Synergistic Red Fuse ...

charles1dad:
Absolutely correct. I now have a lot of time with the three types of Synergistic Research fuses and each brings a different sound to the system. In the Horn system the original Synergistic Research SR-20 fuse and the Black fuse work better than the Red in the amp and sub woofer position.
I certainly can believe gwalt reaction with the Red in his system.

In the headphone system the Red improved the system more than the original SR-20 in the amp and SACD location. Eleven black fuses arriving tomorrow to test the rail fuse locations for the two SACD players.

I am very glad that Synergistic Research has and encourages their customers to use the 30 day trial. In the end it is what makes my listening the most fullfiling that counts. I hope all readers of this thread will try some premium fuses if they are still using only original fuses. There is a tremendous amount of music that is being silenced or distorted by ordinary fuses!

David Pritchard

^^^ Its no secret on this forum that I'm a huge fan of both the SR Red and Black fuses. Are they the very best out there? How would I know? The only experience I've had with fuses are the stock fuses that came with my equipment and the HiFi Tuning fuses that replaced the stock fuses. 

Here's what I do know ... I know what they are doing for my system and my system alone.

The most transparent mid range and sound stage I've ever gotten from my system was years ago when I owned a pair of Acoustat lV's. When fed enough power, those huge, ugly panels (I had removed the grill cloths) caused the entire back wall to fall away and the depth went on forever. They sounded incredible. That was almost 25 years ago, and my audio buddies are still talking about those damned Acoustats. 

Over the past number of years, I've been using a pair of Legacy Signature III's

 http://d2heru13qkbk4q.cloudfront.net/media/906323/scaled/IMG_0212.jpg

The Legacy's never approached the mid range or sound stage of the old Acoustats, but they had better highs and bass. With the SR Black fuses, the Legacy's now outperform the Acoustats in every way, including musicality. I know some people put down the Legacy III's, but that's because they bought them (like the guy I bought them from) and used solid state electronics to drive them. Well, they suck with SS electronics. With tubes, they are exceptional. At 93db they are easy to drive too. My ARC REF 75se just coasts driving these speakers. 

This gets me to this morning's listening session. I warmed the system up while making a fine brew of home roasted Guatamalan coffee (Yum!)  

The first thing I played was a CD of Bach's orchestral music that consisted of massed strings. Well, those strings filled the entire room, wafting over my head and striking the emotional center of the brain. I sat there shaking my head, dumbfounded at the beauty. It was disbelief suspended. 

So again, will the SR fuses work in every system? Perhaps, perhaps not. In Gwalt's system, they do not. At this point, I couldn't care less. My fuse search has ended. 

Mapman ...

Have you made a decision on the SR Red fuse I want to send you? Come on man ... I put two daughters through college too. I just want to help a brother out. :-)

Hang in guys ...

I certainly believe in the idea that there are numerous excellent products as opposed to an  "one and only best". I bet that I'd likely be very pleased with the Beeswax fuse as I am with the Black fuses. The thing is that I have the Black fuses and they happen to be superb in my system. Either of these fuses would make many listeners very happy is what I believe.  The big point for me is that premium level fuses are truly an asset in good quality audio systems. I'm just spreading the word.  Gwalt,I have no doubt that the Beeswax fuse sounds superb in your system. 
Charles, 

May I just ask--of all the SR Reds and Blacks being placed, how many of you are exceeding stock ratings by a little or a lot?  This is often needed
 because the SR offerings are high by .5 amp or because the boutique fuses may blow easier at the stock rating.  Another reason is a higher rating sounds better, IME.  I have pushed the ratings in my AC input fuses by an amp or two. The bigger filament adds more to the overall presentation, I believe. If these AC input fuses are removed, there is no sound--no power.  Does this imply all of the AC voltage passes through these tiny filaments? I mean, after all the over-size Romex, the transformers, the dedicated 20 amp lines, the 10 gauge AC cables, etc, are we being choked by these little filaments? Please tell me.  If you have Maggies, you have the additional potential to push the stock rating for an unbelievable result--at the midranges and tweeters, I have quadrupled the stock ratings, and I don't worry one bit about it, not with a 4000 watt isolation transformer serving my system--you should have faith in your power supply to do this, I would guess.  So, you have found the right fuse, but are you willing to extend that benefit even further?