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The new Synergistic Research BLUE fuses ....

New SR BLUE fuse thread ...

I’ve replaced all 5 of the SR BLACK fuses in my system with the new SR BLUE fuses. Cold, out of the box, the BLUE fuses stomped the fully broken-in SR BLACKS in a big way. As good as the SR BLACK fuses were/are, especially in comparison with the SR RED fuses, SR has found another break-through in fuses.

1. Musicality ... The system is totally seamless at this point. Its as if there is no system in the room, only a wall to wall, front to back and floor to ceiling music presentation with true to life tonality from the various instruments.

2. Extension ... I’ve seemed to gain about an octave in low bass response. This has the effect of putting more meat on the bones of the instruments. Highs are very extended, breathing new life into my magic percussion recordings. Vibes, chimes, bells, and triangles positioned in the rear of the orchestra all have improved. I’ve experienced no roll-off of the highs what so ever with the new BLUE fuses. Just a more relaxed natural presentation.

3. Dynamics ... This is a huge improvement over the BLACK fuses. Piano and vibes fans ... this is fantastic.

I have a Japanese audiophile CD of Flamenco music ... the foot stomps on the stage, the hand clapping and the castanets are present like never before. Want to hear natural sounding castanets? Get the BLUE fuses.

4. Mid range ... Ha! Put on your favorite Ben Webster album ... and a pair of adult diapers. Play Chris Connor singing "All About Ronnie," its to die for.

Quick .... someone here HAS to buy this double album. Its a bargain at this price. Audiophile sound, excellent performance by the one and only Chris Connor. Yes, its mono ... but so what? Its so good you won’t miss the stereo effects. If you’re the lucky person who scores this album, please post your results here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRASONIC-CLEAN-The-Finest-Of-CHRIS-CONNOR-Bethlehem-Jazz-1975-NM-UNPLAYED-...

Overall impressions:

Where the RED fuses took about 20 hours to sound their best, and the BLACK fuses took upwards of 200 hours of total break-in, the BLUE fuses sounded really good right out of the box ... and that’s without doing anything about proper directional positioning. Not that the BLUE fuses don’t need breaking in, they do. The improvement continues through week three. Its a gradual break-in thing where each listening session is better than the last.

Everything I described above continues to break new ground in my system as the fuses continue breaking in. Quite honestly, I find it difficult to tear myself away from the system in order to get things done. Its truly been transformed into a magical music machine. With the expenditure of $150.00 and a 30 day return policy there’s really nothing to lose. In my system, its like upgrading to a better pre amp, amp, CD player or phono stage. Highly recommended.

Kudos to Ted Denney and the entire staff at SR. Amazing stuff, guys. :-)

Frank

PS: If you try the SR BLUE fuses, please post your results here. Seems the naysayers, the Debbie Downers and Negative Nellie’s have hijacked the original RED fuse thread. A pox on their houses and their Pioneer receivers.

Frank



128x128oregonpapa
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Hi Frank,

I just replaced the SR Black fuse with a Blue in my Ayre preamp’s external power supply and agree with your description of the differences in sound character between the two. Another level of transparency and perhaps a bit more tonally balanced in the mids. Biggest difference to me is the bass, especially acoustic bass. Always felt the Black to be a tad loose in the bass and the Blue trues that up while adding much more air. Bass seems to have audibly better lower extension with the Blue.

Dave
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

I may have to try one of these BLUE fuses sometime in my source equipment.  Maybe next year because I already have too much stuff on my project list for now.

That being said, there are several good points mentioned here on both sides.  The fuse is NEVER going to be a magic bullet to make your system sound perfect.  It is a tool/tweak to allow you to tune your system in a direction that you want to go.  On the other hand, yes it is only a 1" length of wire, but that wire can have a significant effect on the sound as the unit pulls in A/C current for its power supply (which has a big effect on overall sonic signature).

In my research/testing, there are several elements that can contribute:

- resistance/slew - this affects how fast the power supply can start to pull in current from A/C when there is a drop is voltage.  This can affect how fast the audio sounds and can also affect leanness in sound.

- electrical resonance - the fuse will have an electrical resonance/vibration as it charges/discharges.  This can affect the harshness of the sound and can also cause sound to be weak/distorted (if there is a lot of resonance).

- metallurgy - this will have an affect the sonic signature just like anything else (such as interconnects).  Silver vs gold vs copper vs rhodium vs brass.  It all has an influence.  For example, a gold plated copper Isoclean fuse can be fine for pulling in large amounts of current, but it may not respond as quickly for tiny/fast changes (which can affect high frequency resolution).  This can translate into a warmer/richer type of sonic signature.  This is probably hand-in-hand with the resistance/slew characteristic above.

audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,178 posts
 
Hello Rauliruegas, and Frank  very good comparisons showing that as myself and others have found many factors determining the extent of improvement
With the blue fuses . I have yet to see a fuse ruin equipment unless it  was not 
The correct size .  There ard all kjnd of wave generstors , tuning disks and other 
Platforms, and exotic items if you want to totally lighten your wallet.
That is above where  I am willing to venture .
oregonpapa's avatar
oregonpapa OP
4,867 posts
 
Dave ...

I found acoustic bass to be fantastic with the Black fuses. The Blue fuses take it to an entirely different level ... super fantastic. 

If you don't have it already, here's a must have CD collection. Its a four disc set. The opening bass lines on cut one of disc four is worth the price of the entire thing. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Giuffre-Jimmy-Jim-Hall-Trio-Complete-Studio-Recordings-CD-NEW-/391890420798?...

Its definitely a demo CD for demonstrating how well stand-up bass can be recreated in the home environment. 

I really cranked the volume up last night and played an organ cut from a demo quality CD I have. I swear, I'm getting at least another octave of deep bass due to the Blue fuses. 

Frank


dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Thanks Frank. I will get that set on order. :) If you are doing hi-rez downloads, Tony Overwater’s acoustic bass on this album is pretty awesome:

https://soundliaison.com/studio-showcase-series/139-impromtu-all

33% off right now if you use coupon code: Indian Summer on the checkout page.

I did not intend to cast dispersions on the Black Fuse as I always found it to be excellent (and still do). The improvement in bass quality is remarkable with the Blue fuse as you say and invites such criticisms in comparison.

I, like you, have spent countless hours optimizing speaker/listener placement, room acoustics, cabling, vibration elimination, component matching, RF/EMI reduction, and started with a very good room so it is easy to hear exactly the sound characteristics of each fuse. I do believe that combining SR fuses with SR's power cords results in a synergy that may not be as pronounced with other power cords. Your thoughts?

I replaced the Black fuse in my DAC’s external power supply with a second Blue fuse a couple of hours ago and there is further improvement in transparency, razor sharp dynamic response, and a distinct lowering of the noise floor. Brass has that illusive live energy rarely experienced with an audio system. Awesome.

Dave

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