2. misc-audio
  3. 131672-481

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
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
oregonpapa wrote,

"My take is that the fuses use graphene internally ... and graphene is known to eliminate micro-arcing. Micro-arcing, like micro-vibrations have the effect of smearing and degrading the sound."

Not sure I go along with you on your detective work. For one thing I’m pretty sure the only manufactuer that opens up a fuse, and even then only drilling holes in the end caps, is Audio Magic. For another thing, the issue of micro arcing would most likely be on the outside of the fuse on the end caps, not inside the fuse, where the wire is soldered to the end caps. Also, I’m pretty sure you can see the black stuff on the *outside* of the Black Fuse. That is the Graphene, no? At least. Matrix containing Graphene. Ditto the Blue Fuse if I’m not mistaken, Graphene is on the outside of the fuse. Which of course leads up to my next Pop Quiz. Horray!

Pop Quiz, if Graphene is applied to the *outside* of the fuse what the heck is its function? 😳

theaudiotweak
2,797 posts
 
Graphene alone is a superior and faster conductor than copper or silver. If you painted the fuse shell and the endcaps then the fuse would still conduct even while the internal element has melted. You would only paint the endcaps and the the spring clamp housing. 

In my case I will coat the entire magnet with a graphene substance expecting further enhancement of the signal that travels on the outside while a polarity of shear is disapated thru the core on the inside. Tom
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,178 posts
 
Here is the skinny from the SR site:

" The new SR BLUE Quantum Fuse was developed over a two year period and represents our most advanced UEF Technology to date. At its heart is a completely new UEF / Graphene coating that delivers a dramatic increase in resolution and holographic realism over SR Black. And thanks to a new conditioning process, break-in time is cut in half. In fact a brand new out-of-the-box BLUE Fuse should significantly out perform a fully broken-in BLACK Fuse and it only gets better from there with full performance after 200 hrs of continues power. To find out how good your components really are audition the new SR BLUE Quantum Fuse today.

Sold with a no-risk 30-day money back gaurantee. $149.95 in all sizes."

So you have 30 days to get the fuse singing in case of buyer remorse.

I like the simple color coded model numbers. Its very easy to understand.   Marketing genius there for sure. 

geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
That’s only some skinny. Not the whole skinny. Smart move! 😀

Wait! Unless, unless...the wave is traveling on the OUTSIDE of the fuse! What say, Mapman? 😳 And why is the Blue Fuse blue if Graphene is applied to the outside of the fuse? Graphene is black. Or is it? Maybe Smurfs are involved. Or blueberries.
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
@imgoodwithtools


It is a simple matter of expectation. I expect audio component power supplies to be well designed and well built. My criteria for a good design is that it should be completely insensitive to small changes in incoming power. Like a huge dam across a river - the actual instantaneous flow of the river into the large reservoir lake created by the dam is totally immaterial and irrelevant to the instantaneous power quality generated by the power station below the dam.

If your ARC Ref 6 is audibly affected by a fuse then you need to return it for maintenance or ask ARC if they are aware of such a minor detail audibly affecting audio signal output. This is to my mind a clear fault or design error. The purpose of buying high end high quality equipment is to enjoy audio that is completely free of parasitic contamination (from power or other extraneous factors) due to the extremely high quality robust over-engineered design and build.

To have a piece of highly engineered equipment with THD+N specifications in the -100 dB performance range and then find out that the sound depends entirely on the type of fuse used - this is pathetic engineering.



More to discover