Flashunlock, what is the equipment into which you placed the fuses? I used the HiFi Supremes up until yesterday, when I put one SF fuse into one amp and left the HiFi Supreme in the other amp. Not much differentiation there, and I should disclose that the HiFi Supreme fuses had the WA Quantum chip on it. I thought, nah, no big improvement unless I want to strain to hear the differences. I should also disclose that I perceived that the CJ Classic preamp I purchased had less bass than my First Sound Deluxe Mk I preamp, which is dual mono. But I digress.
Later last night, I put the second SR chip into the ASL Hurricanes fuse holder. At this point, i know had two SR fuses with WA Quantum chips on them. In another thread, I noted the improvements (in contrast with the differences): the bass came back (the Hurricanes I have had for 10 years, and with 4 different preamps, I know their bass response: P-O-W-E-R-F-U-L. They are not even remotely weak in the bass and can take your head off. In this respect, they are similar to the VTL amps of 1988-95 (I had the 300s): bass to kick butt. It would seem, in the application of the HiFi Supremes in the Hurricanes, it is not an ideal match, either WITH or WITHOUT the WA Quantum fuses. I noticed a diffusness to the images, so much so that I called up Conrad Johnson about it (I had bought the Classic thru Audiogon) and asked about its bass and low-level detail and imaging. And nope, it wasn't the tubes: got new ones when I bought the preamp.
So, the application counts. The system is warming up in front of me as we speak, and unless I was hallucinating last night, I expect that the system should allow the correct timing of rhythms, focus of voices (especially baritones) and a slightly forward soundstage. No softness that I could hear.
Until I got the Synergistics (and I do have an outlet or two by them), I was a HiFi Supreme advocate. But I'm not wedded to anything. It appears the SRs will remain in the system until something better comes along. Even the Arcam FMJ DVD 27 now has the "brute force' that one of my former colleagues at TAS said it did, but i never heard when I replaced the FMJ 23 (Ring dec) with the DVD '27 (no ring dec: Wolfson 8740s, which, frankly, sound harder to my ears, without the complete delicacy of the Ring dec, which was capable of playing music that would break your heart. The '27 never did that, and even thought it does sound better now, it's no FMJ 23 (that ring DAC is the same type they use in the Scarlatti, although less sophisticated. I would imagine it to be at the top of the heap as a dec).
So, That's my story. Synergistics- 2, HiFi Supremes -0. Ah well, it was an interesting experiment.
