Admittedly I was skeptical about what a little fuse, which I remember buying for a nickel a pop in the old days, could possibly do for sound quality. After following all the fuss here, mostly positive though paying close attention to the persuasive `cannot-make-a-difference' minority, I went ahead and ordered one for my Sony HAP-Z1ES server and another for my almost new integrated amp (Absolare). What’s to lose, I reckoned, we can’t know what can be known if we fail to experience the unknown, and I’ve frequently discovered that technical truisms do not universally tell the tale (after 30 + years in this game, I don’t believe that everything can be measured, our ears need to play a primary role in the final analysis).
The amp already has a Synergistic Red, so I will not bother changing to the Black until it is thoroughly broken in, and further to ensure I limit the system changes to one thing at a time. So, with just the one Black in the Sony, my first reaction was…..no way, this can’t be happening! When I slowly recovered my senses and pulled my jaw off the floor, I reasoned that reality can play tricks sometimes, though my next 6 listening sessions told the same story: Increased texture in the bass, more gravitas to the overall sound, more pop from silent-to-loud dynamics, and a seemingly more relaxed yet just as detailed sound.
This after a week of listening, pretty amazing for a lousy fuse. Do I think it’s worth the price based upon what I’m hearing? Yes, I’ve encountered quite a few equipment/tweek upgrades that disappointed comparatively. Expectation bias? I don’t think so, I had no expectations one way or the other except to have an open mind and to keep the boxes intact in case I needed to return them. We shall see if other improvements (or indeed any negatives), reveal themselves in the coming weeks, but so far I am impressed.
