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

They say all these SR fuses sound even better if you freeze them overnight, trouble is you only get 15mins of even more blissful music before they thaw out.
To counter this, one should have a stash of them in the freezer that way you have it covered for a couple of hours.
Then use them for the second time in the opposite direction to counter them getting polarised.

Cheers George
The thing I really like about the fuses, is I can forget about them. After investing the time to determine the best sounding direction (didn't take long at all, in my case), and get through the break in period, I don't have to fiddle with, readjust, tune, or reapply anything. I can just just sit back and enjoy the music.

I did my research, and decided to go with higher values than the stock fuses, so no worries about them blowing; unless something happens where they should blow.


ps
Small silk bags containing multi-color quartz aquarium rocks, with a minimum of two audiophile fuses per bag, are incredibly effective in taming runaway hi-fi systems, especially after being frozen for at least 48 hours. Bags should be placed atop speakers and electronic components. The optimum number of bags is system-dependent. Drawstrings on the bags should be woven from hemp for best performance. YMMV

Lots of yuks, but seriously, folks, there are many ways to improve the performance of any fuse, even super duper aftermarket fuses. To whit,

1. Cryo the fuse or use the trusty home freezer.

2. Apply a contact enhancer such as Quicksilver Gold to the fuse end caps prior to installation.

3. Apply a teeny weeny WA Quantum Chip for Fuses to the fuse in situ.

4. Apply some sort of anti vibration material to the fuse holder.

5. Surround the fuse with a mu metal "tent" to shield it from magnetic fields, especially if there happens to be a large transformer anywhere nearby. As mu metal is conductive ensure mu metal doesn’t contact the fuse end caps.

6. Paint the end caps violet/purple using permanent marker. This can be accomplished in situ.

geoff kait
machina dynamica
no goats, no glory







Geoff, 

Pick up any of hundreds of books on audio amplifier or speaker design. You will find ample proof that equipment is designed to minimize extraneous noise from the power supply (that is where you will find the fuse). You will find a low output impedance and a high input impedance is recommended in order to minimize interconnection effects. 

I dont know know why any of you would think well designed audio equipment should magnify things that we definitely do not want to hear. If this is not self apparent then you are in the wrong hobby because listening to music means a focus on the music (source signal) and not the fuse in the power supply.
Shadrach wrote,

"Geoff,

Pick up any of hundreds of books on audio amplifier or speaker design. You will find ample proof that equipment is designed to minimize extraneous noise from the power supply (that is where you will find the fuse). You will find a low output impedance and a high input impedance is recommended in order to minimize interconnection effects."

Please provide one, just one, statement in any of those hundreds of audio amplifier or speaker design books regarding fuses in either amplifiers or speakers. I trust you aren’t now claiming fuses are interconnectors.

Shadrach wrote,

"I dont know why any of you would think well designed audio equipment should magnify things that we definitely do not want to hear. If this is not self apparent then you are in the wrong hobby because listening to music means a focus on the music (source signal) and not the fuse in the power supply."

Don’t put words in my mouth. I never said audio equipment should magnify things we do not want to hear. Do you actually believe fuses are NOT a weak point for EMI/RFI, vibration and conductivity? Have you been nodding out during this discussion?