1.6.
Perhaps with a true ribbon like yours I would probably feel the same way. |
I've been using the sr reds in my arc preamp and power amp since they were introduced over a year ago. I was gaga over them, and could not believe the improvement. Since my amp was replaced recently by another arc amp, the fuse rating did not match up to the new one, so now, I will replace the fuse in the new amp with a BLACK one...
Given, my new amp is still burning in. It only has 175 hours of 600 needed, but I can already tell, after the fact, that my red fuse that was in my old amp was indispensable and was part responsible for how transparent the old amp sounded.
Now even though my new amp is still burning in, the stock fuse in there, I'm sure, is mucking up the sound. There is a bit of nasally congestion in the upper mids, that I am attributing to the break in process, and or stock fuse. Either way, I'm very much looking forward to getting the stock fuse and going straight to a Black fuse.
If my mind is blown, then I may just upgrade the digital and analogue fuses in my scd5400es. Right now it has the blue furutech fuses in it. The preamp has an SR red. Maggie's fuses are bypassed. (Immense improvement from taking the fuse out of the Maggies) I will never go back to a fused Maggie. I've never had a problem and the transparency and lack of grain is too good to give up. |
Oregonpapa,
I had an ARC HD220, and replaced it with an ARC DS450. |
Hoping my black fuse shows up tomorrow. Had a red on my old arc amp. Believe it or not I can hear the amount of haze the stock fuse bid introducing. It must be gone. They make the sound truly sound like wax paper by comparison. If you use the clean glass analogy, it's like cleaning an already "thought to be clean" mirror. There may not be any obvious smudges, but it's obvious once it's cleaned, the gleam and sparkle is obviously increased, giving a more true, 3d image of the reflection. The postman better have something good tomorrow! Lol |
Black fuse due here tomorrow. Can't wait, got the red in the preamp, and two furutechs in the CD player. Maybe a set of blacks for the CD player would do me well.... First things first. Let's try the black in the power amp first. Mail can't get here fast enough. M
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Cymbop- don't forget to play with direction. I've noticed, at least on the red fuses, that there is a distinct change in sound depending on direction..
I've found that the right way actually sounds SMALLER in scale, but with a proper image size and relationship. When the fuse is wrong. The soundstage sounds oval with a huge hump in the center, making the center image mushroomed out, creating just a huge center image with a tiny band on each side.
Youll know its right when you hear the correct perspective. |
WTF USPS!! Still not here!! Feel like a little kid waiting for his spy camera to arrive. Delivery date was supposed to be yesterday. Grrrrr. Tracking is worthless. Still showing that it has only left California. About to turn into a brat in. 3,2..... |
Charles1dad,
My black fuse should FINALLY be here tomorrow and I will experiment, however, I assume that if you are a previous red owner like myself and already know the direction you prefer with the red, that one could save the time by simply using the same direction with the black. Would I be correct in deducing this? I mean, I would imagine they are produced in the same way. |
Tonight my SR black was waiting for me on the table in the foyer. I opened it up like a giddy school boy and installed it into my power amp, observing the same "polarity" I had with the red fuse. I went back to my listening position and thought that I was going to be happy with the sound, but not astounded, especially since the fuse was fresh from the box with zero break-in time. However, this was not the case. I was actually bowled over.
Unfortunately, due to getting home late, with my family sleeping I had to listen to the system at a relatively low level. Nevertheless, the attributes of this fuse came gushing through. Gbmcleod makes some very good assessments above. For me, Space, micro detail and overall smoothness have gone off the charts. Refinement like I've never heard before from my system. It truly sounds less like electricity and more like music. Details are less bright, but better defined. If this is what it sounds like from the box, I can't imagine what it will sound like after break in. The 3d realism simply cannot be explained. It's like with the stock fuse, the landscape is the same size, but much less defined. Images are larger as well. My maggies image like a huge set of high end headphones literally enveloping you, swimming in high fidelity. I thought that it was great before. This is a new experience.
