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Synergistic Red Fuse ...

I installed a SR RED Quantum fuse in my ARC REF-3 preamp a few days ago, replacing an older high end fuse. Uhh ... for a hundred bucks, this little baby is well worth the cost. There was an immediate improvement upon installation, but now that its broken in (yes, no kidding), its quite remarkable. A tightening of the focus, a more solid image, and most important of all for my tastes, a deeper appreciation for the organic sound of the instruments. Damn! ... cellos sound great! Much improved attack on pianos. More humanistic on vocals. Bowed bass goes down forever. Next move? .... I'm doing the entire system with these fuses. One at a time though just to gauge the improvement in each piece of equipment. The REF-75se comes next. I'll report the results as the progression takes place. Stay tuned ...

Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?
128x128oregonpapa
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Frank, 
"Round Midnight" -and "Body and Soul" (not a Monk composition) have to be the two most covered jazz standards out there.  Monk is without a doubt a musical genius, both as a musician and composer. He's written so many titles that have withstood the test of time. 
Charles, 
brownsfan
1,508 posts
 
Audiolabyrinth, I had the same thought on wanting a good comparison between the AM beeswax and Black fuses, but given the variability in responses to the blacks, and the apparent sensitivity differences between different pieces of equipment, it is going to be hard to extrapolate one person's experience to my needs or preferences.   
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Bill,
You are absolutely right,  the many variables involved make it impossible to declare an universal  winner. No single fuse will be the preference for every listener and all system configurations.  The best that can  occur is developing a list of of top tier fuses based on consensus of many listeners. For example the Beeswax and SR Black surely have different sonic presentations. Depending on the circumstances one will be a better fit than the other. Gwalt  has both of these fuses, and I'm interested in his impressions in the context of his own system. 
Charles, 
audiolabyrinth's avatar
audiolabyrinth
4,555 posts
 
Hi gwalt, what is your assessment of impressions between the audio magic beeswax fuses vs synergistic research sr-black fuses? 
cymbop
315 posts
 
I had a chance to flip by the Blacks in my DAC/Pre yesterday afternoon and had a night-time session after they’d settled in for a few hours. They’re now at about 170 hours total.

Wow. It was like the system had bolted awake after a nap. In this new orientation I’ll echo what some others have observed: _really low_ noise floor and black background. I was stunned to be able to follow cymbal decays for seconds longer than I ever thought possible.  Soundstage is pushed wider and brought 3-4 feet closer to provide a more front-row presentation, as if things are suddenly more close-mic’ed and revealing a little less of the room acoustic of the studio. Transient speed is fast, fast, fast. Bass has great heft and also great texture. The system is far more lively but not in a fatiguing way.

All this from the direction a fuse is turned. Who woulda figured? ;-)

Will come back with observations after another couple of sessions.
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