I was ready to chuck my EAR 864 (owned since 2006) because it had a forward sound and flat sound/minimal depth, kept as a back-up pre-amp. I needed it after my pre-amp tube failed (broken voltage regulator blew and was open) and was at the repair shop. I tried the EAR 864 again in 2023 and found it sounded better than back then. The problem was inconsistent results, with some recordings sounding great and others mediocre or even bad. I replaced the fuse with a Synergistic Research Blue fuse. Immediately, it made all recordings that sounded bad or mediocre sound like it did with my main pre-amp. After leaving it on for 60-70 hours, it settled (first it was a little dark, then too bright by 15-20 hours, then I just left it alone). Unbelievable. This is an excellent pre-amp (also with high end cabling, superior line tubes, phono tube, Stillpoint Ultra SS footers, etc). Great sounding. Without the fuse change, it was unacceptable to me (not to the designer Paravacini who distained cables, fuses and other tweaks). His design was genius, execution could be improved.
@grannyring Yes, I did let the Purple fuse burn in. I've been happily running Beeswax fuse for a while now. I tried the stock fuse again and it was big step down from Beeswax. |
@grannyring I have the Ultimate Premier. It was the only fuse I tried that didn’t sound hollow. It has a depth, or roundness to it. |
I’ve got a red AC outlet arriving today. After using the yellow Jitterbug on my power conditioner for some time with good results, I decided the next step is to replace it with the outlet. The Jitterbug definitely improved the sound, and is an easy way to try the QSA tech in your system. The downside is that It doesn’t make a real solid connection to the outlet, and adds an extra plug to the power chain. My current outlet is a standard cheapo one, so the red QSA should be a very nice improvement. I’m having a friend help me install it, so, hopefully, It’ll be up and running soon. I’ll post more once I get a handle on the sonic results. |
I have the silver jitterplug and the difference was night and day. I agree that due to its weight and where I have it located it is not a great connection. I might prop it up with a board. I had the SR orange Duplex outlet already. Down the road I will convert to Red / Black or Silver after I win the lottery. |
That's only in the last day or so @tommylion |
I’ve had the QSA Jitter Plug Yellow (UK version) running in my system for around 4 weeks now, and like what it does; adds a touch of warmth to my ears at any rate, which is welcomed, plus the expected noise floor decrease, instrument separation, and ties in with QSA’s product description. And the bass, wow! - I've actually turned my Sub right down Has anyone tried the ORG Yellow version, or compared with the standard Yellow? |
Well, I did go crazy. I ordered the QSA Lanedri cables including: Ultimatum Infinity Speaker Cables Ultimatum Infinity 20amp Power cord Gamma Infinity Power Cords Gamma Infinity BNC cable 2 Gamma Infinity speaker cable 1 Ultimatum Infinity Jumper speaker cable 1 Silver horn treated QSA outlet. I already have a QSA Silver Jitterplug which I am going to try on my JVC movie projector. The jitterplug alone made an immediate improvement in my system. Currently, I only have the Ultimatum Infinity Speaker cable and the Gamma Infinity Power cords in my system. The speaker cables provided a level of clarity, detail, bass and real-life live music feedback that I have ever heard. I am very happy with my purchase and there was a 30-day money-back guarantee which I am not returning any of the cables. These are end-game cables for me. In my old system, I had QSA yellow fuses. In my current system I just have OEM fuses. There are just too many fuses in my Aries Cerat components to add them right now. |