Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Yes $175 for a fuse.

Enough to make one question one's sanity.

It's up there on the pantheon of upgrades for me though.

This is the unexpected and fun part of the hobby.

I had the Synergistic Red fuse before on a previous source and it definitely imparted its own sound signature - glossy with sizzle.

I now have the Audio Magic Beeswax installed on my Exemplar DAC.

I had spoken to Jerry at Audio Magic before taking the leap, but he really underplayed how much of an upgrade it would be. 

Voices and instruments sound like . . voices and instruments.

But perhaps more importantly it drops the noise floor significantly so you get more music, texture, and dynamics.

The grit and scratchiness that you're used to hearing is reduced.

This is most obvious in the background layers of a track that you've heard a thousand times. They are no longer congested and presented to you in broad daylight.

I'm not sure how a fuse does all of this and I wasn't expecting this big leap in musical flow and engagement.

It's different than connecting a top of the line Entreq grounding box to your source, though they are complementary.

The closest experience I've had was swapping my interconnects for Ziro Disclosure. The Ziros dropped the noise floor and all of the sudden there was so much more music and dynamics.

I just wanted to write this to thank Jerry at Audio Magic for developing this fuse and making it available to us.

Oregonpapa, I have a Stillpoints ESS rack and it allows my components to perform at a level I never imagined. So I'm a big believer in reducing micro vibrations. The rack would be the last thing I sell if I ever got out of this hobby.

Charles, I agree with you wholeheartedly.

These are the things we learn from being in this hobby for a long time. And sometimes it still surprises us when something comes out of the blue that gives us a huge return on a relatively small investment. So it's important to be judicious of how we allocate our budget.

The Beeswax fuse upgrade is similar to going from an Entreq silver minimus to the top of line Olympus. This is a huge step up, but you have to spend 3-4x the money.

Fliz, yes the ESS rack is very good.

Interestingly, the designer of the Beeswax fuse uses techniques to keep the fuse from vibrating.

I can tell you that the leap in resolution and ease is very similar to what you get with the ESS rack. Yes, from a fuse.

Fliz, stock fuse vs Beeswax. I have had the Red fuse before and I liked it. But the Beeswax is is just a huge upgrade with the Exemplar DAC. It dropped the noise floor significantly, and has a lot of the benefits similar to the ESS rack.

As you know, the Exemplar stuff is incredibly musical and engaging. And the Beeswax just takes it to another stratosphere. The stock fuse is holding it back more than you'd ever believe.

Audiolabyrinth, you'll get a better deal on the Beeswax fuse by going with Jerry at Audio Magic.

Interestingly, the sound in my system started getting dull with the Beeswax after it settled in. I flipped the direction of the fuse and it's back to sounding good.

I spoke to Jerry and he definitely said to leave it in one direction after break-in. So I don't know what's happening.

I prefer the Red over Black in my DAC for the same reasons oregonpapa mentioned. The Red is just more involving and fun to listen to.

Mapman, thanks for the tip. The designer of the DAC told me to try a slow blow fuse instead of fast.

Both Red and Black fuses in my DAC blew last night.

Will have to try going up a value.

Black fuse installed in the DAC wasn't my cup of tea.

Beeswax fuse has an organic rightness and is incredibly dynamic/expansive, but just too aggressive with glare in the DAC.

Just received the Telos Quantum X2. So far it's promising - delicately refined and warm with a sweet tone and a bit of bloom.

T_ramey, I ordered it directly from Telos in Taiwan.

So far it's promising - refined with an ease for long listening sessions.

Tsushima, contact berniceskaudio at gmail.com to order the Telos Quantum X2.

Oregonpapa, I didn't run the Black fuse for 70 hours. I just didn't like the tonality. I may put it back in, but I like the Telos at the moment.

Gwalt's Beeswax impressions are spot on. Voices and instruments are beautiful. I had many wow educational moments with it. But it's just too aggressive in my DAC for extended listening.

I had a Red and Black fuse blow back to back in my DAC upon installation and power up. Luckily the dealer took them back. Otherwise I'd be out of $200 without even an audition.