In comparison to the red, the black has a much more decernerable difference in sound when switching direction, which makes figuring out the best direction in your component a breeze. (I simply reused the Reds previously determined direction, (happened to be the same correct direction) but still I experimented, but it was punch you in the face obvious with the black when I was in the right "polarity".
So now I have a red in the preamp, black in the amp and 2 blue furutechs in my source. It sounds so insane right now that im afraid to "mess" with it, but we all know curiosity will get the better of me. I guess the next place would be the source, and pull the furutechs, because I'm sure the blacks would mop the floor with them and would be a better sonic upgrade from going from red to black in the preamp... In 150 hours I can't imagine what this thing will sound like. I feel sorry for those that laugh at us. They have no idea what they are missing. They spend precious time trying to prove their point instead of nearing their gear run at higher echelon. Pitty. Truth is, if you can't hear the improvement, it might be time for a hearing test. |
Cymbop, what you are describing very much sounds like the fuse is in the wrong direction. I wouldn't wait. I would change direction now, and decide tje right polarity, then reinstall and let it continue to break in and settle back down. The differences in direction are very apparent. I agree with the system being less bright, and it may initially feel less resolving, but ultimately I feel that was artificial brightness from the stock fuses. I am more interested now in listening than before. My imaging has not gone flat. IT WILL NOT SOUND RIGHT IF ITS IN THE WRONG DIRECTION FOR A GIVEN COMPONENT.
Even my factory fresh ARC amplifier, which came with a factory ceramic fuse was pencil marked from the factory indicating proper orientation of the fuse. Obviously done during its factory sound check. So, it is obviously a real,variable.
let us know when you change direction if your feelings change. I think they will. |
Good morning fellow loon...er, audiophiles. :-).
This morning marks about 30 hours on the black fuse. I hate to go back on what I originally said, but this morning the sound that I had when I first put in the fuse just isn't there.
It got me thinking just how sensitive components are to power. Remember, when I put in the fuse, it was about 1am, and I had the best power of the day, I was also listening low, so the pre break-in brightness, actually helped, kinda like creating a loudness curve.
Anyway, I'm feeling like Oregon papa right now with 30 hours. The system sounds hifi. Mind you- it still sounds fantastic. Although, my good friend is coming over tonight for a listening session after I started gushing about the black fuse. Hope I'm not embarrased. Lol.
I look forward for the fuse to be done with puberty and being able to get down to business. There are times when the sound does catch my ear and I look up startled, so that's a good thing. |
Oregonpapa, exciting news! I hope the black pc comes in 20 amp! I wouldn't mind one my power amp. Anyone here going to audition one? |
Update time guys-
oh my...... After a week of break-in the sound has improved tremendously. I have staggering resolution and transparency. I haven't listened to the system critically for a few days, allowing it to cook meanwhile. Listening to Mingus is an aural delight. You can hear all the "Oh yeah's" and "know what I know's with such a clarity. I've never heard such transparency from my system. Mind you the arc electronics still have stock power cords. Time to upgrade the red to black in the pre. its truly a new birth of sound. Never knew my quasi ribbons had so much to give! Awesome. Too bad I have to go to work.
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Slippery slope......
I can't believe what I have just done. I just became one of the first owners of the black cords. Ordered 2. One for CD player and one for preamp. With the free fuse offer, I ordered two for my scd-5400es. One for the digital transformer and one for the analogue transformer. They will replace the furutechs that currently reside in there. As well, a black fuse will be replacing the red fuse in the preamp.
I am a bad man.
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all this talk abou ref-10', I'm feeling like a scrub with my Ls 17. Lol. Posted in the other SR Atmosphere cable thread. Got the entry level black cords. Breaking in right now. About 24 hours in. Hard and unmusical. I had been using a hombres cord with belden 33803 or something like that, with furutech copper and gold plate iec's. The black cord use what appear to be Leviton brass male connectors, this I would think would be a downgrade, but the prof is in e broken in sound..... We shall see! |
Oh by the way- for those of you really want to take the fuses to the next level-
if you are using them in a barrel type connector with a spring loaded mechanism, you will notice that there is play inside the connector. Wrap the fuse in Teflon plumbers tape to make it snug (not too snug to keep the spring from compressing). Don't cover the black dot on the black fuse. Reinsert and behold even greater clarity and focus. This tweak works on any fuse. Try it and report back. You should like what you hear!!! IEC's respond well too to this. Minimizing vibrations goes a long way.
