Synergistic Red Fuse ...

slaw
1,137 posts
05-22-2016 4:18pm
"The OP wrote:..."there was an immediate improvement upon installation".

This statement alone was a verification of an immediate sonic improvement, without the benefit of further listening. However, the OP did go on to say that subtle improvements followed."

This is just (one) example of the "instant" effect, I base my posts on regarding this tweak.Similar comments can be made for any wire, cable, power cord, speaker cables. That’s not inconsistent with the concept of break in. There is no reason why a fuse that is not broken in, brand new, cannot sound better than whatever fuse it replaced. Especially if the previous fuse was installed backwards. Ditto interconnects, which are also directional. I also believe you'll find comments vary considerably, so one person might call results AFTER fuse break in subtle whereas another might use the word, spectacular. Can you believe it, there are even people who don’t hear the effect of aftermarket fuses or directionality?

^^^^

"Can you believe it, there are even people who don’t hear the effect of aftermarket fuses or directionality?"

Based on my experience with the SR Black fuses, I DO find it hard to believe. Very hard. I have to question what else is going on in their systems. 

On initial installation, the Blacks have it all over the Red fuses ... and the improvements are heard right off the bat after installation. That's not to say that there aren't problems. For example, there is some grain and a hard, non-musical edge initially until the fuse breaks in. BUT, one can clearly hear the blacker background, the additional air around instrument and the improved dynamics instantly. At 70-100 hours, the fuse seems to really open up and everything comes into serious focus and then the musicality hits you right between the eyes.  

For those who cannot hear the difference, or for those who are so convinced that these fuse upgrades cannot work and won't even try them ... Well ... I'm really happy that I am not you.  Why? Because the SR Black fuses have completely transformed my system into something unbelievable. My audiophile friends say the same thing every time they come over for a listening session. And I can assure everyone reading this that the system was no slouch prior to my first experiment with the fuses that started this entire thread. 

OP

On 5/20/16 slaw wrote: "Can any of you explain why an item such as a fuse has such an impact on sound?

The honest answer is that we do not have all the answers. There are probably several factor involved. We do know however that it does. And accepting this fact is the first step on the road to finding out why.

We do know that the best fuses can elevate the performance of a high definition system to startlingly higher levels of performance. The sonic benefits of the fuse are proportional to the quality of the system in which it is placed as well as the capacity of the audiophile to know what live music sounds like. A low quality system ( which in some cases includes expensive amplifiers and/or loudspeakers) may not have the resolution to reveal some of these changes. For example many systems cannot important changes to soundstage information like front to back depth and soundstage height. Also if the system lacks quietness, low level information will be lost.

It is no coincidence that the originator of his thread "Oregonpapa" has a very high performance system with reference quality products. Moreover he is a music lover with keen ears and a history of live performances. (I confess that I have never met or spoken to Oregonpapa . My description of his system and life experiences are gleaned from this thread) When confronted with the dramatic results brought about the Synergistic Research fuse he could not restrain himself. He had to tell his fellow audiophiles the good news. It is important to note that he was blown away by the incredible realism of the saxophone in one of his favorite albums. An audiophile whose system is inadequate, or who has no knowledge of the sound of acoustical instruments may not notice any significant changes when playing the same album.

When I said above that we do not know why a  fuse can have a large effect on the fidelity of a system, I do not mean to imply that no has the answers.
The first thing to realize is that a fuse by itself cannot improve fidelity. However when placed in an amplifier, the amplifier can produce the changes we hear. When I first heard the synergistic fuse I immediately recognized the changes as amplifier sourced. The addition of the fuse was a modification to the amplifier in the same way that Modwright or other
individuals modify amplifiers. The fuse when placed in an amplifier behaves in accordance with established fundamental principles. The real challenge is find out which of these fundamental principles has the most dominant effects in this application.

I was faced with a similar quandary in 1980. I had a system close to reference quality, which I sought to improve. But how? Then I saw an article by Jung & Marsh in Audio magazine. At that time audio designers would calculate the capacitance value of a capacitor for a given amplifier circuit. However, when Jung and Marsh built these amplifiers using capacitors from various manufacturers, listening tests revealed that they all sounded differently. This was a shocking result. How can caps with the same values sound so differently? It turned out that none of the caps were behaving as a pure capacitor should. Although each had the same measured capacitor value they had significant resistance and inductive values not specified in the circuit diagrams. To complicate matters even further each cap used a different dielectric and there was a huge correlation between dielectric material and sound quality. I was able to acquire some high quality caps, built in response to the audio magazine article and as I changed  each cap I heard a massive improvement in sound quality.

My guess is that vibrational energy caused by current flowing through the fuse will be identified as a major factor in fuse performance. But this is a topic for another time.

I'm glad everyone is enjoying the music.  

nayme,
You raise some very good points. I can recall the ridicule and skepticism when capacitors were  first said to vary in sound quality despite identical specifications.  Same ridicule regarding power cords and interconnects. People aren't laughing anymore.  The problem is that often  people can hear sonic differences long before a reasonable scientific /technical explanation is formulated.  

I accept this lag between observation and explanation but recognize that others find this difficult to do. If given the opportunity to hear an audio product I'll report what I hear ,good, bad or indifferent. If  I can’t provide a technical argument to support what I've heard, that's okay with me. Eventually one will be found,  in the mean while if the product sounds good I'm going to enjoy it. 
Charles,