Thanks, I do have Audio Horizons fuses, too. However, there has been an interesting development in the past two days, which I posted in another thread.
My system - for a long while - seemed undynamic,and the dimensionality of images was close to non-existent. Ella's singing sounded like she was falling asleep, so boring was it all.
And then, yesterday, I was talking to a friend about fuses, when an aha! moment struck, and I thought, 'If I changed the fuses in all the other components, then, I must also have changed it in the Arcam (FMJ23)!' And with that, I opened the Arcam. Sure enough, there was a Synergistic SR 20 in there. I looked at it for a moment, and then…I changed the orientation.
The sound was so immediately better I (almost) wondered why I hadn't heard it before, but I knew why: there'd been some serious illnesses in the family and I hadn't been listening intently.
Transients are now far better on attack/decay, as is dimensionality, while dynamics go from p-ff so quickly that I have to turn the volume down on big crescendos. This is not a case of a hyped-up upper midrange, either. The tonal quality is back as well. The music is again enjoyable. That makes two components that really show how much incorrect orientation can affect the sound.
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I haven't tried those two, but switched to the audio horizons fuses and they made a considerable difference over stock fuses. I would recommend also adding audio horizons to your list. I think they have some kind of money back guarantee. |
My bad.
While I don't disagree with what I wrote above, I DID change the orientation of the fuses in the NAD, and the "thinness" in the tone changed. It is still not as rich as I've heard the NAD (not euphonic, just, again, how it sounds in Carnegie Hall and The Met), it is distinctly less electronic-sounding. The bass? I'm going to give it time to break in since I changed the orientation just today.
I'm glad I saw this thread (6 years too late to the party!), so I could see others' experience, but I'm also glad I heard the orientation change, which I think will not be that hard to hear. It certainly has made the NAD C325 BEE sound less "dark" than it is as a stock unit. I'm not sure it has made the NAD sound more like live music or that it is, overall, more musical-sounding than with stock fuses, but hey, I certainly can wait a week and comment again...
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I agree with Spacer. I have just commented on another thread that there is a loss of tone color when, just to improve it, I bought 5 fuses for my NAD C325 BEE integrated. I initially thought it clearer, but I also noticed a thinness to the sonics overall (another poster said it increased the "3D" sound, but that was not my experience in the NAD, which is itself weighted towards the midrange and bass. I had thrown away the stock fuses, so I bought a pair of Synergistic SR 20s, took out two of the Furutechs, and could immediately distinguish oboes, clarinets, and certain types of trumpets' tonality (Herb Alpert uses a different trumpet than Al Hirt) quite clearly.
So, the Furutech, while good, might lessen mid bass tonality (and upper bass, too). It's a good idea to hear live instruments instead of just recordings, because it can fool you when the sound changes in ways you don't expect, and even I have initially lauded a product only to realize later that it DID do what I thought, but it lessened some other qualities of live music. Tonality of instruments (including Aretha Franklin's voice, Ella's voice, and Nina Simone's voice) changed with the Furutechs as well: not as "human-sounding" as when I put in the new Synergistics (and I have both the SR and the Red fuses, as well as Hi Fi regular fuses as well as Supreme, and several other audiophile fuses, which I've used in my Hurricanes, PS Audio Power Plant and other applications) and the effect is clear. So, the Furutechs might clean up the sound, but I think there is a reason that the Furutech Gold outlets are being used in that $5k line conditioner HP used last (the manufacturer chose the Gold over the Rhodium). I had both, but chose the Rhodium, because it was more "forward" and "immediate" sounding. Now I'm wondering if, just to play Devil's Advocate, I should put back in my Synergistic Research outlets or even my FIMs to see how the sound changes tonally.
So, what Spacer said sounds correct to me. And I have a LOT of Furutechs: outlets, outlet covers, fuses, and my Nordost Brahma has a Furutech connector on it, too. Hmmm...
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I have tried a variety of expensive fuses and would strongly suggest people try the Acme Audio silver plated and cryo treated fuses. Obviously the effect will depend on your system. But they are so reasonably priced it is well worth a try. In my system they were far superior to any of the other fuses I tried. I replaced all 10 fuses in my system with them and couldn't be more pleased. Endless discussions of micro dynamics --- which were improved, or "air" -- which was improved, or bass which was also improved and on and on will not tell you what will happen in your system. Just please try them. Michael is a wonderful guy and makes exceptional products. |
Moonguy and Spacer, this is very important:
Furutech fuses available in the USA are of the slow-blow type. Do a Google search. Furutech calls them time lag or time delay fuses.
If your big power amp uses a slow-blow fuse (there is a "spring"
inside slow-blow fuses), it is OK to replace with a Furutech fuse of the same rating.
Tube amps, CD players, DVDs, preamps and other Hi-FI stuff rarely use slo-blo fuses, for a simple reason: they take too long to open in case of a current peak.
DO NOT replace a regular (fast) fuse with a slo-blo fuse. In the event of any internal electrical failure, a slo-blo fuse will stay put and your gear will go up in smoke. Your warranty and home insurance DO NOT cover fires caused by the wrong kind of fuse, no mater how expensive they are.
Please read this before it is too late:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_second_it_takes_the_fast_blow_fuse_to_blow |
Thanks for your suggestion, but we've tried it all.
In my system however, in my amp. (Robertson 4010) I left a regular fuse for the power fuse and use Furutech for both left and right channels. Wonderful!!!
Note taht I've learned since my last post that Furutech fuses need at least 100 hours to be broken in. And from what I'm hearing, it is true.
Cheers! |
Thanks Spacer!: it might help if your friend move the speakers closer to the rear wall? |
Further to my last comment on Furutech fuses, after futher investigation, I'd like to add that on certain systems (like my friend's) these fuse show the symptoms of some silver cables: slightly attenuated mid-bass and mid-low bass frequencies and slightly accentuated high mid and high frequencies, IMO anyways. |
Grisslehamn:
Sorry, my mistake, I was thinking of fast blow fuses for CD players, preamps and so on.
My system has zero, nada slow blow fuses.
A warning for everyone reading this thread:
Never replace a fast fuse with a slow blow fuse, there is a safety issue and your equipment will become unprotected against fast current surges.
In case of internal failure, a major melt-down will occur before the slo-blo fuse has a chance to open.
Slo-blo fuses should be used only when the manufacturer specifies them, e.g. some large power amps. |
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturing. It is mainly used to describe parts for cars, airplanes and electrical systems. It is also used for computer parts and computer programs.
The name OEM is usually used when a new version of something is made by a company that is different to the company that first made it. The new company will sell the product at a cheaper price, but this is often because it does not have as many features as the first version. For example, an OEM computer program will usually only come with the disc and a licence, but no instruction manuals |
OK, Steve, who are the OEM'ers and do theyt sell @ retail? |
Does anybody think these companies make their own products? They are rebranded / repackaged from OEM manufacturer and the only difference is if they cryo them or not. |
I have tried the Isoclean fuses which made quite a difference, especially in the amp. I have them in everything, even Foundation Research pc/conditioners.I do plan on trying the Furutechs out also. I have heard good things about the Furutech fuses. |
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I've tried Furutech fuses and they do not color the sound of your system, they just improve everything without affecting your sound balance and musicality.
Regards, |
Casouza:
All these fuses sounds different and all comes as slow blow fuses. So why is it impossible to compare? |
AFAIK Furutech only makes slow blow fuses, so it is impossible to compare apples to apples. |
Or if you have compared the HiFiTuning SILVERSTAR vs the Furutech fuses. |