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Well, after 100 hours of having added the black fuses to my CD player and black UEF power cords to it and the preamp, I must say that the difference is absolutely staggering. YOU HAVE TO LEAVE EVERYTHING ALONE AND NOT FIDDLE WITH CABLES OR DO AB COMPARISONS WITH YOUR OLD CABLES AND FUSES WHILE BREAKING IN. LET EVERYTHING ACCLIMATE. IF YOU DONT DO THIS - YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHAT THESE PRODUCTS CAN DO DOR YOUR SOUND. YOU WILL NEVER GET THESE THINGS OUT OF "FIRST GEAR".
I istened to some cachao volume 1, a CD I have had for nearly 20 years. Tonight it was like listening to it for the first time. As if the disc had been remastered in SACD. I gotta say, it’s true, you only hear a glimpse of what’s to come until it settles for at least 100 hours. This is a whole new level of fidelity. Clarity is stunning- grain free, making the instruments sound eerily real. Timbre central! The CD went from a b+ to an A+. I really thought my system imaged well and had a great soundstage. Boy was I wrong. I can literally highlight any instrument I want to in the mix and study it. I hate to say it, but my systems "hi Rez" sound was a shaved off, approximate mush of the original waveform. It’s hard to believe that this is a red book cd. The difference in PRAT is huuuuge. It was mechanical and stiff sounding by comparison. There is a natural ebb and flow, allowing small timing and spatial cues to come through with aplomb-which is probably due to the noise floor dropping. Inflections are now clearly defined. It's just an incredible difference.
Honestly, I know these differences can’t be measured. But I KNOW what I hear, and this system is easily light years ahead of where it was before the SR fuses and cables. These are prerequisite IMHO to hear your systems reality. In fact, these products are so good, they may recalibrate ones baseline for what hi fidelity is. Not having these is like driving a Ferrari with cheap auto parts store house brand tires on it. Yes it will roll down the road and and be able to hit 200 miles an hour, but it won’t do it with anywhere near as gracefully and confidently as with a set of high end tires. I look forward to even more out of these as they continue to break in. But at only 100 hours- they are making me question reality. |
sayles- I just put two SR BLACK into my 5400 es too. When you say arrows? Can you explain? I put it them in position with the writing going down, facing the front of the unit, as if each fuse was a book on a shelf. Seemed the best sound for me. They replaced two furutechs. Awesome. |
Davidpritchard,
Im also looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the new ac outlets.. I use the gtx d rhodium, with the matching plates, and covers. I’ve also used silver wattgates, and the teslaplex’ which reside in my power conditioner. The gtx d r are the ones to beat. Wonder what you’ll find after 400 hours with these new offerings.
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Been a while since I've checked in on this thread. I'm very curious about the black outlet. Davidpritchard has me very intrigued. Right now, I have the gtxD r feeding my power conditioner and subwoofer. The teslaplex se are retrofitted into my conditioner. My power amp and my CD player are connected directly to the wall, into a wattgate 381 Ag Cryo. I'd imagine the wattgate would get spanked by the new black outlet. I'm just so lazy to get back there. I wonder if it would be worth it though. Lol.
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David Pritchard, do you have any experience with the old school watt gate 381 silver cryo? If so, how would you compare it to the new UEF black Receptacle?
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For my ARC/magnepan system, the uef black power cables sound incredible. my CD player and pre have the 12 gauge, and the poweramp has the 10 gauge. Im sure as you go up the line into the atmosphere line, improvements are there, but those power cords are out of my budget. I am verry happy with them. I too got them because I was so impressed with the black fuses. I know I could go back to not having them. |
