As I’ve expressed on another thread, I purchased several of the Blue fuses. And, as I usually do, I place them into the modestly priced NAD C325BEE, as - for an inexpensive (dirt cheap is a better descriptor) integrated - it shows improvements easily.
I placed one fuse in the "front" position. While I did not hear the improvement instantly (due to removing my CJ equipment, which meant moving around the Nordost interconnects and Shunyata speaker cable, which always means: a two hour wait for the cables to "settle" again), I DID hear the improvements rather easily after that. It was not an immediate case of "wow-it-blew-my-mind-man," but it demonstrated great promise within a few hours of steady listening. The Ring Cycle really RANG out, Motown actually sounded good (not merely "passable) and The Fifth Dimensions Greatest Hits was intelligible, lyric-wise. (Not that it’s bad, otherwise, but I usually have to listen to hear the words clearly on quite a few cuts.). I gave it two days with that one fuse, and after being duly impressed with CD after CD, I then decided to put in the other two fuses (the NAD takes 5 fuses, which, amusingly, means that the fuses cost more than the integrated did when brand new). So, technically, the NAD is now at the $900 integrated level when adding in the cost of the SR Blues. And there are two more fuses if I want a fully-loaded NAD. Do I? I don’t know. $450 is a lot for fuses, and there are miles more of fuses in my system if I want to hear if further purchases yield far greater improvements. But ’In for a penny, In for a pound’ keeps running thru my mind...
So. The other two fuses. Well, this time, it took longer to enjoy the very same music, as the sound went "backwards" from how good it sounded before (the fuses in the "newer" position, lessened the transparency, musicality and the articulate diction so apparent previously, for around 48 hours), but now that No. 2 and No. 3 have passed the 50 hour mark, I’m impressed with what the NAD can sound like with the fuses, although,
so far, the only songs I’ve heard are the Fifth Dimension’s "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In," and "The Girls Song," and Maria Callas. I will say that the Townshend Isolation Pods underneath the NAD eliminate any vibration shimmying the amp made for a profound difference in the sonics as well, but they’ve been under the NAD for weeks, so I was somewhat used to the improvement overall. Vibration masks improvements, in my experience, which can account for differing opinions in equipment reviews, even when then reviewers have "really good" racks. The bigger the room, the less vibration seems to mask differences in the entire sonic picture, in my experience. (I heard a so-so setup system in the house of the Meow-Meow cat commercial composer back in 2003, but I’d brought along my Nordost Quattro Fils interconnects, Arcam CD player and Shunyata Python, and found myself saying, "so THIS is what the Arcam REALLY sounds like? SHIT, Man!" His room was 10 x 30 x 50. You could be forgiven for thinking he had higher priced Avalons and some exotic electronics instead of the crappy receiver he had. It was THAT good. I was floored, disgusted and thrilled that he could get better sound out of those three pieces of equipment that I had even come close to. Room is not EVERYTHING, but it sure counts, as Robert E. Greene of TAS has said many, many times.)
Although I like the 5th Dimension’s music catalog, I’m usually able to read a magazine while sitting in front of the system when I listen to their CD. This is part of my acid test when I get better cabling, footers or anything I’m thinking of buying: can the music make me sit up and listen, or do I have to strain like mad to get involved with the music (not the sound: just the music itself) because it lacks nuance? Well, judging from 10 minutes of listening just to the 5th’s CD, I couldn’t even focus on the magazine (and anything that can draw me away from The Absolute Sound, circa 1976, when the reviews were stellar, is a positive outcome). Words that start (or end) in "t," "d" and "p" - especially a word like "picked" which, on the NAD, can sound like you had a mouth full of mushy food and therefore couldn’t form the entire word without spitting it all over the table (or your friends), were extremely clear. And continuous even (McCoo takes a breath, and you hear it, which isn’t the norm on this CD). This effect makes a singer sound more "real" than "recorded." And the musicality factor was noticeably better. (By this I mean instead of pastel tones, you get primary colors, without euphony.) This is far better performance than the Furutechs (which can make the NAD sound "hard," bleached out and a bit sterile) or even the Blacks, which, despite the fact that I bought 5 or more of them, never quite won me over in the NAD. They seemed slightly dull, tonally speaking. I LIKED them, (somewhat) but in more modest equipment, they never shined. (Things shine more in my Hurricanes and in CJ - as well as the ARC - (when I had it) equipment. But not the Blacks, not in this system, at least. I don’t think one need have the higher priced spreads to get good sound: I enjoy music more now than when I had such luminaries as the Goldmund Memesis 9 and the Jadis equipment of the early 90s, along with a Versa Dynamics 2.3 turntable with all the other (equally) expensive stuff I had (several generations of WATT/Puppies, even more Goldmund equipment). I listen more to the music now and experience it more soulfully then back then. It helps not to be dazzled by gazing upon the "Luminaries" as I used to call my Versa/ Goldmund/ WATT/Jadis/VAC/ Convergent equipment. I’m sure that these days, were I to re-purchase them, I would enjoy them much more, but I’m wandering here...
I’d suggest buying the Blues and give them their 30 days trial run. You won’t be very "blue" for long, even though the price does make you pause. I was prepared to not like them (I mean, who wants to shell out $300 - $1,000 for fuses?!? I sure don’t). But, being fair, they sound good on my Arcam CD players (the FMJ 23 and DVD 27 something or other). And that’s just sitting on the rug with some Stillpoint Mini Ultras underneath them and some type of chopping board material under that. (I’m afraid to put them on the Finite rack: I might so wild and replace everything in the CJ, Hurricanes, and the Arcam and I really cannot afford that type of output just so I can cry thru Fifth Dimension songs, never mind the entire Khachaturian Ballet.
I know that Imgoodwithtools and a few others have had a different experience, and I think it’s important that ALL experiences be honored. That’s what the forum is for: for all of us to express our viewpoints. Otherwise, we’d sound like a certain audio magazine, where rarely a discouraging word is uttered any more (such a contrast from its first 20 years).
My experience mirrors Oregonpapa’s so I have to encourage people. And SR has had - in my experience - a couple of ’only-in-certain-positions-on-certain-pieces-of-equipment’ prior generations. The Black line, for example, was different for me than for some other posters. I had to really LISTEN -make that STRAIN - to feel good about the purchase. And they were far cheaper! I did not have to strain this time. You’ll have 30 days to love - or be indifferent to - them.
