Late to the game but last Friday I received my Synergistic Quantum Blue fuse. I only ordered the main fuse to see what changes it would bring (or not) for my Yamaha CA-1000... And changes it brought. Compared to my Audio Link fuses (local brand in Qc similar to HiFi Tuning) which affected to tonality of the amplifier and made it more lean sounding, the blue fuse did not change the tonality of the CA-1000 at all. It still is a sweet and warm sounding amplifier. There is an increase in bass weight and instruments are even more life like. I could also perceive a decrease in noise during silent passages. There is more fullness to the music reminding me of my past Mc setup. I noticed also that the highs are more natural, a bit less strident. Essentially, it does not remove anything of the good from the amplifier, but only add up some even better qualities. This is not the night and day difference I was expecting/hoping but since I only changed one, this is normal I think. Still, the improvements it brings are appreciated. I think I will slowly change all the 7 remaining fuses, a 4 set for the pre-amp and a 3 set for the tone control board. I plan to keep my amplifier for a while (say, I will give it to my son in 10 years once he reaches his teen.) so I am fine tuning it up.
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
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
- ...
- 2978 posts total
Thanks to everyone for posting their experiences with the SR blue fuses. I just installed one into my amplifier four days ago and I was blown away by the improvements in clarity and realism, which became apparent after just a few hours in my system. One thing I've noticed though is that the mid-bass is sounding a bit soggy or slightly muddy. I hadn't noticed this before installing the fuse, but to be honest, perhaps it was there and I'm just listening now with a more critical ear. My questions are as follows: 1. Could this issue I'm picking up with the mid-bass be related to the fuse requiring more burn-in time? 2. I leave my amplifier on 24/7. Would the time that my amplifier is on but not play music contribute to burn-in time? |
edsky ... Try reversing the direction of the fuse and see if the bass improves. If that was the problem, the imaging will be more defined by switching the fuse direction as well. When the fuse is in the wrong direction, the system will sound a bit out of phase and just not right. Please report back with your results. Thanks ... Frank |
Edsky, What you experienced also happened in my amplifier upon installing the fuse. I listened for 1 or 2 hours and let it as is. The next day, I didn’t waste time and just reversed the fuse in the fuse holder and everything went just perfect. I guess it is because I reversed it but I wasn’t sure since that I also leave my amplifier (and whole setup) on 24/7. I also noticed that before my system could be on the edgy side since my speakers (Totem Mani-2 Signature) requires very good electronics to avoid that problem but after two weeks of "24/7 on" and about 4 hours of actual listening per day, the edginess seems to be gone. and this is with only 1 fuse. I have two amp boards with 2 fuses each, and the tone board that has 3. I am very curious now to know what would be the improvements if I change them all. My amplifier is vintage so the actual fuses are, most likely, vintage as well. So far, so good. |
- 2978 posts total