remain unrefused until my sense of self worth deems me ready to deal with this avalanche of sonic boost as, currently, I just don't think I could take it.
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