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
Frank, 
It just is another example of how two very different audio systems can yield such similar musical/-sonic results. With the exception of the Black fuses our speakers, source, electronics and cabling share no overlapping brands. What we have in common is the goal of constructing a system that emphasizes and serves the beauty and emotional power of music. 

That’s all I want from my system and based  on your numerous comments on your captivating  listening experiences at home, you most certainly have achieved that as well. Yes a 60 year old mono recording thats full of musical beauty and communicates straight to the soul. Toes tapping and head ah bobbin, absolutely 😊. Full bodied,rich and fat tenor sax tone, oh yes Zoot and company were in the house!
Charles 
Anybody else here use an autoformer or transformer passive preamp? My ASL TX-1 is a big part of what what makes my system sound so good. I can't imagine going back to resistive volume control.

Charles ...

On that Montgomery Brothers CD I sent you ... I listened to that last night as well. What I could clearly detect was that it was recorded from two different sessions. 

I discussed this album with my friend Robert, who knows more about recorded music than anyone on the planet. He even puts Michael Fremer to shame.

Robert knows my collection as if it were his own. Robert said that he thinks the album was recorded and used only by radio stations and was never released to the public. In all of our years of collecting records, this is the only copy either of us has ever seen. I've been looking since the early 70's for a cleaner copy with no luck at all. Not even on Ebay or on Amazon. I do have another Montgomery Brothers album with some of the same music, but no Buddy on vibes. 

By the way, I know you like vibes. Do  you have anything by Milt Jackson on the old Roost label? They were from the mono era and they sound fantastic.  They were reissued as "twofers" about 30 years ago and the transfers are superb. Good BeBop played by a very young Milt Jackson. Quite different from his later recordings when he was playing with MJQ. 

Frank
Frank, 
I am a Hugh fan and admirer of Milt Jackson and have a sizable collection of his recordings.  I don't have any from the Roost label/mono era but will seek them out. My recordings of Jackson are with him not with the MJQ but with others.  I believe that the MJQ format actually restricted his talents and often held him back. His efforts with Wes Montgomery,  Ray Charles,  John Coltrane and Ray Brown for example are all excellent. 
Charles 
Charles ...

Although I have quite a few recordings of the MJQ, I agree that his time with MJQ wasn't Jackson's best efforts. Too commercial for my tastes. I'll get the Roost recordings together and see how they sound burned onto CD. :=)

My favorite vibes player is Cal Tjader. I actually saw him live at a club in Hollywood (Zardie's)  when I was a senior in High School. That was way back into the last century. *lol*

To my ear, comparing Milt Jackson when he was with the MJQ to Cal Tjader, is like comparing Wynton Marsalis to Clifford Brown. No contest.