What's going on with Synergistic Research fuses?

Of course they are. Which you would know if you followed my posts. Oh well. Only a few thousand of them worth reading. 

First of all, main thing, you noticed it does indeed sound better. Question is, Why? Which if we knew that then why would we need Synergistic? We would just make our own. So its worth the money regardless of how its done. 

What Ted does, so far as we know, is subject the fuse to a million volts or so from a Tesla coil in a process he calls Quantum Tunneling. Then he slaps a little dab of magic goo on there. Which if you were the least bit smart you were careful to keep and not throw away with the sticker. Because it says right on there to not remove it. Which that's what we call a clue.  

If you kept it you could tape or glue it onto your cheap POC fuse and hear the difference. While you're at it you could swap ends and see if your cheap POC fuse is directional. Might as well play around and learn stuff like this. Got to do something to pass the time while waiting for the new Orange Fuse you are gonna have to order if you ever want that amp to sound good again. 

Another thing you learned, how all manufacturers are blind and in denial about just how much their gear can be improved by stuff like this. 

Now go dig around in the trash, find that bit of goo, and hang onto it. You can add it to the Orange Fuse you ordered to make it even better.

Sure the op was hoping for a condescending response

Hi adam, welcome to the world of aftermarket hifi fuses. Virtually all such makers start with a cheap existing fuse and then modify it. This very often results in better sound than the stock fuse, but is, like you say, kind of a sham considering how little it may cost for them to do that. On top of that, their measurements for their fuses are woefully incomplete or non-existent and occasionally some will just flat out lie. 

If you ask me (and I know you haven't) and you want to see what one of the very few legit aftermarket fuse maker's product looks like (I use them, anyway), go to alanmaherdesigns.net and look good at the specs listed for their fuses and directly compare them to anything out there...if you can find their specs.

Noise reduction through fuses is important, the fuse is the weak point of the entire power supply, but truly reputable dealers (both with fuses and the power-treatment field in general) are hard to come by. They're often stealing tech from each other without fully understanding what it is they've stolen and how to best to implement it.

AFAIK, Alan develops his own tech. Others do in fact steal from him.

😂😂😂 Where's the crybaby emoji when you need it?

Why, do you need one for yourself?